Chief of Staff Customer Officer at Hershey

Chief of Staff Customer Officer

The Hershey Company is seeking our next Chief of Staff to the Chief Customer Officer (CCO). This role serves as a strategic right-hand to the CCO, acting as a force-multiplier in driving Hershey's global brand agenda. The Chief of Staff Customer Officer orchestrates the execution of the strategic plan and top-priority initiatives, ensuring they progress efficiently across the U.S. business. By coordinating cross-functional teams and business processes, this leader enables the CCO to focus on high-impact decisions while maintaining momentum on key projects. In essence, the role bridges strategy and execution improving decision quality and speed and optimizing how global brand strategies are implemented enterprise-wide.

Accountabilities

• Strategic Planning Liaison: Lead the Customer Officer annual planning process and strategy on behalf of the CCO. This involves aligning business unit plans with enterprise objectives and preparing strategy reviews.
• Program Leadership & Execution: Oversee and drive execution of the CCO's highest-priority initiatives and strategic projects.
• Operational Excellence: Ensure effective processes for strategic initiatives.
• Decision Support & Governance: Act as a proxy for the CCO in leadership forums and decision meetings, uniting stakeholders and enforcing governance around growth decisions.
• Communication & Alignment: Serve as a communication hub to align the Customer Office with other parts of the business.

Minimum Education & Requirements

• Strategic Agility
• Program Management Excellence
• Influence & Collaboration
• Business Acumen
• Adaptability & Problem-Solving

A bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Commercial Management, or a related field is required; an MBA or similar advanced degree is strongly preferred. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience in strategic planning, business operations, or marketing leadership roles. This experience should include leading cross-functional initiatives and partnering closely with senior executives on strategic decision-making. Experience within a top-tier consulting firm or corporate strategy function is highly desirable, as is a track record of developing and launching growth initiatives within a consumer-focused organization. Given the leadership nature of the role, candidates should also possess people management experience or significant project team leadership experience, along with a demonstrated ability to drive organizational change, improve processes, and deliver measurable business results.