Full Job Description
Location: Hershey, PA
This role is based in Hershey, PA with an expectation of 3 days per week in the Hershey office.
How will you fit in the big picture?
The U.S. business is at the center of delivering this vision, navigating an increasingly dynamic environment shaped by evolving consumer preferences, changing customer expectations, competitive disruption, economic uncertainty, and an accelerating pace of transformation.
The Chief of Staff to the President, U.S. serves as a trusted advisor, strategic thought partner, and force multiplier to the President and the U.S. Leadership Team (USLT). This highly visible leadership role bridges strategy and execution by helping shape business priorities, driving enterprise alignment, accelerating strategic initiatives, and maximizing organizational effectiveness across the U.S. business.
As the President's right hand, the Chief of Staff enables faster, better decision-making; optimizes operating rhythms, governance, and resource allocation; and ensures the successful execution of the U.S. growth agenda. This leader serves as an enterprise connector who brings together cross-functional teams to solve complex business challenges, drive transformational initiatives, and deliver measurable business results.
What will you do?
Strategic Leadership & Enterprise Planning
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the President, U.S., providing insight on growth, performance, transformation, and organizational effectiveness.
• Lead annual and long-range strategic planning, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and value creation goals.
• Leverage consumer, customer, competitive, and market intelligence to identify risks and growth opportunities.
• Support executive decision-making through business cases, scenario planning, financial analysis, and recommendations.
• Lead strategic projects, transformation initiatives, and evaluations of growth, innovation, and M&A opportunities.
Leadership Team Effectiveness & Governance
• Drive the effectiveness of the U.S. Leadership Team through governance, operating rhythms, decision frameworks, and accountability processes.
• Facilitate key business reviews, planning sessions, and leadership meetings.
• Align leaders around priorities, decisions, and execution.
• Represent the President when appropriate to advance business priorities and decisions.
• Improve the speed and quality of decision-making across the organization.
Strategic Initiative & Program Leadership
• Lead execution of the President's highest-priority initiatives and ensure delivery of measurable business outcomes.
• Manage cross-functional programs, governance structures, milestones, and accountability.
• Proactively mitigate risks, remove obstacles, and resolve dependencies.
• Coordinate enterprise initiatives across Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Digital, and other functions.
• Advise USLT members on critical business initiatives and strategic opportunities.
Commercial Excellence & Business Performance
• Monitor business performance and key metrics, providing actionable recommendations to the President and USLT.
• Assess business risks and opportunities and partner with leaders to develop action plans.
• Ensure alignment among strategic priorities, investments, resources, and execution.
• Support delivery of Annual Operating Plan commitments and long-term growth objectives.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen competitive advantage through innovation, partnerships, digital capabilities, and portfolio expansion.
Operating Model
• Own and continuously improve the U.S. operating model, enabling effective governance, planning, communication, and decision-making.
• Integrate priorities into quarterly, annual, and strategic planning processes.
• Maintain focus on the most critical enterprise objectives.
• Drive OKR governance, measurement, and accountability.
• Improve cross-functional coordination and organizational execution.
Executive Communications & Stakeholder Engagement
• Develop executive communications, presentations, and strategic narratives for leadership, Board, investor, and external audiences.
• Partner with Corporate Communications and business leaders to ensure consistent messaging.
• Prepare the President for internal and external engagements, including Board meetings, town halls, customer interactions, and industry events.
• Serve as a communication bridge between the President, USLT, and broader organization.
• Partner with the Executive Assistant to maximize the President's effectiveness and focus.
Minimum Requirements
Education
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Organizational Leadership, Analytics, or a related field required.
• MBA or other advanced degree strongly preferred
Experience
The ideal candidate brings 10+ years of progressive leadership experience across strategy, consulting, commercial leadership, business operations, corporate development, transformation, or executive advisory roles.
Preferred experience includes:
• Chief of Staff, strategy, consulting, business operations, or commercial leadership experience.
• Experience working directly with senior executives and leadership teams.
• Background in consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, retail, or related growth-oriented industries.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives from strategy development through execution.
• Exposure to M&A, portfolio strategy, innovation, business model transformation, or enterprise change initiatives.
• Proven success influencing senior stakeholders and leading without formal authority.
• Demonstrated track record developing executive-level and Board-ready materials and communications.
The anticipated base salary range for this role is $189,200 - 236,500 per year. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of job-related factors, including, but not limited to, experience, skill set, education, and training. In addition to a market-competitive base salary, our Total Rewards package includes performance-based incentives and a comprehensive, competitive benefits package designed to support overall physical, mental, and financial well-being (as applicable). Learn more about Hershey's benefits and all the resources Hershey provides to support our employees' physical, emotional, and financial well-being by visiting the Hershey Digital Employee Experience at www.askHRbenefits.hersheys.com
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