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.
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.
