How to hire a senior director human resources

How to hire a senior director human resources, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior director human resources hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior director human resources job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior director human resources
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior director human resources do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior director human resources you need to hire. Certain senior director human resources roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior director human resources's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior directors human resources from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior directors human resources and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Director Human Resources	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Director Human Resources	Human resources managers plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. They oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff; consult with top executives on strategic planning; and serve as a link between an organization’s management and its employees.	$50-99
   Employee Relations Manager	An employee relations manager's responsibilities revolve around maintaining a strong professional relationship between employees and a company's management. They are also in charge of resolving conflicts and issues within the workplace, providing technical support on all employee programs, developing orientation and workshop activities among trainees and new members of the workforce, and addressing their concerns promptly and professionally... Show more	$28-53
   Human Resources Administration Manager	A human resources administration manager performs multiple roles, one of which is to maintain and review all human resources, administrative systems, and procedures. They give guidance on HR to the office... Show more	$25-51

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Performance Management
   • Employee Engagement
   • SR
   • HRIS
   • Workforce Planning
   • Organizational Development
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Business Objectives
   • Organizational Design
   • EEO
   • Organizational Effectiveness
   • Payroll
   • Oversight
   • Leadership Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead the complex migration to a new HRIS system to house policies, forms, and benefit information.
   • Manage and publish several cost-savings models for Sr. level management.
   • Ensure compliance with legislate requirements such as EEO, FLSA, FMLA and ADA.
   • Implement an HRIS system that meet all applicable labor and employment requirements at the federal and state levels.
   • Investigate and respond to formal internal and external EEO complaints and disciplinary cases for the prevention of further legal actions.
   • Project management responsibility for transition of payroll and benefit function from ADP to PeopleSoft during acquisition.

   More senior director human resources duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior director human resources job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior director human resources salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior director human resources in Kentucky may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level senior director human resources usually earns less than a senior-level senior director human resources. Additionally, a senior director human resources with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior director human resources salary

   $148,930yearly

   $71.60 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior director human resources salary

   $106,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average senior director human resources salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$190,777	$92
   2	Maine	$187,808	$90
   3	Massachusetts	$176,585	$85
   4	Pennsylvania	$175,705	$84
   5	Minnesota	$174,089	$84
   6	California	$171,832	$83
   7	New York	$167,468	$81
   8	Rhode Island	$162,435	$78
   9	North Carolina	$160,308	$77
   10	Illinois	$160,112	$77
   11	Texas	$158,984	$76
   12	Virginia	$157,634	$76
   13	District of Columbia	$156,366	$75
   14	Maryland	$152,575	$73
   15	Alabama	$151,561	$73
   16	Georgia	$150,856	$73
   17	Connecticut	$149,368	$72
   18	Oregon	$148,999	$72
   19	Colorado	$141,244	$68
   20	Tennessee	$139,378	$67

   Average senior director human resources salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	New London Hospital	$211,048	$101.47
   2	Kaiser Permanente	$195,047	$93.77	29
   3	Cooley Dickinson Hospital	$190,510	$91.59
   4	Queen's College	$185,500	$89.18
   5	Ross Stores	$183,860	$88.39	10
   6	Novo Nordisk	$182,829	$87.90	3
   7	PTC Therapeutics	$181,612	$87.31
   8	Vidant Health	$179,952	$86.52	1
   9	Daiichi Sankyo	$178,420	$85.78	10
   10	Care New England Health System	$174,649	$83.97	3
   11	Qualcomm	$174,143	$83.72
   12	Ferrotec	$173,642	$83.48
   13	Eiger BioPharmaceuticals	$173,287	$83.31
   14	Partners Healthcare Solutions Inc	$172,472	$82.92
   15	Freenome	$172,472	$82.92
   16	*n/a*	$172,388	$82.88	2
   17	VidMob	$172,211	$82.79
   18	MUSEUM.COM	$172,024	$82.70
   19	Octapharma Plasma	$171,994	$82.69	2
   20	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$171,819	$82.61	38

4. Writing a senior director human resources job description

   A senior director human resources job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a senior director human resources job description:

   Senior director human resources job description example

   * Responsible for the Talent Management processes around the employee life cycle; Performance Management, Succession Planning, Learning & Development, Metrics and Reporting. Act as a point person and strategic counsel to key executives in connection with Talent Management & Talent Business strategy.
   
   * Work closely with and build relationships with internal and external parties to ensure a strong Talent Management strategy
   * Ensure best practices in Talent Management and operational excellence
   * Design, develop and implement innovative and high impact Talent Management program and processes to improve the bench strength of leadership talent
   * Assess outcomes of Area/Functions Talent Management processes
   * Own and implement Talent Management processes that enable employees and leaders to understand and use these to manage their careers and their team's careers as appropriate
   * Evaluates processes, identifies and recommends opportunities for efficiencies, and executes recommendations
   * Facilitate, integrate and coordinate Talent Management initiatives, including project planning, resourcing, timing, L&D and communications
   * Work to align initiatives with the Talent Acquisition strategy
   * Collaborates with management team to identify and deploy targeted training needs
   * Responsible for driving the Talent Management initiatives including talent review and development, succession management, performance management framework, mentoring, internal mobility & training
   * Partner with Talent Acquisition in developing and maintaining relationships with target schools (for both technical and university hiring) through careers services, student leaders, professors, and key faculty defined diversity and student organizations
   * Design and execute career development programs in collaboration with management to ensure technical and leadership competency development close competency gaps to enhance readiness for targeted roles
   * Provide engagement leadership to ensure the profitable and quality delivery of all engagements assigned
   * Uses basic statistical analysis and tools to determine statistical differences, variances and relationships in data
   * Project manage the implementation of a new learning management system, evaluate existing learning content in alignment with company strategy and perform ongoing reviews of the learning we offer our associates in support of creating a higher-performing organization
   * Strong communication, listening and people skills are essential
   * Customer service" orientation with ability to escalate issues when appropriate and interact with Senior leadership
   * Attention to detail
   * Responsibly manage program budgets and costs
   * Solid written and verbal communication skills including public speaking
   * Strong work ethic, integrity and confidentiality - a must

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior directors human resources for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior directors human resources they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior directors human resources with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior director human resources job on Zippia to find and recruit senior director human resources candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as hrcrossing, ihirehr, hrjobs, shrm hr jobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior directors human resources, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior director human resources

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior director human resources candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior director human resources. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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