1. The promoter and sponsors
Sponsor and award partners include:
- Adaptable Recruitment (the 'Sponsor')
- Brabners, Horton House, Exchange Flags, Liverpool (the 'Sponsor')
- Rathbones (the 'Sponsor')
2. The event
2.1 The title of the event is HR Director of the Year Awards.
2.2 The HR Director of the Year Awards are planned to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work done by the region's tireless HR leaders, rewarding the often-underestimated jobs they do
The awards, will take place on Thursday 4 June 2026
2.3 The event consists of 17 award categories which may include:
1. BEST DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGY, LARGE ORGANISATION
2. BEST DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGY, SME
3. BEST EARLY CAREERS STRATEGY
4. BEST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
5. BEST ESG STRATEGY
6. BEST HEALTH AND WELLBEING STRATEGY, LARGE ORGANISATION
7. BEST HEALTH AND WELLBEING STRATEGY, SME
8. BEST HR TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY
9. BEST INTERNAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
10. BEST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, LARGE ORGANISATION
11. BEST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, SME
12. BEST RECRUITMENT AND WORKFORCE PLANNING STRATEGY
13. BEST REWARD AND RECOGNITION STRATEGY
14. BEST TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
15. BEST TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY
16. HR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR
17. HR TEAM OF THE YEAR, LARGE ORGANISATION
18. HR TEAM OF THE YEAR, SME
19. BEST PEOPLE-FOCUSED CEO OF THE YEAR
20. HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
21. HR FUTURE LEADER OF THE YEAR (FREE ENTRY)
3.Judging Process
3.1 The Promoter, at its sole discretion, will produce a shortlist of entrants for each of the
award categories listed under Clause 2.3
3.2 A panel of judges selected (as appropriate) from event sponsors Adaptable Recruitment, Brabners and Rathbones, will judge the entries for each of the award categories listed under Clauses 2.3 and will select one winner per category. The judging panel may, at their sole discretion, also select a runner-up for each of the aforementioned categories.
3.3 Where there is an ongoing relationship between an entity and one of the sponsors, safeguards have been put in place to avoid bias and conflict of interest.
4. Eligibility
4.1 The HR Director of the Year Awards are open to individuals who must have been in post for 1 year or more on 1 March 2026 with a registered office address in Merseyside, North Wales, Manchester, Cheshire or Lancashire, except:
a) employees of the host Adaptable Recruitment
b) employees of the event sponsors, Brabners and Rathbones
4.2 Finalists will need to demonstrate
a) how they have supported their organisation through either a growth story, turnaround/challenging period
b) or have been integral in delivering significant change
c) or have a compelling story to support their entry
4.3 In entering, you (and/or your Nominated Entrant) confirm that:
(a) you (or your Nominated Entrant) are eligible to do so;
(b) all information contained in your (or your Nominated Entrant’s) entry is truthful and accurate;
(c) you (or your Nominated Entrant) have obtained all and any consents, permissions and authorisations that may be required;
(d) your (or your Nominated Entrant’s) entry does not contain any third-party materials and/or content that you do not have permission to use;
(e) your (or your Nominated Entrant’s) is not obscene, defamatory or in breach of any application legislation; and
(f) you (and/or your Nominated Entrant) are eligible to and agree to grant to the Promoter the intellectual property rights detailed in Clause 8.
4.4 The Promoter reserves the right to move entries into different award categories as appropriate. Entries will not be moved into a different award category without the prior consent of the entrant.
4.5 The Promoter will not accept entries that are, in its reasonable opinion, submitted in breach of the declaration made under Clause 4.3.
4.6 The Promoter reserves all rights to disqualify any entrant whose conduct, in the reasonable opinion of the Promoter, is contrary to the spirit or intention of the event.
5. The Accolade
5.1 The winner of each award category will receive an award commemorating their achievement.
5.2 There is no cash alternative for the accolade.
5.3 The accolade is not negotiable or transferable.
6. Winners
6.1 The decisions of the Promoter (or the judges nominated by the Promoter) are final and no
correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
6.2 The Promoter will contact entrants who have been shortlisted as finalists in an award category (“Shortlisted Entrant”) by email on or before 30 April 2026. Should a Shortlisted Entrant fail to respond to the Promoter’s email within 7 days of it being sent, their place on the shortlist will be forfeited and the Promoter will be entitled to select another entrant for the shortlist.
6.3 Shortlisted Entrant will be invited to the event on 4 June 2026 (the “Award Ceremony”). Further information concerning the Award Ceremony will be provided to Shortlisted Entrants by the Promoter on notification of shortlisting.
6.4 The Promoter may contact a Shortlisted Entrant prior to the Award Ceremony to obtain further information about their entry for the purpose of collecting and reviewing the content to be published on the Promoter’s websites and, at the sole discretion of the Promoter, any supplemental material which may be published after the Award Ceremony.
6.5 The winner (and if appropriate, the runner-up) of each award category will announced at
the Award Ceremony. Following such announcements, the Promoter may publish the name of each winner (and if appropriate, each runner-up) on its website or any other medium whether now known or invented in the future.
7. Limitation of liability
7.1 The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the event or any feature thereof at any time, with or without notice, where in the Promoter’s opinion it
becomes necessary to do so.
7.2 Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any
circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate entrants or their representatives, or
accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of
participating in the event.
8. Ownership of entries and intellectual property rights
8.1 The Promoter does not claim any rights of ownership in your (or Nominated Entrant’s)
entry.
8.2 All Shortlisted Entrants agree that the Promoter may, but is not required to, make their
voice, image, photograph and name (“Shortlisted Entrants’ Details”) available on its website and any other media, whether now known or invented in the future, and in connection with any publicity of the event. All Shortlisted Entrants agree to grant the Promoter a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable licence, for the full period of any intellectual property rights in the Shortlisted Entrants’ Details, to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sub-licence the Shortlisted Entrants’ Details for such purposes.
9. General
9.1 If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude an entrant from participating in the event.
9.2 These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales