Is Chief Purpose Officer (CPO) the Next Major C-Level Role?

A record number of employees are leaving their jobs, citing the desire for purpose-driven work as a significant contributing factor to their decision. More and more employees—including CEOs, COOs, CDOs, CFOs, CMOs, CIOs, CTOs, CHROs, and other CXO executives—need to understand and feel aligned with their organization’s core corporate purpose and believe that they are contributing to the greater good.

Corporate purpose is why an organization exists. It is the inner drive, long-term vision and value, and emotional interactions across business and societal contexts. It’s one thing to have a well-written purpose statement, but to fulfill employees’ need for purpose-driven work, the organization must live and breathe that purpose in every decision, strategy, process, and procedure.

The difficulty organizations face is that there are infinite opportunities for the corporate purpose to be misconstrued, incorrectly translated, or even ignored. Enter: the CPO. Executives who are interested in a CPO role will be challenged with targeting their CEO resumes to such a relatively new role with such a meaningful impact.

If you are interested in pivoting into a CPO role, take a fresh look at your knowledge, skills, and abilities under the lens of what the role entails.

How to Leverage Yourself as a CPO

Focus on accomplishments and achievements where you:

  • Ensured the work being done had meaning and helped employees understand why their work matters.
  • Educated and inspired action towards the mission, vision, and values within your realm and cross-functionally.
  • Connected the organization with audiences who share the same vision and values.
  • Portrayed a consistent and authentic purpose that inspired trust from consumers, employees, and investors.
  • United team members and leaders around the company’s brand, shared beliefs, and goals.

To find out how we can help target your CEO resume to a CPO role, book a complimentary and confidential call with us here.

Mary Elizabeth Bradford is the Founder and Executive Director of CEOresumewriter.com and Maryelizabethbradford.com and a past executive recruiter. A thought leader in the career services industry for over 20 years, she holds 5 distinct advanced certifications for senior-level resume writing, online branding and executive-level job search coaching (CERM, CMRW, CARW, MCD, NCOPE). She has been seen and heard in major media including Forbes, Time, WSJ, Newsweek and NBC affiliate stations. She holds 2 CDI TORI awards and is a top tier judge for the elite CDI TORI awards for four consecutive years. Mary Elizabeth Bradford’s elite team of award-winning, certified, top executive resume writers, former top executive recruiters, and global HR executives help many of the world’s premier C-suite, board members and thought leaders secure the transitions and compensation packages they want. She works with clients all over the globe.

If you are a Director, VP, CxO, or Board Member interested in an executive resume package or working directly with Mary Elizabeth, click to schedule a complimentary 15-minute call.