Strategic Advisor - Chief People and Culture Officer

The Opportunity

Act as the brain trust for the Chief People and Culture Officer (CPCO) on all matters related to people strategy. Take time to understand the work of the Foundation through the senior business partners. Provide strategic advice, insights, and support regarding ongoing enterprise initiatives. Review functional-related plans with the Leadership Team before execution. Collaborate with CPCO to develop or redesign P&C goals and objectives.

Ways You Can Contribute

Provide strategic insights and recommendations to support the CPCO in decision-making and executive engagements.

• Review ongoing strategic plans.
• Provide recommendations on proposed HR initiatives.
• Prioritize the P&C roadmap to determine sequencing and pacing.
• Hold collaborative meetings with P&C Leadership teams.
• Oversee the consolidation and quality of Board and EXCO presentations.
• Work with the CPCO on all Board related presentation preparations.
• Partner with the P&C Leadership Team to prepare EXCO submissions, including consolidation and advisory on strategic positioning.

Review and refine strategy documents across the talent value chain to ensure alignment with the Foundation’s mission.

• Review the P&C modernization strategy with internal teams and the Deloitte Canada working group.
• Propose overarching goals, objectives, and priorities for 2025–2026.

Collaborate with the P&C Leadership Team to develop strategic initiatives.

• Actively listen to team perspectives and ideas in alignment with organizational values.
• Ask thought-provoking questions to ensure initiatives are tied to P&C strategy, outcome driven, and measurable.
• Meet with P&C Leads to provide thought partnership, insights, and guidance to inform strategic choices.

Support the P&C Leadership in prioritizing key People and Culture projects and initiatives.

• Lead conversations with the P&C LT on initiative importance, project impact, resource needs, dependencies, and timing.

Monitor progress of strategic projects to ensure alignment with enterprise initiatives.

• Ensure each strategic project has clearly defined success measures.
• Define criteria for integrating P&C projects with enterprise initiatives.
• Gather relevant project information and ensure goal clarity.
• Suggest success criteria for assessing program outcomes.

Critique the People and Culture priorities central dashboard.

• Review the P&C Dashboard from the reporting team.
• Analyze critical performance areas, monitor progress, and guide achievement.

Plan and coordinate Leadership Team connects and retreats.

• Develop P&C agendas and manage pre-reads.
• Capture key action points from meetings.
• Lead retreat planning and agenda development.
• Partner with external consultants to ensure delivery of P&C Leadership and extended Leadership retreats.

Develop themes, agendas, and session plans.

• Support the Leadership Team in identifying strategic objectives for sessions and tailoring content to the audience.
• Design interactive session activities to encourage engagement.
• Create schedules aligned with the overall strategic plan.

Oversee logistical coordination for productive Leadership Team engagements.

• Project manages P&C Leadership meetings, retreats, and events.
• Oversee planning activities with the CPCO, Executive Assistant and P&C coordinators.

Who You Are

• Master’s degree or equivalent.
• At least 15 years’ experience in a strategic advisory capacity.
• Experience in People Leadership at an executive level.
• Executive communication skills.
• Technical competence in People & Culture systems and processes.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Professional maturity, sensitivity to different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplifies the Foundation’s values.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to various constituents across cultures.
• You have committed to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.

The Mastercard Foundation values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone.

Completion of satisfactory business references and background checks are essential conditions of employment.

For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit http://www.mastercardfdn.org/

Follow the Foundation on Twitter at @MastercardFdn

Key skills/competency

• People Strategy
• Strategic Advisory
• Executive Leadership
• Culture Development
• HR Modernization
• Project Prioritization
• Executive Communications
• Board Presentations
• Stakeholder Management
• Talent Value Chain