SENIOR PEOPLE PROFESSIONAL (L7)
Senior People Professional (Level 7)
Improve people practices in organisations in order to drive organisational performance and effectiveness.
Details of Standard
This occupation is found in small, medium and large organisations which sit within any of the public, private or third sectors. Senior People Professionals are found in all industries and are a key component of virtually all types of business model where there is a workforce to support and manage.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to improve people practices in organisations in order to drive organisational performance and effectiveness. Senior People Professionals are the in-house experts in people, work and change. They champion the people agenda to create working environments and cultures that help get the best out of people, delivering great organisational outcomes. They may be involved in the transitions of an organisations workforce to a sustainable, ethical, or net carbon zero focused model in order to fight climate change.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a range of stakeholders across their organisation, creating medium to long-term value for a wide audience. In larger organisations, they may be part of a wider specialist team. They may also lead a team of HR/L&D/OD consultants/advisers. In smaller organisations, they might be solely responsible for the entire people agenda and report directly to the organisation lead. At this level, Senior People Professionals are ambassadors for their organisations and will typically have wide-ranging networks and need to interact with a wide range of internal and external senior stakeholders.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for applying their knowledge and expertise to lead the design, implementation and evaluation of people policies and practices aligned to the needs of the organisation and its employees. They will be responsible for leading people projects and/or playing a key role in larger organisation-wide programmes, managing their own work with a high level of autonomy. Senior People Practitioners have to keep up to date with relevant legislation and regulation and make timely interventions to ensure their organisation’s relations with its people are effective and compliant.
Senior People Professionals engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including developing and maintaining strong relationships with senior stakeholders to facilitate engagement on people issues. Keeping up to date with key trends and developments in the profession is critical to this occupation. They may need to analyse the transferability of skills in the current workforce and devise strategies that enable a just transition for staff into the green economy. Analysis of future workforce trends and providing insight around people analytics is an essential responsibility which enables Senior People Professionals to influence senior stakeholders and make recommendations for change. Senior People Professionals are increasingly responsible for seeking out, evaluating and utilising technology to deliver the people strategy. Typically, Senior People Professionals have some budget responsibility and will be expected to employ continuous improvement approaches to maximise the use of limited resources.
Senior People Professionals may specialise in either Human Resources (HR), Learning and Development (L&D) or Organisation Development (OD). This Apprenticeship Occupational Standard takes a core and options approach. All apprentices will complete the core and must select the one most appropriate option to their role from HR, L&D and OD.
Senior Human Resources (HR) Professional
A Senior Human Resources (HR) Professional leads the design and execution of people strategies that support organisational objectives. They drive workforce planning, employee engagement, performance management, employee relations and reward strategies, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and promoting a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
Senior Learning & Development (L&D) Professional
A Senior Learning & Development (L&D) Professional shapes organisational learning strategy to build capability, enhance performance and support career development. They lead on learning innovation, talent development frameworks, leadership programmes and the evaluation of learning impact to enable a skilled, agile and future-ready workforce.
Senior Organisation Development (OD) Professional
A Senior Organisation Development (OD) Professional leads strategic change and organisational transformation initiatives. They focus on culture, structure, leadership and team effectiveness, using evidence-based methods to improve organisational performance, strengthen adaptability and support long-term sustainability.
Walter Smith Fine Foods, Royal Bank of Scotland, Canon Europe, NHS, Saint Gobain, Arvato, IFATE, Sainsbury’s, Marston’s, Volkervessels
Duty D1
Lead the design, creation, implementation and review of people policies and practices aligned to the needs of the organisation. Critically evaluate a range of people practices to ensure they are fit for purpose and review as appropriate.
Duty D2
Using critical analysis and evaluation of internal and external factors, contribute to the development of the wider organisational people strategy and lead the implementation of a relevant workstream (e.g. HR / L&D / OD).
Duty D3
Manage and lead people projects and the people elements of broader organisation-wide programmes. Critically analyse, interpret and evaluate complex information to develop business cases for change, applying appropriate change management methodologies.
Duty D4
Assess current and future workforce needs, building future capability and talent. Actively contribute to strategic workforce planning or talent management processes, including strategies for supporting a just transition into the green economy.
Duty D5
Proactively develop and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders to communicate, engage, influence and challenge effectively, achieving the people strategy and representing the organisation externally.
Duty D6
Bring together the right resources and expertise to support sustained commercial success and people value. Manage budgets and workforce-related metrics, reviewing and forecasting spend.
Duty D7
Select and implement appropriate technology to deliver people strategy and practices, assessing opportunities, risks, value and impact. Critically evaluate and utilise technology to drive continuous improvement.
Duty D8
Review and critically evaluate current and emerging trends to ensure organisational effectiveness and commercial awareness. Interpret people analytics to provide insight, influence decisions and make recommendations to senior leaders.
Duty D9
Proactively shape and drive organisational culture, role modelling core values and beliefs, and embedding working practices that reflect and reinforce them.
Duty D10
Integrate diversity and inclusion into people practices and wider organisational approaches.
Duty D11
Stay up to date with external developments in the people profession and wider environment relevant to the role. Take responsibility for developing other people professionals, managers and leaders, including through coaching and mentoring.
