Chief of Staff & Strategic Program Lead, People Brand & Culture

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we're on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We're looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

The Chief of Staff & Strategic Program Lead for the People, Brand & Culture (PB&C) team is a strategic, analytical, and highly organized business partner to the PB&C organization. In this combined role, you will serve as a key advisor to the Chief People Officer (CPO) while simultaneously driving the rigorous execution of the PB&C objectives, including the operational project portfolio.

Rather than focusing strictly on theoretical change management, this role is program-heavy and execution-focused, combining executive-level chief of staff responsibilities with disciplined program management governance. You will provide the structure, accountability, and functional change enablement necessary to ensure complex initiatives are delivered seamlessly, on time, and in alignment with Viasat's business objectives.

This role reports directly to the Chief People, Brand and Culture Officer, is open globally, and offers a site based or home based working style with frequent in-office collaboration. Domestic and international travel is required as needed, expected to be quarterly at a minimum.

Executive Operations & Strategic Advisory (Chief of Staff)

• Thought Partnership: Serve as a key advisor, credible sounding board, and trusted business partner to the CPO and the broader PB&C leadership team.

• Leadership Rhythm: Strategize, plan, coordinate, and facilitate PB&C leadership staff meetings, all-hands, and offsites. Design agendas, capture action items, and establish mechanisms to translate discussions into executable project plans.

• Business Operations: Manage and oversee the PB&C budget, workforce planning in collaboration with the PB&C talent partner, and organizational structure tracking.

• Strategic Communication: Elevate the voice of the PB&C team by designing and managing executive presentations, COE materials, and communication platforms (e.g., SharePoint) for audiences both inside and outside the function.

• Chief of Staff Forum: Convene and lead the enterprise Chief of Staff Forum, building the connective tissue between business areas to ensure strategy moves in one direction.

Portfolio Governance & Execution (Program Lead)

• Program Execution: Oversee the comprehensive PB&C strategic plan and people operations project portfolio. Manage overall program plans, develop schedules, track critical milestones, and maintain a rigorous program review cadence.

• Accountability & Frameworks: Implement structured governance processes-including RAID logs, risk and opportunity management, and accountability frameworks-to mitigate execution bottlenecks.

• Performance Architecture: Drive alignment across all PB&C KPIs and lead the mechanism for creating, enabling, tracking, and reporting on team OKRs, ensuring integration with executive leadership expectations.

• Functional Change Enablement: Cross-functionally engage and align stakeholders to ensure clarity of priorities. Seamlessly integrate operational change enablement actions directly into project plans to secure successful, sustainable adoption of new initiatives.

• AI Forward Operations: Identify opportunities to integrate AI-driven tools and automation into day-to-day HR program tracking, optimizing portfolio workflows and improving data accuracy across project delivery dashboards.

• Experience and dual expertise: Minimum 5+ years in chief of staff or program director role in global organization with proven background combining executive-level HR/PB&C business partnering with deep, hands-on program/project management experience overseeing complex, cross-functional initiatives.

• Strategic Roadmap Ownership: Track record of driving end-to-end strategic planning for a business or corporate function in a Chief of Staff and/or Program Manager role, from roadmap design and OKR alignment to executive reporting and course correction.

• Portfolio Rigor: Demonstrated experience running program governance, including schedule development, milestone tracking, resource constraints, and data-driven status reporting.

• AI-Enabled Program Delivery: Hands-on experience championing or utilizing automated tools and AI applications within portfolio governance to scale internal tracking, streamline administrative friction, and enhance predictive reporting.

• Executive Presence & Influence: Capable and confident communicator comfortable in high-level debate, defending ideas, and building trusted relationships to indirectly influence stakeholders at all levels.

• Analytical & Financial Acumen: Strong financial and analytical skills to judge complex situations quickly, manage functional budgets, and synthesize raw project data into clear executive decision support.

• Operational Drive: A proactive, deadline-driven leader who operates with high integrity, masters confidential information, and can seamlessly pivot between strategic high-level planning and tactical execution.

• Tech & Tool Proficiency: Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio) alongside dedicated project management tools and collaboration platforms (e.g., Smartsheet, MS Project, SharePoint).

• Professional Project Management qualification (e.g., PMP, Prince2, Six Sigma).

• Previous exposure to global, complex matrixed corporate environments.

• Direct experience managing Reward, Talent, or Center of Excellence (COE) corporate programs.

• Familiarity with OKR frameworks and strategic portfolio management platforms (such as Tempus).

• Formal training or practical grounding in functional change methodologies (e.g., Prosci, ADKAR) focused on operational readiness.

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here.