Chief of Staff to Chief Customer Officer

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company operates with a culture driven by purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey’s vision of business as a platform for opportunity creation. Through strategic philanthropy, product donations, and employee engagement, Hershey supports community welfare, education, and workforce readiness, notably collaborating deeply with the Milton Hershey School to empower students' success beyond academics.

Role Overview

Located in Hershey, PA, this leadership role may consider remote candidates residing near major airports. The Chief of Staff to the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) functions as a strategic partner and enables the execution of Hershey's global brand initiatives. The role ensures that key strategic plans progress efficiently across the United States business by coordinating cross-divisional teams and processes. Acting as a vital bridge between strategy formulation and implementation, this position enhances decision making and accelerates the operationalization of brand strategies enterprise-wide.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the annual strategic planning process for the Customer Officer, ensuring alignment of business unit goals with overarching enterprise objectives and facilitating clear communication of strategic priorities into actionable plans.
• Oversee critical programs and projects that fall under the CCO’s highest priorities, managing project frameworks, milestone tracking, and actively mitigating obstacles; take leadership of cross-functional initiative teams as needed to secure timely and successful deliverables.
• Drive operational excellence by streamlining processes related to strategic initiatives and harmonizing coordination across functional units to enhance company-wide execution rhythms.
• Support decision-making and governance by representing the CCO in leadership forums, preparing comprehensive agendas and briefing documents, ensuring data-supported discussions, and managing follow-ups on decisions and actions.
• Serve as the central communication node that aligns the Customer Office with other business sectors, conveying the CCO’s vision and updates while gathering valuable feedback and insights from the organization to promote unity and collaborative execution of growth strategies.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Marketing, Commercial Management, or related disciplines; possession of an MBA or comparable advanced degree is highly preferred.
• Over a decade of experience in strategic planning, business operations, or marketing leadership, with a proven history of leading multi-disciplinary initiatives and collaborating closely with senior leadership on strategic decisions.
• Preferred background in a premier consulting firm or corporate strategy function, coupled with hands-on experience in launching growth initiatives within consumer-oriented organizations.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, evidenced by people management or extensive project leadership experience, with a consistent record of driving change, refining processes, and delivering tangible business outcomes.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations

The Hershey Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other legally protected characteristic. Candidates needing reasonable accommodations during the application process due to disabilities may contact the company via phone or email, specifying “Accommodation Needed” to ensure appropriate support.