Supermarket giant Tesco is offering a massive £300,000 salary plus bonuses as it starts its search for a new group HR director, Personnel Today can reveal.
The HR job – the biggest in the private sector – is up for grabs after Clare Chapman accepted the role of director-general of workforce at the Department of Health.
The news confirms that Chapman took a serious cut in overall earnings to join the public sector in probably the most high-profile and challenging HR job in the UK. She will now earn between £200,000 and £220,000 for overseeing the people management of 1.3 million staff – a number that dwarfs Tesco’s 270,000 employees.
Tesco has employed an executive headhunting firm to cold call a shortlist of potential candidates. They are told the salary details, but only find out the employer is Tesco if they say they are interested in the post.
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Tesco would not comment on the recruitment process.
The HR director does not automatically get a seat on the board at Tesco, unlike other major functions. However, the role reports directly into chief executive Sir Terry Leahy.
