What HR Roles are in High Demand in Ireland Right Now?
| As Director of HR Hire, I’ve been watching the Irish HR landscape evolve at a pace I don’t think any of us could have anticipated even a few short years ago |
As Director of HR Hire, I’ve been watching the Irish HR landscape evolve at a pace I don’t think any of us could have anticipated even a few short years ago. What strikes me most is not just the speed of change, but the shifting expectations of what HR is here to do. Irish organisations are increasingly looking at HR not simply as an operational support, but as a central enabler of culture, strategy, and transformation. That perspective is reshaping the types of HR roles employers are prioritising, as well as the skills required to lead people and organisations in 2025.
HR in Ireland 2025: A Strategic Enabler
We’re finding the HR market has shifted to more strategic recruitment requirements in HR; this is down to the increasing role HR has in both strategy design and enablement in Irish organisations. With that comes demand for more strategic leadership roles and a leaning towards strategy-savvy HR trusted partners.
However, alongside this demand for strategic leaders, employers are also seeking highly skilled HR operations professionals who can bring advanced people analytics, workforce planning expertise, and the ability to interface proactively with HR technology.
The third major growth area is Total Rewards Organisations now recognise that competitive, market-leading total reward strategies are crucial for attraction and retention. From pay and benefits through to flexible working models, employees expect forward-thinking approaches, and employers and employers are asking HR Hire to find Total Reward specialists who can deliver this for their organisations. This is probably the most competitive hiring area we work in at the moment and employers are willing to raise the salary bar for highly-numerate and globally experienced reward specialists.
Finally, wellbeing and engagement have firmly established themselves as non-negotiables. Once talent is attracted and onboarded, employee wellbeing programmes and engagement strategies play a critical role in retention. As a result, dedicated roles in wellbeing and engagement are now embedded within most HR structures in Ireland.
Which HR Roles Are Irish Employers Prioritising?
Irish employers are actively recruiting across these key HR functions:
Strategic HR Leadership – HR Director, Head of People & Culture, HR Business Partner (Strategic)
HR Operations and Technology – HRIS Specialist, HR Operations Manager, People Analytics Lead, Workforce Planning Specialist
Total Rewards and Compensation – Reward Manager, Compensation & Benefits Specialist, Head of Total Rewards
Employee Engagement and Wellbeing – Employee Engagement Manager, Wellbeing Officer, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Specialist
What This Means for Employers and HR Professionals
For employers, this shift means prioritising HR hiring with a focus on finding talent which directly enables business strategy. HR leaders have long challenged the view of HR as a 'back-office function'. Astute organisations now have an understanding of how the HR/ People function underpins the success of a business, and this is reflected in the roles now in high demand.
These are roles that design, influence, and execute strategies around talent, culture, and workforce effectiveness.
For HR professionals, it’s an exciting opportunity. The demand for both strategic and operational expertise opens multiple career pathways, from driving cultural transformation to mastering HR technology and data.
The HR candidates HR Hire works with, predominantly seek a voice in an organisation and a role in enabling a high-performance culture, implementing well-thought out and employee-centric strategies and a focus on long-term sustainability. If an organisation is not speaking to their values, HR employees will find an organisation that does, while also matching their career aspirations.
From my conversations with clients, it’s clear that HR is not just keeping pace with organisational change, it’s helping to drive it. Whether it’s shaping strategic direction, designing forward thinking Total Rewards strategies, building advanced people analytics capability, or embedding wellbeing and engagement into the employee experience, HR in Ireland has never been more influential.
At HR Hire we see our role as connecting exceptional HR talent with the organisations that need them most, so that together they can shape workplaces where people and businesses thrive. The HR professional in Ireland is increasingly elevating their role in the businesses they serve, by professionally adding to their skillsets and meeting the challenges of an agile workplace. This makes for a really exciting time for HR and we are invested in seeing the continuing progression of the HR profession, as it shapes the people and culture landscape in Ireland.
