Senior Director, Enterprise & Client Strategy - Northwestern Mutual

About the team  

As a part of Northwestern Mutual’s Strategy function, the Enterprise Strategy team develops informed perspectives and recommendations on the biggest strategic questions the organization faces, from evaluating market differentiators to identifying growth opportunities. We are a centralized strategy team with the mandate to have an in-depth understanding of our client’s needs and how our products, services, and distribution channel connect to meet those needs. Our success means we deliver better financial and emotional outcomes to every client. 

We are actively seeking an energetic strategist to join a team of high-powered, aspirational leaders that are committed to being at the forefront of emerging trends and evolving client needs. The ideal candidate will have concrete strategy experience, with a passion for imagining the future and crafting a compelling, data-driven strategy to surface our potential.   

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

In this role, you will be defining industry-leading strategies to drive client acquisition and deepen relationships with clients. Our work leverages different methodologies based on topic (e.g., root cause analysis, scenario-based planning, etc.). This role drives discussions with senior leaders across the enterprise to make strategic investments with significant impact on the company's future direction and performance. You and your team will sit at the intersection of consumer insights, strategy, and business planning & operations to bring our differentiated go-to-market strategy to life. 

Key focus areas include:  

• Market & trend analysis : Conduct external research (e.g., megatrends, competitive analysis) to inform our strategic perspectives and keep a pulse on market positioning. 

• Vision and strategy : Navigate complex business challenges by employing structured problem-solving to develop and drive recommendations, create frameworks from scratch, and build business cases. 

• Research & data : Build a learning agenda and deliver in collaboration with research, insights, and analytics teams. 

• Client insights : Lead strategic conversations on client challenges and financial goals to inform industry-leading, innovative ways to drive client acquisition, deepen engagement, and build intergenerational relationships with clients. 

• Expert management and organization : Independently lead distinct bodies of work and/or projects, including anticipating business needs beyond immediate next steps and connecting the strategy to execution. 

• Executive communication : Prepare and deliver executive updates, articulating insights and synthesizing complex ideas into crisp concepts and action plans. 

• Field stakeholder management : Spearhead conversations with our top financial advisors to understand best practices and build strategies that are accretive to the advisor and client relationship. 

• Concept testing : Collaborate with the Partnerships and Innovation team to validate market desirability and viability of solutions through client/advisor concept testing. 

• Internal stakeholder management : Foster strong relationships with stakeholders, including digital product, other internal strategy teams, business partners, etc., ensuring alignment and support for key initiatives. 

What this role needs:

• Bachelor’s degree

• 7-10 years of experience in strategy consulting or corporate strategy 

• Experienced in defining enterprise-wide outcomes and key results that are aligned to the organization's value proposition. Proven ability to leverage data in generating actionable insights is a plus. 

• Strong capability to evaluate and convert complex ideas into a simple, digestible format for all audiences. 

• Deep industry insights in financial services. Financial planning, wealth and asset management, and/or insurance experience preferred 

• Demonstrated understanding of exclusive distribution system, including business model and go-to-market approaches. Experience working with financial advisors preferred. 

• Experience building relationships and working collaboratively with top executives and colleagues to identify and resolve issues. 

• Exceptional people management skills; ability to lead a small team with enterprise vision, set clear team goals, coach strategic skillsets, and create a collaborative, inclusive culture.  

• Proven leadership ability to focus on internal and external relationships, co-create and define mutually beneficial outcomes.  

• Excellent oral and written communicator; strong PowerPoint skills required; familiarity with writing executive memos. 

• Ability to build project plans, manage tight timelines, and maintain focus on delivering high impact work. 

Benefits:

• Tuition reimbursement, commuter plans, and paid time off

• Highly competitive compensation that include base salary plus bonus

• Medical/Dental/Vision plans, 401(k), pension program

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