Senior Director, Chief of Staff

About the Job:

Serve as a strategic partner to the VP of Talent, driving operational excellence while fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. This role requires a forward-thinking leader who can navigate the complexities of team dynamics, strategic alignment, and operational effectiveness to propel the organization towards its long-term objectives.

What You'll Do:

Operational Excellence & Execution

• Drive accountability: Track and follow up on Talent team commitments, priorities, and deadlines across the function.

  Drive accountability: Track and follow up on Talent team commitments, priorities, and deadlines across the function.

• Operational Cadence: Coordinate stand-ups, leadership team meetings, quarterly business reviews, and steering committees to ensure effective operations.

  Operational Cadence: Coordinate stand-ups, leadership team meetings, quarterly business reviews, and steering committees to ensure effective operations.

• Issue resolution: Surface bottlenecks and risks early, propose solutions, and coordinate cross-functional fixes. Cascade information, up, down and around the organization to ensure speed and a cohesive operating rhythm.

  Issue resolution: Surface bottlenecks and risks early, propose solutions, and coordinate cross-functional fixes. Cascade information, up, down and around the organization to ensure speed and a cohesive operating rhythm.

• Decision support: Ensure VP of Talent has the right briefings, data, analysis, and pre-reads to make timely, informed decisions.

  Decision support: Ensure VP of Talent has the right briefings, data, analysis, and pre-reads to make timely, informed decisions.

• Strategic and Operational Planning: Collaborate with HR Function Leadership and the Office of the CPO to align operational plans with the company's strategic vision. Ensure the VP of Talent is consistently informed about KPIs, progress, risks, and potential roadblocks.

  Strategic and Operational Planning: Collaborate with HR Function Leadership and the Office of the CPO to align operational plans with the company's strategic vision. Ensure the VP of Talent is consistently informed about KPIs, progress, risks, and potential roadblocks.

• Budgeting and Financial Planning: Coordinating planning and budgeting processes, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and operational goals.

  Budgeting and Financial Planning: Coordinating planning and budgeting processes, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and operational goals.

Strategic Alignment & Prioritization

• Translate strategy to execution: Deconstruct VP of Talent's strategic goals into clear initiatives with milestones.

  Translate strategy to execution: Deconstruct VP of Talent's strategic goals into clear initiatives with milestones.

• Portfolio Management: Partner with cross-functional leaders to ensure team initiatives are sequenced, resourced, and delivering value. Facilitate functional Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) to assess progress, align on priorities, and adjust strategies as needed to enhance overall portfolio performance.

  Portfolio Management: Partner with cross-functional leaders to ensure team initiatives are sequenced, resourced, and delivering value. Facilitate functional Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) to assess progress, align on priorities, and adjust strategies as needed to enhance overall portfolio performance.

• Clarity of Focus: Assist the VP of Talent in prioritizing high-impact initiatives by effectively evaluating and deprioritizing low-value tasks, ensuring sustained attention on the most critical priorities.

  Clarity of Focus: Assist the VP of Talent in prioritizing high-impact initiatives by effectively evaluating and deprioritizing low-value tasks, ensuring sustained attention on the most critical priorities.

• Foresight & trends: Monitor Talent trends and market changes; brief VP of Talent on implications for strategy.

  Foresight & trends: Monitor Talent trends and market changes; brief VP of Talent on implications for strategy.

Leadership Team Effectiveness

• Team alignment: Facilitate VP of Talent leadership team effectiveness (e.g., offsites, operating norms, talent discussions).

  Team alignment: Facilitate VP of Talent leadership team effectiveness (e.g., offsites, operating norms, talent discussions).

• Information flow: Ensure the right information gets to and from the VP of Talent, reducing churn, while increasing speed and a cohesive operating rhythm.

  Information flow: Ensure the right information gets to and from the VP of Talent, reducing churn, while increasing speed and a cohesive operating rhythm.

• Talent lens: Partner with BHR team to assess talent readiness, succession, and leadership dynamics

  Talent lens: Partner with BHR team to assess talent readiness, succession, and leadership dynamics

• Culture Carrier: Reinforce the VP of Talent's leadership style and priorities across the organization. Lead change management efforts within the function to ensure smooth transitions and adoption of new processes, fostering a resilient and adaptive organizational culture amidst ongoing changes.

  Culture Carrier: Reinforce the VP of Talent's leadership style and priorities across the organization. Lead change management efforts within the function to ensure smooth transitions and adoption of new processes, fostering a resilient and adaptive organizational culture amidst ongoing changes.

Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Management

• Enterprise connector: Coordinate with Finance, HR, Risk, Legal, and other functions to align with enterprise priorities. Partner with other ELG Chiefs of Staff to coordinate and align strategic initiatives and key priorities and decisions

  Enterprise connector: Coordinate with Finance, HR, Risk, Legal, and other functions to align with enterprise priorities. Partner with other ELG Chiefs of Staff to coordinate and align strategic initiatives and key priorities and decisions

• Board Prep: When needed, draft materials, talking points, and executive updates that showcase progress and challenges.

  Board Prep: When needed, draft materials, talking points, and executive updates that showcase progress and challenges.

• External visibility: Support VP of Talent in thought leadership, vendor/partner relationships, and industry engagements.

  External visibility: Support VP of Talent in thought leadership, vendor/partner relationships, and industry engagements.

Strategic Executive Support & Optimization

• Time optimization: In partnership with Executive Assistant team, manage VP of Talent's calendar, ensuring the right balance of strategic vs. operational work.

  Time optimization: In partnership with Executive Assistant team, manage VP of Talent's calendar, ensuring the right balance of strategic vs. operational work.

• Voice amplification: Partner with BHR and communications (all-hands, exec updates, keynotes) to keep messaging consistent.

  Voice amplification: Partner with BHR and communications (all-hands, exec updates, keynotes) to keep messaging consistent.

• Trusted sounding board: Provide honest feedback, challenge assumptions, and offer alternative viewpoints.

  Trusted sounding board: Provide honest feedback, challenge assumptions, and offer alternative viewpoints.

What Experience You'll Bring:

• Minimum of 12 years' business leadership experience, with proven leadership skills across diverse, cross-functional teams.

• Superior interpersonal skills to lead groups and build strong relationships at all levels.

• Extensive experience in strategic planning, portfolio and project management, and leading multiple complex projects with organization-wide impact.

• Strong business acumen and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to translate goals into actionable business plans.

• High integrity and discretion with confidential information.

• Strong organizational skills, capable of handling competing demands and working under tight deadlines.

• Proficiency in problem-solving, critical thinking, facilitation, and team-building skills.

• Demonstrated learning agility and the ability to identify future trends and practices.

• Demonstrated organizational agility to work across organizational boundaries, influence, and collaborate with all levels on solutions that benefit the organization.

• Interpersonal savvy and comfort interacting with and presenting to all levels of the organization, including senior leaders.

• High degree of self-motivation with leadership and initiative in sharing information, contributing towards group goals, and accepting responsibility for results.

• Proactive and an ability to anticipate needs for a range of broad / complex business problems and staying ahead of them; comfortable working in an ambiguous environment.

#LI-Hybrid, #LI-Onsite

Compensation Range:

Pay Range - Start:

Pay Range - End:

Geographic Specific Pay Structure:

Structure 110:

Structure 115:

We believe in fairness and transparency. It's why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you're living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click here to learn more.

Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our clients' interests at the center of all we do. Get started now!

Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.

Business Acumen (NM) - Expert, Cross Functional Partnering & Planning (NM) - Advanced, Learning Agility & Critical Thinking (NM) - Expert, Program Management (NM) - Expert, Prioritization (NM) - Advanced, Accountability (NM) - Advanced, Executive Presence (NM) - Advanced, Analytical Thinking (NM) - Expert, Business Case Development (NM) - Advanced, Business Influence (NM) - Advanced, Stakeholder Relationship (NM) - Advanced, Adaptive Communication (NM) - Expert, Root Cause Analysis & Decision Quality (NM) - Expert, Interpersonal Savvy (NM) - Advanced

We're excited about the potential people bring to Northwestern Mutual. You can grow your career here while enjoying first-class perks, benefits, and our commitment to a culture of belonging.

• Flexible work schedules
• Concierge service
• Comprehensive benefits
• Employee resource groups