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Vice President of Human Resources

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Vice President of Human Resources hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

HOW TO HIRE A Vice President of Human Resources

What does a Vice President of Human Resources do?

A Vice President of Human Resources is part of the executive team in an organization, and works closely with other Vice Presidents and directors to prioritize business goals, employee retention, and effective organizational structure. They often lead a team of Human Resources professionals focusing on the areas of organizational policy, recruitment, compliance, employee relations, performance and benefits. 

Day to day tasks of a Vice President of Human Resources

Skills assessment

Vice President of Human Resources definition

The Vice President of Human Resources (HR) provides executive-level leadership and guidance to the organization’s HR operations. The Vice President is responsible for setting, enforcing, and evaluating legally compliant human resources policies, procedures, and best practices, and identifying and implementing long-range strategic talent management goals.

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HIRING PROCESS

Vice President of Human Resources Hiring Process

Step 1: Understand the role
Step 2: Source Applicants
Step 3: Skills Assessment
Step 4: Interview
Step 5: Hire

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile​

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
Build the ideal candidate profile

Skills needed for a Vice President of Human Resources

A Vice President of Human Resources must have demonstrative Human Resources experience, while having the ability to keep the organization’s strategy front of mind. As this is a people-centric role, they must also have well developed interpersonal skills.

Pro Tip

For a high-level role such as a Vice President of Human Resources, it is vital that candidates bring confidence with them to interview. As they will be leading a department, the candidate must show that they have leadership skills.

WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS

How to write a Vice President of Human Resources job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Vice President of Human Resources job description:

Job Title: What position are you hiring for?

Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?

Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization

Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully

Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer

Pro Tip

In building your candidate profile, remember you’ve already identified what skills are needed to succeed in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, a Vice President of Human Resources must have the ability to interact and communicate with others. They should also have a knowledge of what legislation must followed for legal compliance.

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SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Sample skill tests for a Vice President of Human Resources

Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library

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Question 1

Strategy

Question Type: Video

The CEO expresses that in order to grow the company needs more sales people. However, it’s also vital that there is enough customer support to help customers and the product team is growing to keep up with developments and any issues that might arise. The CEO looks to your guidance for recruitment and what should be prioritized. 

What would you recommend and why?

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Question 2

Interpersonal Skills

Question Type: Audio

How would you engage the current employees and bring them on the change journey?

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Question 3

Human Resources

Question Type: Text

What would your recommendation be for HRIS or ATS technology?

INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS

How to interview a Vice President of Human Resources

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

Making An Offer

How much does it cost to hire a Vice President of Human Resources?

The US average for a Vice President of Human Resources is $255,903 according to Salary.com, while the reported average salary on Glassdoor amounts to $191,809. Ninety percent of Vice Presidents of Human Resources earn up to $381,286, with 75 percent receiving less than $321,533. The lowest paid ten percent is paid up to $158,298.

Vice President of Human Resources Salary United States

Vice President of Human Resources salaries in the United States range from $158,298 – $381,286 (USD). Vice President of Human Resources salaries in the U.S vary depending on bonuses and the industry they are based in.

Vice President of Human Resources Salary United Kingdom

Vice President of Human Resources salaries in the United Kingdom range from £95,270 – £355,304 (GBP). Vice President of Human Resources salaries in the UK vary largely based on location and the amount of career experience.

Source: Glassdoor

Vice President of Human Resources Salary Australia

Vice President of Human Resources salaries in Australia range from $81,130 – $129,512 (AUD). Vice President of Human Resources salaries usually depend on the industry and the amount of career experience.