HR, Marketing and Coaching · Awarded by OTHM
Level 7 Diploma in Human Resource Management
For HR professionals who want to argue for people strategy at board level with the same rigour the finance director brings to the numbers.
- LevelRQF Level 7Same level as a master's
- Credits120six units
- Qualification time1,200 hours600 guided learning hours
- Awarding bodyOTHMRegulated by Ofqual
- Ofqual number603/5897/XSearch the Ofqual register
- Duration9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track)Set by LSPM, confirmed on enquiry
- Study modesonline or blendedLive seminars, evenings and Saturdays
- FeesFrom £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track)Written quotation on enquiry
- Next intakeRolling intake — course starts when the fee is paidSet by LSPM
- AssessmentAssignmentsNo examinations
Who it is for
HR business partners and heads of people moving to strategic roles
The six units of this diploma describe the job of an HR director: Strategic Human Resource Management, Engagement of Employees and Organisational Learning, Leadership Development and Performance Management, Global Resourcing, Talent and Reward Management, Managing Employment Relations and Employment Law, and Business Research Methods to underpin the lot.
It suits HR business partners who advise senior leaders and want the theory behind their advice, heads of HR in growing organisations who are building a people function for the first time, and specialists in reward, talent or learning who want to move to a generalist director role.
It is a postgraduate-level academic qualification, not a professional body membership. Where it can support an application for professional recognition, that is for the body to say. The employment law unit covers principles and their strategic implications; it does not make you a legal adviser.
Structure
Six units, all mandatory
All six units are mandatory and are taken in a sequence LSPM sets. Unit titles and credit values are from the awarding body's specification.
Mandatory units All six required
| Unit | Credits |
|---|---|
| Strategic Human Resource Management | 20 |
| Engagement of Employees and Organisational Learning | 20 |
| Leadership Development and Performance Management | 20 |
| Global Resourcing, Talent and Reward Management | 20 |
| Managing Employment Relations and Employment Law | 20 |
| Business Research Methods | 20 |
| 120 credits from mandatory units. | |
Unit titles and credit values: OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Human Resource Management (OTHM), official specification, Ofqual 603/5897/X.
How LSPM sequences them
Strategic Human Resource Management runs first to set the frame. LSPM then pairs Engagement of Employees and Organisational Learning with Leadership Development and Performance Management, because in practice the two are one conversation. Global Resourcing, Talent and Reward Management follows. Managing Employment Relations and Employment Law is placed late so that the legal material is read against a strategic understanding already in place. Business Research Methods is delivered alongside the final two units.
Entry requirements
Who can enrol
OTHM sets the entry requirements and London School of Planning and Management, the approved centre, applies them. As published in the specification:
- An honours degree in related subject or UK level 6 diploma or an equivalent overseas qualification
- Mature learners with management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
- Learners must be 21 years old or older at the beginning of the course
- English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page in our website www.othm.org.uk.
How LSPM applies this in practice. A degree or a Level 6 HR qualification is the typical background. Experienced HR practitioners without either are welcome to apply; LSPM asks for a CV showing several years of HR responsibility and holds a short conversation with its HR tutor before confirming a place.
Entry requirements from the official specification. If you are not sure whether your qualification counts as equivalent, send us the details and we will ask LSPM to check with the awarding body.
Assessment
Written assignments, no examinations
Assignments are written reports and proposals grounded in a real organisation, typically your own: a people strategy, an engagement or learning plan, a reward review or an employment relations case analysis. No examinations.
Your tutor at LSPM marks the work and gives written feedback. OTHM then externally verifies a sample of marked work to confirm the standard is being applied consistently. A unit is passed when all of its criteria are met.
Progression
From diploma to top-up with advanced standing
A university may admit holders to the final stage of an MSc in Human Resource Management or an MA in HRM with advanced standing, or to an MBA with an HR route, at its own discretion and on its own terms. neither LSPM nor this site guarantees any admission.
In career terms the diploma is most often used to support a move from HR business partner to head of HR or HR director, or from a specialist role into a generalist one.
Progression note for employers. If you are sponsoring a manager with a master's as the eventual goal, budget the top-up separately and check the university's terms before you commit. The diploma stage is where LSPM's fees and timetable apply; the top-up stage is the university's. How the pathway works.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do
- Write a people strategyDerive workforce, capability and culture objectives from the business strategy and set out how HR will deliver them.
- Build engagement and learningDiagnose engagement and design organisational learning approaches with a clear line to performance.
- Develop leaders and manage performanceDesign leadership development and performance management that survives contact with real managers.
- Resource and reward globallyPlan resourcing, talent and reward across borders and explain the trade-offs to a board.
- Handle employment relationsAnalyse an employment relations situation against the legal framework and recommend a course of action.
- Research the people questionDesign and carry out a piece of HR research to postgraduate standard.
Fit
Likely to suit, and better served elsewhere
Likely to get a lot from it
- HR business partners who want theory behind the advice they already give.
- Heads of HR building a people function in a growing organisation.
- Specialists in reward, talent or learning moving towards a generalist director role.
Better served by something else
- People entering HR for the first time; a Level 5 HR qualification is the right start.
- Anyone who needs a professional body membership as the outcome; this diploma is not one.
- Learners wanting a legal qualification; the employment law unit is strategic, not practitioner training.
Real learner quotation to be supplied. This slot must not be published until a named graduate has given written consent.
Programme questions
Frequently asked
Does this give me a professional HR body membership?
No. It is a regulated academic qualification at Level 7. Professional bodies set their own criteria for membership and any recognition of prior qualifications; this site does not speak for them.
How much employment law is in it?
One unit of six. It covers the legal framework as a strategic HR leader needs to understand it, and how employment relations should be managed within it. It is not legal practice training.
How does this compare with the Qualifi HRM diploma?
Both are 120-credit Level 7 diplomas in human resource management from different awarding bodies, with different unit lists. Compare the unit tables; the OTHM programme has a dedicated global resourcing and reward unit and a research methods unit.
Can I use my own organisation for the assignments?
Yes, and most learners do, subject to confidentiality. If you cannot, LSPM agrees a case organisation with you.
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