Human resource management in Iranian governmental organizations confronts multiple structural and environmental tensions that challenge the equilibrium between efficiency, innovation, and employee well-being. This study was conducted to identify the primary paradoxes in human resource management and to propose an indigenous framework for their management. The research employed a qualitative approach with inductive thematic analysis based on the six-step model by Braun and Clarke (2021). Data were gathered and analyzed from 40 semi-structured interviews with managers, employees, and policymakers in key ministries, as well as from organizational documents, using MAXQDA software. Five principal paradoxes were identified: meritocracy versus bureaucracy, digital surveillance versus trust, emphasis on regulations versus flexibility, investment versus financial constraints, and sustainability versus economic challenges. Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, exacerbate these paradoxes and necessitate purposeful management. These themes were mapped onto a two-dimensional matrix (control-flexibility, automation-human relations). The indigenous framework, grounded in paradox theory and organizational agility, incorporates strategies such as revising recruitment bylaws and implementing trust-building training, thereby aiding policymaking for human resource management in Iran. Although the focus was on governmental organizations in Tehran, the findings may serve as a model for developing countries facing analogous challenges, including bureaucracy and economic limitations.