VP Special Advisor to the CEO-20053

The VP, Special Adviser to the CEO for Succession Management & Leadership Development serves as a trusted strategic advisor responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing enterprise-wide succession planning, executive development, and leadership acceleration initiatives. The position ensures the organization maintains a robust pipeline of ready-now and ready-future leaders capable of supporting growth, operational continuity, and long-term business objectives.

Working directly with the CEO, Board of Directors, executive leadership team, and Human Resources, the Adviser provides strategic oversight of leadership readiness, executive coaching, talent assessment, succession risk mitigation, and leadership development programs.

Duties & Responsibilities

Succession Planning Strategy

• Lead enterprise succession planning for executive, senior leadership, and critical operational positions.
• Develop and maintain multi-year succession plans for CEO, executive, and key leadership roles.
• Conduct talent reviews and succession risk assessments.
• Identify high-potential employees and create development pathways.
• Establish leadership bench strength metrics and readiness indicators.

Executive Development

• Serve as strategic advisor to the CEO regarding leadership capability and organizational readiness.
• Design and oversee executive coaching programs.
• Facilitate executive assessment and development processes.
• Guide individual development plans for succession candidates.
• Support onboarding and transition of newly promoted executives.

Leadership Training & Development

• In partnership with HR Training and Development, developed organization-wide leadership curriculum.
• Oversee leadership acceleration programs for emerging and mid-level leaders.
• Create training frameworks for:
  • Strategic Leadership
  • Financial Acumen
  • Change Management
  • Talent Leadership
  • Operational Excellence
  • Culture & Engagement
• Ensure leadership training aligns with corporate values and business strategy.

Talent Assessment & Workforce Planning

• Implement leadership competency models and success profiles.
• Develop assessment processes for leadership selection and readiness.
• Analyze organizational capability gaps.
• Partner with HR to align succession initiatives with workforce planning.
• Monitor retirement risk and critical-position vulnerability.

Board & Executive Support

• Provide annual succession readiness reports to the CEO and Board.
• Present leadership pipeline metrics and talent risks.
• Facilitate executive talent review meetings.
• Advise on organizational structure and leadership deployment decisions.
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Recommend improvements to leadership practices and organizational capability.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and leadership accountability.
• Benchmark succession and leadership development programs against industry best practices.

The duties and responsibilities listed above are representative of the nature and levels of work assigned and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Significant experience in:
  • Executive succession planning
  • Leadership development
  • Executive coaching
  • Organizational effectiveness
  • Talent management
• Experience advising CEOs, Boards, or senior executive teams.
• Public company experience preferred.
• Executive Coaching Certification preferred.

Education and Experience

• Master's Degree, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Leadership, or related field. Doctorate preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

The work is sedentary, and typically employees sit comfortably to do the work. There may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying light items such as paper, books, or notebooks. Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment that requires normal safety precautions.

Travel

Travel is required to all campus locations and to the corporate office periodically