Executive Assistant to the Global Chief People Officer

Hill+Knowlton Strategies is one of the world’s leading global communications consultancies, partnering with clients from 80-plus offices across more than 40 markets around the world.

Our legacy is undeniable. Nearly 100 years ago, H+K became a founding icon in strategic communications and public relations. We are the category originator, operating today with one of the industry’s strongest global networks, serving clients that span industries in the private sector as well as public sector entities around the world.

Through the decades we have continuously evolved to stay true to our purpose while social, cultural, economic, and technological transformations have changed the world. Today we are in a period of intensive renewal and transformation. Our discipline has never mattered more, and H+K is uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity as we play an ever-expanding role helping our clients achieve commercial growth, manage risk, build reputation capital, and broadly create value for all their stakeholders.

Core to our vision, strategy, purpose, and progress are our people. We know that H+K must be a leading force in the industry - attracting, developing, and retaining the best and brightest talent around the world. Our work is fundamentally multi-disciplinary and creative, drawing on people with great minds and values, a passion for the impact they can have, a strong drive to unlock the potential of our clients, and a commitment to help each other grow.

As an operating company of WPP, the world’s largest publicly traded communications services group, we will continue to lead in our second century.

What we are looking for:

As the Executive Assistant to the Global Chief People Officer (CPO) you will have the opportunity to support the People + Culture (P+C) team in building a best-in-class employee experience. Your principal responsibility will be to provide executive administrative support to the highest standard and act as an extension of the CPO. Working closely with H+K’s People + Culture leadership team and senior-level key stakeholders, the Executive Assistant serves as the primary point of contact for all matters pertaining to the office of the Global CPO.

This role requires an ability to prioritize a high volume of important, highly sensitive, and confidential information and accomplish a range of complex activities simultaneously. Precise attention to detail, coupled with creative problem-solving and superior communication skills, is required. The role will be demanding but also fulfilling. You will have a high level of administrative responsibility within our organization enabling our P+C leaders to do what they do best.

This position reports to the Global CPO. It is based in New York, NY involving regular interaction with colleagues across the global network. Initially, the role will be remote in nature with the expectation to work out of the New York office in the future.

Here’s what you will be doing:

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage an active and frequently changing calendar while seamlessly balancing conflicting priorities and calendar requests
• Additional administrative duties include completing expense reports; composing and preparing correspondence; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas
• Prepare, reconcile, and track expense reports, for CPO and P+C Leaders, through Concur Travel
• Coordinate all aspects of domestic and international travel schedule, not limited to, but including travel visas, passport management, and assembling all required trip documentation.
• Manage purchase order and invoice process for Global P+C vendors and maintain the Global P+C budget tracker.
• Work closely and effectively with the CPO and their Leadership staff, anticipate needs, and provide the highest level of proactive support.
• Communicate with internal staff and other key stakeholders on the CPO’s behalf. Navigate personalities, build rapport, influence without authority, and intuitively know what needs to get done.
• Work collaboratively with other global assistants to facilitate where possible and ensure the smooth running of the organization.
• Ensure the CPO is prepared for upcoming appointments by gathering materials necessary for each meeting.
• Assist with the collection and preparation of information for presentations. Develop initial drafts of presentations, coordinating with the creative team for final versions.
• Send communications, reports, and presentations on behalf of the CPO to a variety of audiences at all levels.
• Liaise directly with senior members of WPP’s (holding company) P+C team, maintaining confidential files and contact information, and coordinating meetings, conferences, and committees both on and off-site to support the CPO’s agenda.

• Participate as an adjunct member of H+K’s People + Culture leadership team, including assisting in coordinating event logistics, attending meetings, taking notes, and following up on assigned action items.
• Support the CPO in external commitments related to H+K, including service on professional engagements, committees, and other groups.

What you’ll need to get here:
Experience & Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience with an interest in People + Culture initiatives.
• Strong organizational skills that reflect the ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
• Five or more years of experience providing support for executive-level management in a client service organization, preferably supporting a People + Culture team.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff and external vendors.
• Advanced proficiency in Windows, including MS Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work independently and with professional discretion.
• Excellent writing, editing, grammatical, organizational, and research skills.
• Ability to work with a broad range of people globally, with cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Excellent time and project management and problem-solving skills.
• Occasionally work flexible hours, including the occasional weekend, early morning, or evening hours as the CPO’s travel or schedule requires.
• Business acumen and an interest in People + Culture would be a plus.
• Intuition and emotional intelligence are key to this role. An ability to think laterally, anticipate, and plan for changes; to be one step ahead at all times. Able to pivot frequently and create seamless transitions so the schedule runs smoothly.
• Proactively keep on top of the CPO’s inbox - recognizing shifting priorities, flagging key information, and following up as needed and instinctively anticipating the next steps.

The base salary for this position at the time of this posting may range from $100K to $230K Range. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including business needs, experience, level of responsibility, and qualifications.

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About

H+K Strategies is one of the world’s largest and most renowned communications firms, with more than 85 offices around the globe.

At H+K here in the U.S., our first priority is our people and creating an experience for each employee that is positive and fulfilling. Do you like being able to work from anywhere and in a way that is best for your life? Come join us at H+K. Do you like working for the industry’s most exciting clients and supporting headline-grabbing programs? Come join us at H+K. Do you like working with nice people? Come join us at H+K. Do you like industry-best benefits, vacation time, wellness time, and parental leave? You guessed it, come join us at H+K.

Come join us at H+K. Where we believe in the power of “Being” everything that our employees need us to be – creating a work life that is all about Being Flex, Being Connected, Being Well, Being Empowered, and Being Valued. And we keep innovating and evolving our employee experience based on what we hear directly from our team members because we strive to be the absolute best place to work.

So, let’s recap, what to expect if you were to work at H+K:

• Nice, passionate colleagues and a supportive work culture
• Flexible work modes program, where you can choose whether you work from home, work from the office, or a mix of both – a completely hybrid, distributed workforce
• Exciting clients and opps to stretch up and across to grow within the company
• Competitive compensation
• Amazing, industry-best benefits, such as
  • Comprehensive and inclusive health, dental, vision, and mental healthcare
  • Back-up care paid parental leave (16-week maternity leave!), and other family solutions
  • Retirement savings and student loan refinancing partner options
• Insanely good vacation and wellness time off, no matter your level
• Plus, other engaging employee programming, such as
  • Ally and Mentorship program
  • Employee Resource Groups
  • Employee Experience committees
  • And, worth mentioning, frequent get-togethers + meet-ups
    

Most importantly! As an Equal Opportunity Employer, H+K Strategies does not discriminate against applicants or employees because of their race, creed, color, age, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, national origin, or ancestry.

COME JOIN US!