Chief Human Resources Officer Programme
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Chief Human Resources Officer Programme: shape workforce strategy to power enterprise growth
The Chief Human Resources Officer Programme from Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education is a transformational leadership programme designed for senior HR leaders who want to strengthen HR strategy, leadership development and people strategy to drive organisational growth. Built for leaders shaping the future of work, the programme helps you expand your influence in the boardroom, navigate complex workforce challenges and create lasting value through people leadership.
You will benefit from the latest thought leadership from Cambridge Judge Business School's Centre for International Human Resources Management and engage with faculty and guest speakers through live webinars. By collaborating with a global peer group, receiving regular personal coaching and applying your learning through a practical project, you will develop the strategic mindset, leadership capabilities and confidence to lead transformative people agendas that drive sustained organisational impact.
What will you learn in the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme?
Key takeaways
Strategic thinking: apply new frameworks and management techniques to appreciate and address the organisational challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Workforce leadership: implement new approaches for leading and inspiring a modern workforce.
Board influence: influence board-level discussions effectively on strategic issues that relate to the people side of an organisation to improve strategic alignment.
Workforce strategy: design strategies to empower your workforce in a continuously changing world.
Responsible leadership: act critically on the societal expectations for your organisation and the social responsibilities of a contemporary chief human resources officer (CHRO).
Responsible AI: leverage AI responsibly to improve workforce strategy, decision-making and innovation in line with organisational goals.
Predictive insights: apply psychometric tools and generate predictive insights that align people strategy with business goals.
People analytics: build or scale a people analytics function, design ethical experiments and address organisational challenges using data.
Learning journey
How is the curriculum structured?
Core modules | Online
Phase 1 — Work in the 21st Century
Module 1: Reimagining the Organisation in the 21st Century
Explore HR’s strategic role in addressing digital disruption and workforce transformation.
Module 2: Work Motivation and Performance
Redesign performance management to motivate and engage hybrid teams.
Module 3: Managing Well-being
Build holistic well-being strategies that enhance engagement and equity across remote and hybrid environments.
Module 4: Managing teams: remotely, hybrid and face-to-face
Strengthen team collaboration by communicating effectively, navigating conflict and leveraging informal networks.
Phase 2 — Aligning Strategy and Human Resources
Module 5: Growth, co-opetition strategies and managing alliances
Develop strategies for alliances, M&A integration and partnerships that drive sustainable organisational growth.
Module 6: Strategic Transformation and the Role of HR
Align strategy and structure by building competency in organisational transformation and applying frameworks such as McKinsey’s 7S.
Module 7: Strategies for generating innovation responsibly and impactfully
Balance creativity and accountability by applying responsible innovation practices that drive positive impact.
Module 8: Management Fads and Fashions
Evaluate management trends to adopt sustainable approaches that enhance organisational performance.
Module 9: Looking Backwards to Go Forwards
Use organisational identity and storytelling to craft authentic narratives that inspire change and continuity.
Phase 3 — Crafting Organisational Context for Trust and Creativity
Module 10: Making Sense of Organisational Culture
Analyse how underlying cultural assumptions shape business performance and employee experience.
Module 11: How to Manage or Change Your Organisation’s Culture
Design and implement culture change initiatives aligned with strategic objectives and values.
Module 12: Building, Maintaining and Restoring Trust
Foster trust, navigate crises and build resilient organisations grounded in transparency and credibility.
Module 13: The Craft of Creativity — Part One
Generate, test and refine innovative ideas using structured creative thinking frameworks.
Module 14: The Craft of Creativity — Part Two
Evaluate creativity ecosystems, identify blockers and create actionable 100-day plans for innovation success.
Phase 4 — The Good Organisation
Module 15: Effectively Managing Your Stakeholders
Map and prioritise stakeholders, design engagement strategies and enhance your influence as a senior HR leader.
Module 16: How to Embed ESG Principles Inside Your Organisation
Embed ESG frameworks into your people strategy to create inclusive, responsible and high-performing workplaces.
Module 17: Doing good and doing it well
Advance ESG initiatives with a focus on scalability, employee engagement and measurable social impact.
Module 18: The Responsibilities of the HR leader
Define the evolving scope and strategic influence of the CHRO role in shaping organisational performance and culture.
People Analytics: Transforming HR Strategy with Data Science | Online
This eight-week specialised component equips HR and business leaders to align people strategy with organisational goals through data-led decision-making. You will explore how people analytics combines data science and psychological insight to address workforce challenges, strengthen strategic alignment and improve organisational outcomes.
