Chief of Staff to the Chief People Officer

  • Full-time
  • Salary Range: 187,850.00-266,100.00
  • Job Type (exemption status): Exempt position - Please see related compensation & benefits details below
  • Business Function: Human Resources
  • Location (Secondary): Remote Office - California Bay Area--LOC_HGST_RCA
  • Work Location: Milpitas Office--LOC_WDT_USCA25

Company Description

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.

Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

Job Description

Role Overview

The Chief of Staff (CoS) to Sandisk’s Chief People Officer (CPO) is a highly strategic and execution-focused leadership role responsible for driving the strategy, planning, and operational execution of the People Experience function. This role is central to ensuring the CPO’s vision and priorities are effectively executed across the enterprise.

The CoS will play a critical role in aligning People strategy with business priorities, supporting C-Suite and CEO succession planning in partnership with Executive Compensation, leading People Experience messaging for the Board of Directors, and driving enterprise-wide leadership and engagement initiatives. This individual will be responsible for leading and delivering high-impact projects, driving operational efficiency, and enabling effective decision-making for the CPO and the broader People leadership team.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategy, Planning & Team Operations

  • Shape and manage the People Organization’s strategic priorities, ensuring alignment with business goals and executive priorities.
  • Own the operational rhythm of the People function, fostering transparency, consistency, and proactive planning across initiatives.
  • Drive the CPO’s strategic agenda, including fiscal year planning, portfolio management, budget oversight, and business reviews.
  • Lead and execute critical People-related projects, ensuring they have clear milestones, value metrics, and measurable impact.
  • Support enterprise-wide workforce planning, organizational design, and change management strategies for the People function.
  • Identify and drive process simplifications and operational efficiencies to enhance stakeholder engagement and execution.
  • Act as an advisor and thought partner to the CPO, advocating on behalf of the People team and reinforcing a culture of trust, inclusivity, and strategic leadership.

2. CEO & C-Suite Succession Planning & Board Engagement

  • Support the CPO and enable the execution of C-Suite and CEO succession planning in collaboration with Executive Compensation, Talent, and Governance teams.
  • Support the CPO in developing the People Experience strategy for Board of Directors presentations, ensuring alignment with enterprise goals.
  • Lead preparation for Board meetings, including curating key narratives, impact metrics, and strategic insights for the CPO’s readout.
  • Synthesize input from the Board, Executive Leadership Team (ELT), and external stakeholders to shape enterprise-wide People priorities.

3. Executive Leadership Development, Engagement, & Special Projects

  • Oversee and drive key executive eadership development initiatives, ensuring they align with enterprise talent strategies and succession needs.
  • Lead top engagement and listening initiatives, surfacing insights that shape People strategy and enhance employee experience.
  • Manage People Experience-related projects that emerge from Board discussions, C-Suite priorities, or enterprise transformation needs.
  • Own the execution of high-profile events, including leadership summits, enterprise listening forums, and culture transformation initiatives.
  • Partner cross-functionally to enhance corporate philanthropic strategies and reinforce external-facing People and culture narratives.

4. Communications & Executive Messaging

  • Partner with the CPO to craft and deliver compelling narratives about the People function’s impact, vision, and strategic priorities.
  • Manage internal and external communications for the CPO, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment with enterprise goals.
  • Oversee People strategy messaging for the Board of Directors, ensuring insights are impactful, data-driven, and strategically aligned.
  • Partner on go-to-market communication strategies for key People programs, driving clarity, adoption, and business impact.
  • Liaise with Corporate Communications to integrate people strategy messaging into broader company-wide strategic narratives.

5. Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

  • Build strong, trust-based relationships with the ELT, and key internal and external stakeholders.
  • Navigate complex and ambiguous environments, anticipating leadership needs and proactively addressing challenges.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, strategic alignment, and disciplined execution, ensuring all stakeholders remain engaged and accountable.
  • Manage and develop a small team, driving execution excellence and fostering talent development.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 15+ years of relevant experience in a global, fast-paced organization.
  • 8+ years in a strategic business, consulting, or leadership role with expertise in talent strategy, executive planning, or organizational change.
  • Proven ability to lead high-impact projects, drive strategic initiatives, and manage cross-functional stakeholder alignment.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Exceptional strategic thinking and execution skills—ability to connect business strategy with People priorities and drive meaningful impact.
  • Experience in C-Suite and CEO succession planning, including working with Executive Compensation and Board governance teams.
  • Proven ability to develop Board of Directors messaging and lead executive-level communications.
  • Strong stakeholder management and executive influence, with the ability to build trust and navigate complex decision-making environments.
  • Agility in managing ambiguity and driving change leadership through influence rather than authority.
  • Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into compelling insights and articulate key trends for executive decision-making.
  • Experience in designing, executing, and measuring engagement, listening, and leadership development programs.
  • Track record of successfully managing teams and driving execution excellence in high-stakes, high-visibility initiatives.

Why Join Us?

This role is an opportunity to operate at the highest levels of strategic influence within a Fortune 500 company’s People function. The Chief of Staff to the CPO will have direct access to executive leadership, play a pivotal role in shaping enterprise-wide talent strategies, and drive initiatives that impact the future of leadership, culture, and employee experience.

If you’re a highly strategic, execution-driven leader who thrives in a fast-paced, high-impact environment and enjoys shaping the future of people strategy at the enterprise level, we’d love to hear from you.

Additional Information

Sandisk is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@sandisk.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 06/06/2025 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

  • An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
  • The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York.  This range may be modified in the future.
  • You will be eligible to participate in Sandisk's Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan, which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance.  Depending on your role and your performance, you may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to Sandisk's Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
  • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Sandisk's Savings 401(k) Plan.
  • Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.
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