Who is responsible for employer brand?

In practice it sits across HR and talent acquisition, marketing, internal communications and leadership, because each owns a piece of the experience and the message. The strongest programmes resolve this by naming a single accountable owner rather than leaving it as everyone's job and therefore no one's. That owner coordinates the specialists but needs executive sponsorship and a budget to act. Shared ownership fails without a lead because employer brand touches recruiting, culture, comms and the CEO's reputation, so decisions stall when no one can arbitrate. A common pitfall is parking it entirely inside recruitment marketing, which limits its influence over the culture and leadership behaviours that actually shape reputation.