The specialised component draws on research from the University’s Psychometrics Centre and helps you develop the skills to build or scale a people analytics function, design ethical experiments and apply workforce data to real organisational challenges. You will also generate predictive insights to support effective people and business decisions.
Online elective — Choose any one
As part of the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme, you can undertake one elective from a selection of topics that supplement the core curriculum. This elective facilitates deeper exploration of the role of people operations in the modern, rapidly transforming workplace, as well as data-informed strategies for transformative leadership.
Executive Presence and Leadership for Influence
Lead with a stronger presence that earns trust, drives impact, helps you strengthen your leadership brand and elevate your visibility.
Digital Transformation: From Strategy to Execution
Design and implement digital initiatives that transform business operations in a rapidly evolving environment.
Strategic Thinking for the CXO: Platforms, Ecosystems and AI-Driven Strategies
Identify critical inflection points and deploy strategies that drive organisational change.
Mastering Change Management: Building Resilient and Adaptable Organisations
Lead your organisation through change by fostering resilience and adapting to market shifts.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: DEI Strategies for Business Impact
Implement DEI strategies that create measurable impact, strengthen culture and enhance brand perception.
Steering Complex Projects
Lead complex projects, align them with strategic goals and build organisational capabilities for predictable success.
Note: The electives mentioned are tentative and subject to change.
An in-person capstone module in Cambridge (two and a half days)
Meet your cohort peers and faculty in Cambridge during a two-and-a-half-day in-person capstone module. During this module, you will get the opportunity to complete your capstone project and interact with peers and faculty to create a lifelong community of global executives*.
*Participants must attend the in-person capstone module to complete the programme and receive the certificate of completion.
Live online (6 sessions)
Work in the 21st Century: The Evolving Role of the CHRO: Examine how the role of the CHRO needs to be elevated to reflect the increasingly strategic value of HR in the 21st century.
Aligning Strategy and People Management: Taking Stock of Hybrid Work, and Linking Strategy to HR: Focus on hybrid work and the alignment between organisational strategy and people management.
Aligning Strategy and People Management: Exploring Craft in Your Organisation in the Age of AI: Explore the notion of craft to help understand how we can enhance the value of human touch in our organisations in the context of growing automation through artificial intelligence.
Crafting an Organisational Context for Creativity: Analyse trust and creativity as elements of the organisational context.
The Good Organisation: Fostering Retention and Strengthening the Employer Brand through CSR: Explore the role of corporate social responsibility in retention and employer branding.
Programme Wrap-Up: The CHRO of the Future: Reflect on the CHRO role and how it may evolve going forward.
Note: Session topics are indicative and are subject to change.
AI-focused live online sessions
You will gain access to a series of AI-focused live online sessions that explore the latest developments in artificial intelligence and their implications for organisations. Led by subject matter experts, these sessions examine emerging AI technologies, responsible adoption and practical leadership considerations, helping you understand how AI is reshaping decision-making, work and organisational strategy.
Session 1 — From Orchestration to Autonomy: Leveraging Agentic AI for Innovation
Analyse the shift from AI orchestration to fully agentic systems capable of autonomous reasoning, planning and execution. Examine how organisations can harness agentic AI to drive innovation, redesign workflows and unlock new value while addressing the technical, operational and governance considerations that come with increased autonomy.
Session 2 — Our AI Future
This interactive session explores the transformative possibilities of AI in the coming years, examining how advances in intelligence, autonomy and reasoning could reshape business and society.
Session 3 — Copyright and Creativity with Gen AI
Examine the evolving intersection of copyright law and creative practice in the age of generative AI (gen AI). Through real-world examples and emerging legal guidance, explore questions of ownership, authorship and fair use while highlighting how creators and organisations can responsibly harness gen AI tools.
Session 4 — Measuring AI Portfolios as Strategic Assets
Explore the key principles to manage the AI value chain and deliver value to the organisation, customers, society and employees.
Session 5 — Designing Leadership in the Age of AI
As AI capabilities double every four months, leaders face a defining question: what should we automate, where should we augment and what must remain distinctly human? Drawing on the latest research, this session introduces a practical framework for AI delegation, showing how thoughtful integration of gen AI can boost decision quality, reduce leadership fatigue by up to 50% and protect the uniquely human capabilities that drive trust, judgement and organisational performance. You will leave with a clear operating model for redesigning work, enabling AI to expand leadership impact.
Session 6 — Managing the AI-Enabled Workplace
In a world where employees and managers increasingly rely on data and AI to perform and coordinate work, leadership itself is being reshaped. As AI becomes embedded in everyday workflows, managers must evaluate AI-assisted work, maintain accountability when algorithms inform decisions and balance data-driven insights with human expertise and professional judgement. At the same time, the growing use of algorithmic management raises important questions about fairness, transparency, privacy and employee trust.
