Senior Executive Assistant – Chief People Officer, People Center at National Life Insurance Company in Montpelier, VT

Job description

• The Senior Executive Assistant to the Chief People Officer (CPO) serves as a trusted partner to the CPO, enabling the effective operation of the People Center through exceptional executive support, proactive planning, disciplined follow-through, and strong judgment. The role combines sophisticated calendar and communications management with project coordination, Board and committee support, event and meeting logistics, vendor administration, and the careful handling of highly confidential information. Success requires the ability to anticipate needs, understand organizational context, manage competing priorities, connect the right people and resources at the right time, identify issues, recommend solutions, and help advance People Center priorities.
• This position works across the People Center and throughout National Life Group, partnering with leaders, administrative professionals, associates, new hires, vendors, and other stakeholders to keep information moving and commitments on track.
• This position currently offers an onsite work schedule, with the expectation that you will be in the office four (4) days per week during onsite core days. Our current onsite core days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The work schedule type and core days are subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.

Responsibilities

• Executive support and calendar management
• Provide high-level executive support to the CPO and targeted administrative support to People Center leadership, creating and maintaining a system of documentation that enhances productivity and eliminates redundancy
• Manage the day-to-day administrative affairs of the CPO, anticipating needs and proactively bringing together the right people and resources to address issues
• Provide sophisticated calendar management: prioritize inquiries and requests, troubleshoot conflicts with little guidance, and make judgments and recommendations that keep the day running smoothly
• Exercise independent judgment on behalf of the CPO, understanding when to act independently, when to consult, and when to escalate; identify issues and recommend solutions based on an understanding of priorities and organizational context
• Maintain a disciplined system for tracking decisions, commitments, action items, and key deliverables, following up with owners to ensure timely completion
• Communications and information flow
• Facilitate communication across the organization to accelerate response times and keep messages moving; triage and draft replies to email, and communicate People Center strategy clearly and accurately
• Work collaboratively with other administrative professionals to request and assemble information, format and proofread business documents, and support internal and external communications, using judgement based on priorities, audience and level of detail
• Prepare the CPO for meetings and decisions by coordinating executive-ready briefing materials, agendas, pre-reads, talking points, background information, and other materials
• Build and maintain effective working relationship across the People Center, executive leadership, administrative professionals and external stakeholders, using discretion and diplomacy to facilitate communication and advance priorities
• Communicate People Center priorities and messages clearly, accurately, and with appropriate context
• Board and committee support
• Support the CPO's preparation for Board and committee meetings, including materials deadlines, document assembly, distribution, and pre-meeting logistics
• Coordinate with the Corporate Secretary's office and other executive assistants on Board calendars and cycles
• Handle board and committee information with a high degree of discretion and attention to confidentiality
• Travel, expense, and vendor administration
• Coordinate domestic travel, including itineraries, ground transportation, and on-site logistics
• Prepare and reconcile expense reports and corporate card activity in line with company policy
• Process invoices and purchase orders, and support vendor onboarding, contract routing, and renewal tracking for People Center partners
• Support the annual People Center budgeting process and ongoing financial management, including coordinating budget inputs, tracking actual spend again budget, maintaining forecasts, and identifying variances or items requiring leadership attention
• Projects and program coordination
• Partner with the CPO on strategic and operational projects by establishing objectives, clarifying priorities into actionable plans, managing timelines, tracking deliverables, and maintaining momentum through disciplined execution
• Create status reports and tracking mechanisms to ensure objectives are achieved through a detailed approach to execution
• Identify opportunities to simplify recurring People Center workflows through process improvement, technology, automation, and approved AI-enabled solutions
• Participate on special projects and transformation teams as needed to meet business goals
• Events and meeting logistics
• Plan and execute People Center meetings, offsites, leadership sessions, and recognition and associate events across both campuses
• Manage hybrid meeting logistics, including room and AV setup, virtual facilitation support, catering, and materials
• Confidentiality and information handling
• Handle highly sensitive information with discretion, including associate relations matters, compensation and performance data, organizational changes, and pre-announcement information
• Follow company policies on data privacy, records retention, and the handling of material non-public information
• Exercise high-level interpersonal skills, poise, tact, and diplomacy when managing sensitive and confidential situations
• General
• Other duties as assigned by the CPO

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years of high-level executive support experience with a demonstrated record of success
• Bachelor’s degree in business or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Demonstrated judgment and discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information
• Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly and with excellent attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft on behalf of a senior leader
• Demonstrated ability to create, edit, and format polished executive-level presentations, reports, meeting materials, and communications
• Proficiency across Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint), video conferencing platforms, and e-signature tools, plus the demonstrated ability to rapidly learn new company-specific systems
• Familiarity with expense and travel management systems, and with project tracking tools (Concur, Deem, Docusign, etc.) as well as employee records and other systems containing confidential workforce data
• A customer-centric mindset grounded in servant leadership principles, with the ability to build trusted relationships, understand business priorities, influence without formal authority, and prioritize the success of the team over personal success
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, establish priorities, and meet deadlines while juggling competing demands
• Ability to pass a background check
• 3-5 years of experience in financial services or a comparable regulated industry
• Experience supporting a C-suite executive, including Board or committee preparation
• Experience supporting HR or people function, with familiarity handling associate data
• Demonstrated use of AI tools within documented workflows to improve speed or quality of work
• Experience coordinating across multiple sites or time zones
• Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) certification

Skills

Required

• Video conferencing platforms
• E-signature tools
• Project tracking tools
• AI tools (approved)
• Exceptional organizational skills
• Demonstrated judgment and discretion
• Customer-centric mindset
• Ability to pass a background check

Preferred

• Experience supporting C-suite executive
• Demonstrated use of AI tools

Benefits

• Your benefits start day one and are flexible and customizable to your and your family’s specific needs. Check out the BENEFITS of a Career at National Life!
• Base Pay Range. The base pay range for this position is the range National Life reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for the position taking into account the wide variety of factors, including: prior experience and job-related knowledge; education, training and certificates; current business needs; and market factors. The final salary or hourly wages offered may be outside of this range based on other reasons and individual circumstances.
• Additional Compensation and Benefits. The total compensation package for this position may also include a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. The successful candidate may also be eligible to participate in National Life’s discretionary annual incentive programs, subject to the rules governing such programs. If hired, the employee will be in an "at-will position" and National Life reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.
• National Life is accepting applications for this role on an ongoing basis and the role remains open until filled.
• $34 - $50 USD