2024

HR Consultant Job Description Examples

HR consultants are HR professionals hired to help a company or an organization with high-level solutions. Since an HR consultant is an outside hire, small businesses that lack human resources expertise or companies looking for an objective overview of current human capital management practices hire consultants.

Companies rely on a skilled HR consultant to provide advice and quality service. HR consultants may also advise companies on related government laws, human resource management policies, or business administration changes.

According to IBIS World, HR consulting experienced a 2.6% growth in the overall market in 2022. If you’re ever in need of hiring a certified human resources consultant, this article will cover different HR consultant job descriptions that you can use. Every HR consultant job description example includes a job brief, responsibilities (duties), and requirements.

HR Consultant Job Description Example – General

We are looking for a certified human resources consultant to help with several HR projects long-term. Your goal is to help HR personnel with daily tasks and improve the company’s current HR programs.

The ideal HR consultant should have a strong experience with overall human resource management. Since we expect him to help our current HR team, we expect the HR consultant has excellent communication skills.

The goal is to improve HR operations such as recruitment process, advising management, and performance management.

Responsibilities 

  • Encourage & lead human resource programs
  • Conduct research and use people analytics to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in the current workplace
  • Advise the HR personnel through the entire process
  • Create and implement HR strategies
  • Consult hiring managers with the recruitment process and onboarding
  • Help with policy integration if necessary
  • Provide advice on suitable HR technology
  • Review current HR processes and advise on improvements
  • Refurbish knowledge of advancements in the field and present new ideas

Requirements 

  • 3+ years of experience as an HR consultant
  • Experience with HR-related project management
  • Excellent knowledge of human resources in general
  • Advanced people analytics knowledge
  • Ability to create and implement business plans
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, project management, or related field. A Master’s degree is a plus

HR Consultant Job Description Example – Business Consultant

We’re looking for a professional HR business consultant capable of helping us with specific and high-level business practices by introducing advanced business methods. This also includes project management and assisting with actual HR issues.

The HR consultant role may also include helping senior management with team supervision and management.

Duties

  • Advising management on creating and administrating HR plans and policies
  • Act as a business consultant by actively analyzing and solving any HR issues
  • Implement HR policies & review the need for a further company policy
  • Ensure compliance with state and federal laws vital to proper business management. Consult the HR team on compliance management
  • Collect data & prepare business presentations for meetings. It’s also possible to advise HR personnel on the task
  • Assist with implementing any potential changes in the general HR workflow
  • Conduct HR audits related to daily business activities
  • Lead a cross-department project team

Requirements

  • Excellent communication skills. Both verbal & written
  • Excellent organizational skills
  • Excellent management skills
  • Excellent time management skills. Needs to respect deadlines
  • Excellent problem-solving skills
  • Knows how to prioritize projects and assign tasks
  • MS Office Suite proficiency
  • Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field
  • 3+ years of experience in human resources
  • An SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) or SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) credential is a plus

HR Consultant Job Description Example – Casual Employment

We’re looking for a qualified HR consultant to help with human resources management and overall HR principles improvement. This HR consultant job is a semi-active relationship whenever the company’s HR management needs to improve or update current HR practices.

We need help and consulting on specific HR projects. Although we require a long-term work relationship, the hired HR consultant should expect occasional work.

Duties

  • Collect data & conduct research
  • Advise management on specific administration projects
  • Advise human resources team about recurring HR issues
  • Help with recruiting, onboarding, and training sessions
  • Create plans that the HR personnel can implement
  • Analyze & advise on the best suitable hr technology
  • Provide updates on the latest HR trends & policy changes

Requirements

  • Excellent knowledge of different research methods such as interviews, surveys, case studies, observation, and experimental designs
  • Excellent problem-solving abilities & on-the-spot decision-making
  • Excellent consultation skills & capable of sharing knowledge
  • Possess in-depth knowledge of implementing HR policies
  • Capability to reply and act on short notice
  • Act as organizational partners
  • Great data collection skills
  • +3 years of experience in human resources
  • BD in human resources or a similar field

HR Consultant Job Description Example – Policy Implementation Specialist

Our company is looking for an HR consultant specializing in implementing hr policies. We are looking for a professional with excellent consulting skills to advise and bring all policy requirements inside the company up-to-date.

