| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Human Resources |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Managing Director |
| Direct reports | Head of Talent Acquisition, Head of Compensation and Benefits, Head of Learning and Development, Head of People Operations, Senior HR Business Partner |
| Experience | 18+ years in HR, with 6 or more years leading an HR function or a large HR team |
HR Director job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: HR Director
Department: Human Resources
Reports to: Managing Director
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An HR Director is the senior HR leader on a company's management team, a title common in Indian subsidiaries of multinationals and in large Indian firms. The role shapes the people strategy, organization design, leadership talent and culture, and leads the heads of talent acquisition, rewards, learning and HR operations. In a multinational it also adapts global HR policy to Indian law. A good HR Director is judged by the strength of the leadership bench and by how much weight HR carries in business decisions.
Key responsibilities
- Build a three-year people strategy with the Managing Director, tied to the business plan, and break it into yearly HR priorities.
- Shape the organization design for growth, restructuring or new business lines, and settle grades, spans and leadership roles with the management team.
- Own leadership hiring and succession for the top layers, and hold talent reviews with the management team twice a year.
- Approve the reward philosophy, the annual increment budget and variable pay design together with the finance director.
- Adapt global HR policies to Indian law and practice, including leave, notice periods, gratuity and the Labour Codes in force since 21 November 2025.
- Lead culture and engagement work, act on survey results and hold function heads accountable for the climate in their teams.
- Set goals for the heads of talent acquisition, rewards, learning and HR operations, and review the performance of their teams.
- Advise the MD on senior exits, severance terms and sensitive investigations, including POSH cases that involve senior staff.
- Report people metrics to the regional or global HR team and the board, covering headcount, cost, attrition and engagement.
- Oversee HR risk: statutory compliance, privacy of employee records and employment litigation.
Requirements
- MBA or PGDM in Human Resources from a recognised institute
- Graduate degree in any discipline
- Executive education in leadership or organization development is an advantage
- 18+ years in HR, with 6 or more years leading an HR function or a large HR team
KRAs and KPIs for a HR Director
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| People strategy delivery | Agreed yearly HR priorities delivered on schedule, reviewed with the MD every quarter |
| Leadership bench | Ready successors identified for at least 75 percent of management team roles |
| High performer retention | Regretted attrition of top-rated employees below the annual target set with the MD |
| Reward spend | Increment and variable pay spend within the approved budget and released on the committed date |
| Engagement | Engagement score up year on year, with an action plan owned by every function head |
| HR risk | No material HR findings in internal or statutory audits during the year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: HRMS, Psychometric assessment tools, Engagement survey platform, Power BI or Tableau, MS PowerPoint.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Human Resources Officer, Executive Director
Interview questions for a HR Director
- Based on what you know of our business, what people priorities would you set for the next three years?
- Describe an organization redesign you led. How did you decide which roles to remove or merge?
- How do you hold a function head accountable for poor engagement in their team?
- Our global policy gives 15 days of annual leave. What would you check before applying it to India?
- Tell us about a time you disagreed with the CEO on a people decision. What happened next?
- How do you divide an increment budget between high performers and everyone else?
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What does an HR Director do?
An HR Director leads the HR function and sits on the management team. The role sets the people strategy, designs the organization, owns leadership hiring and succession, approves the reward budget, drives culture and engagement, and manages HR risk. HR heads for talent acquisition, rewards, learning and operations report to the HR Director.
What is the difference between an HR Director and a CHRO?
In many Indian subsidiaries of multinationals, the HR Director is the top HR role in the country and effectively plays the CHRO part. In large Indian groups, the CHRO sits above several business-level HR heads or HR Directors and owns the people agenda for the whole group, often with a board-level mandate.
What qualifications do you need to become an HR Director in India?
Most HR Directors hold an MBA or PGDM in HR, or a master's in personnel management, and bring 18 or more years of HR experience. Employers look for proof of leading an HR team, redesigning an organization, handling senior exits and running reward cycles. Executive programs in leadership or organization development help but rarely replace that experience.