Note: Session topics are indicative and are subject to change.
How does the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme use applied learning?
The Chief Human Resources Officer Programme combines academic research with practical learning experiences that help you apply new ideas to your organisation's people and business priorities. Throughout the programme, you will engage in faculty sessions, guest lectures, peer learning and practical exercises that reinforce key concepts. You will also develop an HR playbook for your organisation, enabling you to translate programme insights into actionable strategies for workforce leadership and organisational impact.
Key programme features
Core curriculum
Kick-start your learning with 18 weeks of in-depth core sessions on HR strategy, leadership training and culture building.
Action plan
Complete practical exercises at the end of each module, and apply your learning by creating an HR playbook for your organisation.
Success coach
Craft your learning journey in line with your career goals with a success coach assigned to your cohort.
World-class faculty
Learn from global thought leaders and cutting-edge researchers.
Peer interaction
Engage with high-achieving peers from around the globe and grow your network.
Minimal weekly commitment
Learn at your own pace with a weekly commitment of three to five hours.
Practitioner insights
Glean insights from global industry experts with guest lectures throughout the programme.
In-person capstone module
Interact with faculty, peers and global industry leaders during the in-person capstone module and certificate ceremony.
Programme completion benefits
Earn select Cambridge Judge Business School benefits upon completion of the programme.
Action plan
Throughout the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme, you will apply key concepts from each module to develop an HR playbook for your organisation. You will:
Complete practical exercises throughout the programme that form the basis of your organisation's HR playbook
Use faculty live sessions, webinars and the Slack channel to ask questions and exchange ideas with your peers and success coach
Present your completed action plan to your cohort upon successful completion of the programme
Develop a practical HR playbook that can support proposals for new HR initiatives to your organisation's board of directors
Meet the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme faculty
THOMAS ROULET
Co-Academic CHRO Programme Director; Professor of Organisational Sociology and Leadership
Thomas Roulet is a social scientist who researches and teaches how individuals and organisations can lead social change and adapt to a changing workplace. His main research in...
JOCHEM KROEZEN
Co-Academic CHRO Programme Director; Fellow (Organisational Theory and Information Systems)
Jochem Kroezen is an Honorary Fellow (Organisational Theory and Information Systems) at Cambridge Judge Business School and Associate Professor at Rotterdam School of Manageme...
Shahzad Ansari
Professor of Strategy & Innovation, Professorial Fellow of St Edmund’s College
Andrzej Moyseowicz
Guest Lecturer, Innovation Partner at freemavens
Allègre Hadida
Associate Professor in Strategy, Fellow of Magdalene College
Simon Learmount
Associate Professor in Corporate Governance, Fellow of the Centre for Business Research (CBR), Fellow of Pembroke College
Christopher Marquis
Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management
Lionel Paolella
Professor of the Social Sciences and Organisations
Jennifer Howard Grenville
Diageo Professor in Organisation Studies, Deputy Editor of Academy of Management Journal
Who is the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme for?
Senior HR executives preparing for a CHRO role | Build the strategic leadership and executive influence needed to transition confidently into the CHRO role. |
HR leaders driving transformation or ESG agendas | Lead workforce transformation and organisational change in an increasingly digital and AI-enabled workplace. |
Functional heads seeking broader leadership influence | Build boardroom influence by connecting workforce priorities, organisational strategy and business performance. |
Participants should preferably have:
More than 10 years of work experience in HR
Accomplished work experience in functional, technical or business roles
An agenda for change
Past participant profiles
Diverse industries
A wide range of work experience
A global cohort
Credentials and outcomes: Chief Human Resources Officer Programme
Certificate
Upon successful completion of the programme, participants will be awarded a certificate of completion in Cambridge by Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education.
Programme completion benefits
Earn select Cambridge Judge Business School benefits upon completion of the programme, including:
Access to Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education’s Leader’s Club network
Access to regular newsletters with updates on the latest research, activities and events at the school
Discounts on future CJBS Executive Education open-enrolment programmes
Invitations to worldwide networking events, including in-person events and webinars
FAQs
Programme
What is the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme?
The Chief Human Resources Officer Programme is an executive education programme from Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education designed for senior HR leaders seeking to strengthen their strategic leadership capabilities. The programme explores topics that include human resources management, people strategy, people analytics, digital transformation and organisational leadership in order to prepare participants for the evolving CHRO role.
Who is the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme for?
The programme is designed for senior HR executives, heads of HR or people operations, and functional leaders seeking greater strategic influence. It is particularly suited to professionals looking to strengthen their leadership capabilities, contribute more effectively to organisational strategy and prepare for broader executive responsibilities.
