Senior Executive Assistant – Chief People Officer, People Center

Come join one of America’s fastest-growing insurance companies. Since 1848, National Life Group has aimed to keep our promises, providing families with stability in good times and in bad. Throughout that history, we have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures.

Our mission extends beyond the insurance and annuities policies that we offer. We strive to make the world a better place through our grants from our charitable foundation, paid volunteer time for our employees, environmentally sustainable and healthy workplaces, and events that promote the work of nonprofits in our own backyard.

We foster a collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and encourage our associates to live our values: Do good. Be good. Make good.

Please note that we do not offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Role Summary

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.

Essential Duties and 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

Minimum Qualifications

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 abil