Who should own employer brand — HR or marketing?

It works best as a partnership rather than a possession: HR and talent acquisition own the audience and the truth of the experience, while marketing owns the craft of positioning and storytelling. Whoever formally leads, the essentials are the same, namely a single named owner, visible executive sponsorship and a real budget, so decisions can be made and the work is not left to chance. Partnership beats sole ownership because neither function alone holds all the ingredients; HR without marketing tends to be accurate but flat, marketing without HR risks polished promises the workplace cannot keep. The pitfall is an unresolved turf question, which leaves the brand under-led and inconsistent no matter how talented either team is.