AVP, Chief of Staff, Communications, Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility

Job Description

The Chief of Staff (“the CoS”) is an important role, enabling the Chief Communications, Marketing, and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer (CCMCSRO) to work most effectively with internal and external stakeholders and fulfill his/her commitments to our company. . This is not an administrative role; it is a strategic and facilitative one that requires a combination of focus, confidentiality, and flexibility, as well as a willingness to play an active, behind-the-scenes role. The CoS plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of the office of the CMCSRO, ensuring the seamless execution of strategic initiatives. This role serves as the key operational partner to the CMCSRO, managing both internal and external communications needs, aligning stakeholders, and driving strategic alignment across the communications, marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility teams.

The role requires a highly resourceful individual with strong emotional intelligence, self-motivation, and strong analytical skills.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Preparation for, and facilitation of, “critical path” CCMCSRO meetings (e.g., with executive leadership, Board of Trustees, current or potential partners, government officials, and peer executives). While members of any one of these groups may initiate these meetings through the SLT member’s Executive Assistant and be responsible for inviting and preparing participants, the CoS is accountable to ensure that the meeting objectives are realistic, that preparation is appropriate, and that the CCMCSRO is well-prepared. This responsibility is less about logistics and more about content and the CoS’s judgment about the appropriateness and sufficiency of the intended preparation.

• Coordination/orchestration of projects or commitments, as assigned that directly involve the CCMCSRO and direct reports. This responsibility primarily focuses on ensuring alignment among often disparate stakeholders and, when such alignment is absent, sharing this fact with the CMCSRO and recommending mitigating approaches. While this responsibility envisions the CoS “going deep” on a relatively limited number of projects, s/he would also need to understand the breadth of the projects within the CCMCSRO’s purview.

• Independent leadership, coordination and orchestration of special projects or commitments related to CCMCSR Officer’s ELT and Board of Trustees responsibilities.

• Partnering with Corporate Communications, coordinate the development of draft executive thought leadership communication on behalf of the CCMCSRO and/or research in support of these. Communications range from ELT and Board of Trustees materials to follow up correspondence related to meetings with partners and staff, to speaking engagements involving external audiences. In addition to the drafting of key communications, the CoS should also be able to accurately reflect the CCMCSRO’s position in internal meetings to help drive understanding of views, though the role does not entail devolved responsibility to act for the CCMCSRO unless so specified.

• Proactive identification of issues that could impact the successful execution of the CCMCSRO’s commitments: This responsibility involves elevating those issues about which the CCMCSRO should be aware and framing/positioning ideas to resolve the problem/mitigate the risk.

• Support the division’s senior leadership team’s communications with the CCMCSRO: The CoS will help facilitate decisions the division SLT staff need receiving feedback on from the CCMCSRO. S/he will support the needs of the SLT staff in their ability to raise critical issues with the CCMCSRO and receive needed responses, guidance and decisions.

• Oversee the CMCSR division’s employee engagement strategy, including the creation of an annual strategy and engagement survey.

• Plan and manage the weekly CMCSR SLT meetings, ensuring structure, time for ideation and alignment with run-the-business goals for the division.

Additional specific responsibilities include:

• Work closely with the Executive Assistant to remain apprised of/schedule upcoming commitments, confirm objectives for meetings and recommend participants and best approach

• A strategic thinker with the ability to execute on high-level vision while ensuring operational excellence.

• Develop background materials for meetings (Note: CCMCSRO’s Executive Assistant will assist with basic preparation)

• Work closely with the CMCSRO to monitor and address issues that may arise across the communications, marketing and CSR spectrum, including public relations, brand reputation, digital media and special projects.

• Provide leadership and support to cross-functional teams on priority initiatives, ensuring a deep partnership with the Strategy, Planning and Performance team within the CM