Duty D12
Keep up to date with and interpret relevant legislation and regulation (e.g. employment law, ethics, equality and diversity). Critically evaluate policies and practices to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
Duty D13
Lead and advise on complex HR and employment matters to mitigate risk and maximise organisational effectiveness.
Duty D14
Create and sustain a positive employee relations climate to ensure the relationship between the organisation and its people complies with law and supports productive working practices.
Duty D15
Critically evaluate, develop and implement approaches to maximise employee engagement across the organisation.
Duty D16
Champion, design and implement organisation-wide approaches to employee well-being.
Duty D17
Critically analyse, design and implement reward strategies that attract, motivate and retain employees.
Duty D18
Critically analyse, review and improve organisational performance management approaches, designing and implementing changes where required.
Duty D1
Lead the design, creation, implementation and review of people policies and practices aligned to the needs of the organisation, critically evaluating a range of people practices to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Duty D2
Use critical analysis and evaluation of internal and external factors to contribute to the wider organisational people strategy and lead the implementation of a relevant workstream (e.g. HR/L&D/OD).
Duty D3
Manage and lead people projects and the people elements of wider organisation programmes. Analyse complex information to develop business cases for change and apply appropriate change methodologies.
Duty D4
Assess both current and future workforce needs, building capability and talent. Contribute to strategic workforce planning and talent management, including ensuring skills transferability for a just transition to the green economy.
Duty D5
Develop and maintain senior stakeholder relationships to communicate, engage, influence and challenge effectively in support of the people strategy and the organisation’s external representation.
Duty D6
Coordinate the right resources to drive sustained commercial success and people value. Manage workforce budgets and people metrics, reviewing and forecasting spend.
Duty D7
Select and implement technology to deliver people strategy and practices, evaluating risks, opportunities, value and impact. Adopt technology to drive continuous improvement.
Duty D8
Evaluate current and emerging trends to support organisational effectiveness and commercial awareness. Use people analytics to generate insights and influence senior decision-making.
Duty D9
Shape and drive organisational culture, role modelling core values and creating aligned working practices.
Duty D10
Integrate diversity and inclusion into people practices and wider organisational approaches.
Duty D11
Stay up to date with external trends in the people profession and the wider environment. Develop people professionals, managers and leaders through coaching, mentoring and capability building.
Duty D12
Interpret and apply relevant legislation and regulations (e.g. employment law, equality, ethics). Evaluate people policies to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
Duty D1
Lead the design, creation, implementation and review of people policies and practices aligned to the needs of the organisation, critically evaluating a range of people practices to ensure fit for purpose.
Duty D2
Using critical analysis and evaluation of internal and external factors, contribute to the development of the wider organisational people strategy and lead on the implementation of a workstream (e.g. HR/L&D/OD) relevant to the role.
Duty D3
Manage and lead people projects and the people element of broader organisation-wide programmes. Critically analyse complex information to develop business cases for change and apply appropriate change management methodologies.
Duty D4
Assess both current and future workforce needs, building future capability and talent, and actively contribute to strategic workforce planning and talent management processes, including supporting a just transition into the green economy.
Duty D5
Proactively develop and maintain senior stakeholder relationships to communicate, engage, influence and challenge effectively to achieve the people strategy and represent the organisation externally.
Duty D6
Bring together the right people to ensure resource availability to drive sustained commercial success and value for people. Manage budgets and workforce metrics, reviewing and forecasting spend.
Duty D7
Select and implement technology to deliver people strategy, assessing risks, opportunities, impact and value. Use technology to drive continuous improvement.
Duty D8
Review and critically evaluate current and emerging trends to ensure organisational effectiveness and commercial awareness. Use people analytics to generate insights and influence decisions.
Duty D9
Shape and drive organisational culture, role modelling core values and embedding aligned working practices.
Duty D10
Integrate diversity and inclusion into people practices and wider organisational approaches.
Duty D11
Stay updated with external trends in the people profession and wider context, developing people professionals, managers and leaders through coaching and mentoring.
Duty D12
Interpret relevant legislation and regulation (employment law, ethics, equality, diversity) and evaluate people policies to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
Duty D13
Critically analyse and evaluate the formulation and implementation of the learning and development strategy, ensuring alignment with the full learning cycle and supporting a continuous learning culture.
Duty D14
Evaluate and apply approaches to identify learning and development needs across the organisation in collaboration with senior stakeholders.
Duty D15
Evaluate learning design theories, channels and methodologies to select appropriate development solutions.
Duty D16
Drive coaching and mentoring strategies to enhance capability. Develop coaching and mentoring capacity to drive performance and strengthen organisational culture.
Duty D17
Use advanced facilitation techniques to lead development interventions and support senior colleagues, teams and groups to achieve successful outcomes.
Duty D18
Design and implement evaluation strategies to measure the effectiveness and organisational impact of learning interventions.
Duty D19
Evaluate overarching organisational strategy to determine OD needs using diagnostic tools, methodologies and consulting approaches.
Duty D20
Lead the design, creation and review of OD interventions to improve organisational performance and effectiveness.
Duty D21
Measure organisational culture, critically analyse findings and implement approaches to culture development.
Duty D22
Apply systemic thinking approaches to a range of people practices.
Duty D23
Evaluate and implement organisation design structures to improve alignment with business needs and performance.
Duty D24
Evaluate and apply work design choices defining who does what and how work is carried out.
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