Specialist Diploma in HR Management
Build your capability as a trusted HR partner with this Specialist Diploma. Develop pragmatic approaches to creating HR solutions that are underpinned by best practice, compliance, and recent case law. With experience, salaries for senior HR roles reach six-figure levels.
Why UCD Professional Academy?
- Valuable, trusted qualification
- Industry expert lecturers
- Flexible live online learning

Last places remaining for upcoming courses. Don't miss out!
Course Information for HR Management
€3,000Secure your place with a 5% deposit and pay the rest in instalments. Flexible payment options available.
Enrol now with a 5% deposit Download brochureShowing dates for: May - Sep 2022
Starts 19 May - Ends 27 Oct 2022
Part-time
Live online lectures with an industry expert
24 weeks: One 3 hour lecture per week
Thursdays, 6.30pm - 9.30pm
Starts 17 Aug - Ends 08 Mar 2023
Part-time
Live online lectures with an industry expert
24 weeks: One 3 hour lecture per week
Wednesdays, 6.30pm - 9.30pm
Starts 22 Sep - Ends 16 Mar 2023
Part-time
Live online lectures with an industry expert
24 weeks: One 3 hour lecture per week
Thursdays, 6.30pm - 9.30pm
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UPDATED FOR 2021
Specialist Diploma in HR course content and learning outcomes
Develop your ability to deliver customer service-led best practice and create HR solutions for leaders, managers, and employees regardless of role level or industry. Understand HR’s key trends and emerging themes.
What will I learn about HR?

This advanced course will teach you best practice, approaches and strategies, recent case law, relevant legislation, and emerging trends in your sector. You will learn how to drive high performance within the HR function and across an organisation to enhance its competitive advantage, employer brand, and employee retention. You will understand how to use global HR research, trends, and technology to deliver a cutting-edge HR service in public or private organisations.
Or browse our wide range of expert-led online courses and grow your career potential today.

