Senior People Professional Level 7

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Summary

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 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 getting the best out of people, delivering great organisational outcomes.

An employee in this occupation interacts with a range of stakeholders, creating medium to long-term value. 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.

Ideal candidates

This advanced level qualification is ideal if you have significant HR experience and want to progress to strategic senior managerial roles such as HR Manager, Head of HR and HR Director.

It can also benefit those who operate independently and work directly with clients, such as HR Consultants.

Course structure

Mandatory

Group A

Unit 7CO01: Work and working lives in a changing business environment
Unit 7CO02: People management and development strategies for performance
Unit 7CO03: Personal effectiveness, ethics and business acumen
Unit 7CO04: Business research in people practice

Group B

Unit 7HR01: Strategic employment relations
Unit 7HR02: Resourcing and talent management to sustain success
Unit 7HR03: Strategic reward management

Optional

Group C

Unit 7LD01: Organisational design and development
Unit 7OS01: Advanced employment law in practice
Unit 7OS02: Learning and development practice
Unit 7OS03: Technology enhanced learning
Unit 7OS04: Advanced diversity and inclusion
Unit 7OS05: Managing people in an international context
Unit 7OS06: Well-being at work

Knowledge, Skills, Behaviours

Organisational Performance – delivering a long-term purpose

Strategy

Knows how to shape organisational vision, culture and values. Understands organisational structures; business modelling; diversity; global perspectives; governance and accountability; the external environment, social, technological and policy implications.

Understands new market strategies, changing customer demands and trend analysis.

Innovation & Change

Understands innovation; the impact of disruptive technologies (mechanisms that challenge traditional business methods and practices); drivers of change and new ways of working across infrastructure, processes, people and culture and sustainability.

Knowledge of systems thinking, knowledge/data management, and programme management.

Enterprise & Risk

Knowledge of ethics and values-based leadership; regulatory environments, legal, H&S and well-being and compliance requirements; corporate social responsibility; risk management, environmental impact and cybersecurity.

Understands competitive strategies and entrepreneurialism, approaches to effective decision making, and the use of big data and insight to implement and manage change.

Finance

Understands financial strategies including scenarios, modeling and identifying trends, application of economic theory to decision-making, and how to evaluate financial and non-financial information.

Understands financial governance and legal requirements, and procurement strategies.

Interpersonal Excellence – leading people and developing collaborative relationships

Leading & Developing People

Knowledge of organisational/team dynamics and how to build engagement and develop high-performance, agile and collaborative cultures.

Understands approaches to strategic workforce planning including talent management, learning organisations, workforce design, succession planning, diversity and inclusion.

Developing Collaborative Relationships

Understands large-scale and inter-organisational influencing and negotiation strategies.

Knowledge of the external political environment and use of diplomacy with diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders.

Understands working with board and company structures.

Knowledge of brand and reputation management.

Organisational Performance – delivering a long-term purpose

Strategy

Use of horizon scanning and conceptualisation to deliver high-performance strategies focusing on growth/sustainable outcomes. Sets a clear agenda and gains support from key stakeholders. Able to undertake research, and critically analyse and integrate complex information.

Innovation and Change

Initiates and leads change in the organisation, creates an environment for innovation and creativity, establishing the value of ideas and change initiatives and drives continuous improvement. Able to manage conflict. Manages partnerships, people and resources effectively, and measures outcomes. Acts where needed as a Sponsor, championing projects and transformation of services across organisational boundaries.

Enterprise and Risk

Challenge strategies and operations in terms of ethics, responsibility, sustainability, resource allocation and business continuity/risk management. Application of principles relating to Corporate Social Responsibility, Governance, Regulatory compliance. Drives a culture of resilience and supports development of new enterprise and opportunities.

Finance

Oversees financial strategies/management, results and setting organisational budgets, and challenges financial assumptions underpinning strategies. Is accountable for decisions based on relevant information e.g. Key Performance Indicators/scorecard. Uses financial data to allocate resources. Oversees procurement, supply chain management and contracts.

Interpersonal Excellence – leading people and developing collaborative relationships

Engaging Employees

Uses personal presence and “storytelling” to articulate and translate vision into operational strategies, demonstrating clarity in thinking and using inspirational communication. Creates an inclusive culture, encouraging diversity and difference. Gives and receives feedback at all levels, building confidence and developing trust, and enables people to take risks.

Leading and Developing People

Enables an open and high performance working, and sets goals and accountabilities for teams and individuals. Leads and influences people, building constructive working relationships across teams, using matrix management where required. Ensures workforce skills are utilised, balancing people and technical skills and encouraging continual development.

Building Collaborative Relationships

Manages complex relationships across multiple and diverse stakeholders. Builds trust and rapport, with the ability to positively challenge. Leads beyond area of control/authority, and able to influence, negotiate and use advocacy skills to build a reputation and effective collaborations.

Personal and interpersonal effectiveness

Leads by Example

Has high levels of self-awareness, emotional and social intelligence, empathy and compassion, and able to identify mental well-being in others. Works collaboratively enabling empowerment and delegation. Acts with humility and authenticity is credible, confident and resilient.

Judgement and Challenge

Takes personal accountability aligned to clear values. Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to challenge when making decisions and solving problems. Instils confidence demonstrating honesty, integrity, openness, and trust.

Courage & Curiosity

Is confident and brave, willing to innovate, seeks new ideas and looks for contingencies. Manages complexity and ambiguity, is comfortable in uncertainty, and is pragmatic.

Valuing Difference

Engaging with all – is ethical and demonstrates inclusivity, recognising diversity, championing, and enabling cultural inclusion. Empowers and motivates to inspire and support others.

Professional

Reflects on own performance, demonstrates professional standards in relation behaviour and ongoing development. Advocates the use of good practice within and outside the organisation.

Examinations

A two-stage assessment based on:

a 120 minute professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence
a 7000 word project proposal with a 20 minute presentation and 40 minutes question session.

Professional recognition

This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:

CIPD for Chartered Member

Benefits

Advanced level qualifications are ideal if you have significant HR experience and want to progress to strategic senior managerial roles at the highest company levels. They can also benefit those who operate independently and work directly with clients, such as HR Consultants.

The Senior People apprenticeship will help you learn how to develop and deploy cutting-edge HR tactics – helping you hone your strategic skills and gain specialist knowledge.

Overview

Duration

Training: 28 Months
End Point Assessment: 3 Months

Enrolment

Enrolling now subject to suitability

Funding

Levy – £19,000 deducted from your digital account
Non-Levy – 95% Government funded, £950 employer contribution

Level of Apprenticeship

Level 7

Gateway

Upon completion of your training, you will need to pass through the Gateway to enter the End Point Assessment.

Gateway requirements:

Maths & English (Level 2/Grade C/4 or equivalent)

All training will be provided for the above Gateway requirements, if not previously achieved. For exemption of these aims, we will require evidence of certification at enrolment.