What will I learn in the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme?
You will explore topics that include strategy and human resources, organisational culture, people analytics, talent management, workforce planning, responsible leadership and AI-informed decision-making. The programme also examines practical approaches to organisational transformation and leading people in hybrid and evolving workplaces.
How does the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme prepare me for the CHRO role?
The programme helps you develop the strategic perspective required of today's CHRO. You will learn to align people strategy with organisational priorities, influence senior stakeholders, apply data-informed decision-making and address the workforce challenges facing modern organisations.
Can I take more than the specified electives?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to take more electives than the specified number. The electives are designed to help you gain specialised skills in areas that are aligned with your career, so that you can dedicate your time to focus on learning and honing those skills.
Learning journey
What is the HR playbook?
The HR playbook is a practical action plan developed throughout the programme. It is built through module exercises and enables you to apply programme concepts to your organisation's people priorities and HR initiatives before presenting your completed action plan to your cohort.
What happens during the in-person capstone module?
The two-and-a-half-day capstone module in Cambridge provides opportunities to interact with faculty and peers, complete your capstone project and participate in the programme's certificate ceremony. You must attend the capstone module to complete the programme and receive your certificate.
Does the programme include networking opportunities?
Yes. Throughout the programme, you will engage with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education faculty, guest speakers and an international cohort through live online sessions, peer learning and the in-person capstone module, creating opportunities to exchange ideas and build lasting professional relationships.
I have a full-time job. What is the time commitment expected from me?
The Chief Human Resources Officer Programme has been designed with your busy schedule in mind. You will be required to commit not more than three to five hours per week, enabling you to benefit from this transformative programme while balancing your work responsibilities. The impactful programme offers a blend of self-paced modules and live interactions.
How do the live sessions work?
Live sessions are conducted online each week and feature renowned faculty, industry experts and global peers. You can participate in these sessions and use the Slack channel to ask questions and discuss ideas with your success coach and cohort participants. Real-world examples and a debrief of the programme learnings are delivered through a combination of recorded videos and live online lectures.
How long will it take to complete this programme?
The Chief Human Resources Officer Programme can typically be completed in about nine to 12 months, depending on the schedule of the in-person module.
Does the programme offer closed-captioning for videos included in the curriculum?
Yes, we provide closed-captioning and transcripts for all pre-recorded videos as well as closed-captioning for recordings of live sessions.
Certificate
What will I receive after successfully completing the programme?
Upon successful completion of the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme you will receive a certificate of completion from Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education.
Are there any programme completion benefits?
Yes. Upon successful completion, you gain access to selected Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education benefits, including the Leader's Club network, alumni newsletters, invitations to networking events and webinars, and discounts on future Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education open-enrolment programmes.
Payment process
What is included in the programme fee?
The programme fee covers teaching fee, all academic material and access to online coursework. The fee does not include accommodation for the in-person capstone module, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fees and more) and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fee.
Is there any discount or financial aid?
You can pay the full programme fee upfront or pay in easy instalments. If you apply well in advance of the programme start date, you can receive a programme fee benefit. If you believe you may qualify for other discounts, please check with your programme adviser to confirm the applicable discount that will provide the greatest benefit and whether there are specific terms and conditions for use. If you would like to approach your organisation with a sponsorship request for this programme, here is a customisable template that you can use.
Who will be collecting the payment for the programme?
Emeritus collects all programme payments, provides learner enrolment and programme support, and manages learning platform services.
Are there any restrictions on the types of funding that can be used to pay for the programme?
Programme fees for Emeritus programmes with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education & Emeritus may not be paid for with (a) funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008 or similar types of military education funding benefits or (b) Title IV financial aid funds.
Refund
For the programme refund and deferral policy, please click the link here.
Accessibility
How does Emeritus support accessibility for learners?
Emeritus is committed to making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies and governments around the world. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to discuss available support options before enrolling, please contact accessibility@emeritus.org. For more information about our accessibility practices, please review our Accessibility Policy here.
Connect with a programme adviser for a 1:1 session
Our programme advisers have helped senior executives around the world choose the right programme for their career goals. Schedule a 1:1 to get a deeper understanding on why the Chief Human Resources Officer Programme is the right fit for you.
Email: cambridge_chro@emeritus.org
Phone: +44 1786 649936 (UK) / +971 80 0088601097 (UAE) / +1 573 527 3654 (USA) / +52 55970 73870 (LATAM) / 000 8009191970 (India*) / +65 3138 1820 (SG)
*If you are dialing the India number, please make sure to include the first three zeros (000).
Early applications are encouraged. Admissions are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Flexible payment options available.
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