HR Course Modules:
Course Introduction
Course Introduction
Learn what to expect on the course, including aims, trends and topics, and assessment. Understand how strategic HR can consistently add value through a best practice approach spanning the employee lifecycle.
- Course objectives
- Key trends in HR
- Leader focus
- Assessment overview and essay brief
Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning
Learn about best practice approaches to planning for a post-pandemic ‘hybrid office’.
- Planning for the 'hybrid office'
- Planning process steps and flowchart
- Data analytics
Talent Acquisition - Candidate Attraction & Experience
Talent Acquisition - Candidate Attraction & Experience
earn how to attract and welcome talent while making use of the latest technologies and platforms as you deliver a strong employer brand.
- Artificial intelligence and technology
- Online platforms and advertising channels
- Creating a great candidate experience
- Building a strong employer brand
Talent Acquisition - Competency & Skills Selection
Talent Acquisition - Competency & Skills Selection
Discover the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), psychometric testing and other tests in recruitment. Learn to make sense of skills and competencies during selection processes.
- Pre-screening
- AI, aptitude testing, and psychometrics
- Fair selection process - employment legislation
- Skills and competency selection techniques
Talent Acquisition - Pre-Employment Checks, Offer Management & Candidate Feedback
Talent Acquisition - Pre-Employment Checks, Offer Management & Candidate Feedback
Learn best practice and relevant legislation during pre-employment steps. Discover strategies for managing candidate offers and how to develop great candidate experience and employer brand through feedback.
- References, medical, and criminal checks
- Best practice and legislation
- External versus internal: managing offers
- Beating the competition
- Driving great candidate experience
- Employer brand
Employment Contracts
Employment Contracts
Understand the dos and don’ts of employment legislation and contracts, especially when it comes to remote working, fixed-term contracts, and contingency workers.
- Remote working legislation
- Employment contract legislation
- Types of contracts
New Joiner Experience & Remote Onboarding
New Joiner Experience & Remote Onboarding
Learn how to create great onboarding experiences for new employees, in the office and remotely.
- Great new joiner experiences
- Remote working onboarding
- Designing a great induction programme
Probation Management
Probation Management
Learn how best to manage probation and underperformance during probation.
- Probation legislation and case law
- Best practice probation management
- Managing underperformance during probation
Performance Development Culture
Performance Development Culture
Discover approaches for fostering and supporting a high-performance organisation. Learn to drive a culture of trust, partnership, and employee ownership.
- The performance management cycle
- Performance evaluation descriptors and approaches
Managing Underperformance - Coaching & Feedback
Managing Underperformance - Coaching & Feedback
Understand how you can support leaders and employees to address underperformance, including models that aid with difficult conversations.
- Coaching models
- Feedback models
- Leadership and executive development
Career Framework Design
Career Framework Design
Learn best practices in designing a career framework that supports the organisation.
- Designing career ladders
- Building objective fair descriptor content
- Role and level grading methodology
Talent Management & Succession Planning
Talent Management & Succession Planning
Discover ways to ensure continued business success through talent, including how effective succession planning leads to engagement and retention.
- Succession planning overview
- Six box grid model
- Competency and skills model
Reward Elements - Compensation & Benefits
Reward Elements - Compensation & Benefits
Understand the legal framework for compensation and benefits, and how reward elements are used strategically to attract and retain talent.
- Statutory compensation and benefits
- Discretionary compensation and benefits
- Attract and retain talent
Reward Framework Design
Reward Framework Design
Go beyond compensation basics by learning how to design frameworks that support HR strategies.
- Designing compensation and benefit structures
- Building descriptor content
- Link to career framework
Wellbeing & Recognition
Wellbeing & Recognition
Understand how effectively managing wellbeing and the right to disconnect – in particular, during the pandemic – helps employees find work/life balance.
- Wellbeing strategies and remote working
- Right to disconnect legislation
- Employee assistance programmes
Dignity At Work - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Dignity At Work - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Learn strategies and approaches for achieving an inclusive, diverse, and respectful organisation and culture, as well as ways to address bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment.
- Anti-discrimination legislation
- Driving a culture of dignity
- Types of harassment
Grievance Case Management
Grievance Case Management
Understand the legal background, formal best practice processes, and informal approaches to grievance procedures.
- Legislation and case law overview
- Informal resolution strategies
- Formal case management
Disciplinary Case Management
Disciplinary Case Management
Understand the legal background, formal best practice processes, and informal approaches to disciplinary procedures.
- Legislation and case law overview
- Informal resolution strategies
- Formal case management
Statutory Leave Management
Statutory Leave Management
Understand and manage time away from work, including maternal, parental, paternity, and parent’s leave legislation and management.
- Annual leave legislation and management
- Maternity leave legislation and management
- Other leave legislation and management
Sick Leave & Return To Work Management
Sick Leave & Return To Work Management
Learn compliance and best practice in relation to sick leave management.
- Sick leave legislation
- Sick leave management
- Return to work management
Organisational Design & Change Management
Organisational Design & Change Management
Unpack the complexities of change management and learn how to support an organisation and its employees through periods of change.
- Understanding employee response to change
- Communications and consultation planning
- Transition planning
- HR project management
Redundancy Consultation, Communication & Outplacement
Redundancy Consultation, Communication & Outplacement
Understand best practice and relevant legislation around redundancy management, including designing processes for collective consultation and fair selection.
- Redundancy legislation
- Collective consultation
- Selection for redundancy
- Outplacement support
Learning & Development Programme Design
Learning & Development Programme Design
Discover effective strategies for designing and evaluating learning and development programmes that support the business. Understand how L&D links with engagement and retention.
- Benefits of continuous employee development
- L&D strategies and programme design
- Evaluating L&D effectiveness
- Engagement and retention
Course Summary
Course Summary
During this review of the course content, you will discuss the key learnings and best practice, and prepare for your course assessment.
- Recap of key themes
- New legislation and emerging trends
- Course assessment review and Q&A