You will work closely with the HR team and the trust & safety team to ensure all policies match the current employee safety and legal privacy obligations.

It’s also possible that you’ll help with policies related to the company’s customers and users, but the main focus will be on human resources policies.

Responsibilities

  • Support and advise on creating policies and compliance with applicable laws
  • Help the HR team with a practical overview of any possible future changes
  • Act as point of contact on matters regarding policy changes for stakeholders and team managers
  • Establish company policy
  • Create documentation that effectively explains any changes
  • Work closely with project and operation managers
  • Help streamline implementation and compliance
  • Collect employee feedback on the latest policy changes
  • Identify possibilities for improvement across the HR department
  • Advise the product team on correct policy implementation

Requirements

  • +3 years of experience in human resources and policy management
  • Extensive experience with policy implementation, compliance, and policy update
  • In-depth knowledge of employee-related policies
  • Experience with policy development in a global environment
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills. Must be capable of presenting complex information in simple terms both verbally and in written form
  • Bachelor’s degree in human resources, management, or any relevant field

HR Consultant Job Description Example – Recruitment Consulting

We are looking for an HR consultant who can help our hiring managers with new employees’ recruitment, onboarding, and training. Our goal is to improve employee retention through recognizing and hiring quality talent and ensuring they reach their potential inside the company as quickly as possible.

As an HR consultant, you provide consultation and play an active role in recruiting, onboarding, and training. The requirement cycle might also include helping with evaluating new employees through the new-employee survey.

You will also advise the HR department on effective sourcing of online candidates and recognizing the best potential during live interviews (in-person or online.)

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with recruiters and create effective recruitment HR strategies
  • Advice on updating existing job descriptions to make them more enticing
  • Advice on sourcing candidates from various channels such as social media and recruitment websites (both full-time candidates and contractors)
  • Help with attracting passive candidates
  • Providing advice on tactics for resume and candidate screening
  • Help create effective recruit advertisements for social media
  • Advice on improving the company’s position on 3rd party company review websites
  • Assist with onboarding and training of new employees
  • Guidance on effective evaluation of new employees
  • Advice on activating new employees and helping them achieve their potential

Requirements

  • Excellent working knowledge as an HR recruiter or a similar role
  • Thorough understanding of applicant tracking systems
  • Experience with sourcing tactics
  • Experience with training new candidates
  • Experience with onboarding new candidates
  • Familiar with the latest hiring trends
  • Solid knowledge of corresponding HR tasks
  • BA degree in human resources management or relevant field

HR Consultant Job Description Example – People Analytics

We are looking for an HR consultant specializing in human resource analytics to help our HR analytics team improve current tactics and tools. The goal is to collect data more efficiently and create productive reports to assist stakeholders with decision-making.

We expect the HR consultant to help with employee performance, recruitment, retention, and legal compliance data collection. There are no supervisory duties.

Responsibilities

  • Consult and advise on collecting and effectively storing HR metrics and data for future use
  • Consult on best data sources, including the company’s HRIS but also surveys, interviews, and 3rd party websites
  • Help with creating practical tools such as different surveys and interviews
  • Consult on effective data analysis in Excel and SPSS
  • Help with preparing intuitive and straightforward reports for stakeholders
  • Identify possible weak points in the company’s current system and advise on improving
  • Help pinpoint key performance metrics (KPI)
  • Possibly assist HR leadership with recruiting and budget advising

Requirements

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Excellent analytical skills
  • Great understanding of local, state, and federal laws regarding human resources
  • MS Office and SPSS proficiency
  • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field required.
  • +3 years of experience in HR and analytics
  • Any people analytics certification preferred

FAQs

Here you’ll find the most common questions and answers for HR consultants.

What questions should I ask an HR consultant in an interview?

To assess an HR consultant’s capabilities, ask them to describe moments where they had to solve a sudden issue with a tight deadline. Furthermore, ask them to give you an example of a solution that saved the money for the client. You want to focus on questions that will force the candidate to tell you about the benefits resulting from their actions.

Why do companies hire HR consultants?

HR consultants provide professional consulting services that often help improve the company’s current HR operations. Since an HR consultant is often a 3rd contractor, they usually have a much better overview of HR activities and can provide more objective solutions.

author-image
Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter is the founder of HR.University. He's a certified HR professional and has managed global teams across 5 different continents including their benefits and payroll. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.