Industry-focused courses recognised by top companies worldwide
We offer ambitious professionals the opportunity to stay competitive and relevant in the changing workplace. Our courses are developed and delivered by experienced industry experts via an easy-to-use online study environment. This facilitates student-teacher interaction with live lectures delivered straight to your computer. Our friendly Student Services team is on hand to help.
98 of our students say they would take another course with us

Now includes exclusive access to thousands of journals, articles and papers. Free of charge.
Students taking part in this course will now have access to the EBSCO Online Library, free of charge, for the full duration of the course. Here you can browse thousands of books, relevant journal articles and other reliable academic and commercial texts like the Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes Magazine, to supplement your learning and assignments.
96 of our alumni would recommend us to friends and family
Have questions about the Specialist Diploma in HR?
Find out how this industry-focused course will give you the job-ready skills and knowledge to advance your career.
Is this course right for me?
This course is designed for professionals who already work within an HR team or in specialist HR functions. Content focuses on best practice, key trends, and emerging themes. The structure of the course encourages discussion and the exchange of ideas - enabling students to learn from their peers as well as from the lecturer. You must have already completed a foundation level course in HR (either theoretical or practical) or have previous experience working within an HR function.
How will this course help with my career?
This course is ideal for someone who already works in HR and is looking to gain a competitive edge when going for a promotion or new job. A Specialist Diploma on your CV will show you have up-to-date, relevant expertise that will bring instant value to an employer. Because the course structure promotes knowledge-sharing between peers in similar or different industries, you will also gain skills that are transferable between roles internally or when moving to different organisations or sectors.
What is the online learning experience like?
Our online experience is designed to be just as interactive, supportive, and inspiring as the UCD Professional Academy campus experience.
Online courses can be accessed from any computer or laptop with an internet connection.
Live lectures are delivered using Zoom. During these lectures, your teachers will use technology interactively to ensure an engaging learning experience. During the sessions, students are guided through lectures, breakouts with defined activities, and open discussions.
What is the student experience like?
Student care is a high priority at UCD Professional Academy, which is why our Student Services team is on hand to support you throughout your time with us. They will respond to any queries you have, help you with any technical issues, and facilitate your learning experience at every point. All students are given access to our Student Portal, where you can see your timetable, access all your study materials, and manage your account.
How is this course assessed?
This course is assessed through a learning log (40%) and written assignment (60%).
Your learning log is a reflective exercise which you will complete weekly during the course (except the final week). Each log should be 250 words, making you final learning log a total of 5,750 words.
You written assignment will be a 5,000-word essay on a course topic of your choice. You will have two weeks following the end of the course to complete and submit the assignment.
What are the benefits of a Specialist Diploma?
Specialist Diplomas are extended courses designed to provide learners with the in-depth skills and knowledge they will need to advance within their chosen professional area. They focus on embedding and extending professional skills and career prospects, rather than academic credentials.
With their tight focus and duration, these diplomas are stand-alone qualifications and not referenced to NFQ levels or university degree/certificate courses. They are not generally accepted for transfer credit onto academic courses but are widely recognised and valued by employers.
How do I get my diploma?
Your UCD Professional Academy Specialist Diploma will be issued electronically on a secure platform, with a link that you can share with employers and others wishing to verify your credentials. You can also add this qualification to your LinkedIn profile.
This Specialist Diploma is not on the National Framework of Qualifications as a credit-bearing course. This is not unusual for professional courses of this nature, where the need is for fresh and actionable skills immediately applicable in the workplace.
What payment options are available?
A place on any of our programmes can be secured with a 10% deposit.
For full-time (bootcamp) programmes, the balance must be paid in full before course commencement.
For part-time programmes students will be required to pay 45% of the fees before the start of the course, with the remaining balance due within 30 days of the course commencing.
Please note that standard terms and conditions apply, which you can review here: https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/terms-and-conditions/
Pricing
Specialist Diploma in HR Management
Go beyond HR basics with this active participation course that will immerse you in HR’s key trends and emerging themes.