Senior Director, Enterprise Transformation – Acceleration Office
About The Position
About the role Northwestern Mutual (NM) is in the early stages of a bold, enterprise-wide transformation, rewiring how we operate, anchored in our multi‑year vision. We are looking for a Senior Director to join the newly formed Acceleration Office, at the center of this work. The Acceleration Office is a dedicated team within the Enterprise Enablement and Technology function, with a mandate to drive transformation across NM. This high‑visibility, fast‑paced work requires strategic thinking, agility, and seamless execution. You will operate at two levels: Assist in building the longer-term transformation vision with cross-functional stakeholders and being directly embedded as a problem solver, working alongside teams that are already operating in this new model. This is a hands-on role requiring deep judgment, influence, and the ability to drive outcomes.
Requirements
- 10+ years in management consulting (MBB or Big 4) with experience with operating model transformation efforts strongly preferred.
- Blended strategy‑and‑execution skill set; experience in portfolio/project management, strategic/operational planning, technology modernization, and/or leading complex, enterprise‑wide initiatives.
- Bias towards action, defaulting to making things happen efficiently and effectively
- Comfort operating in a highly ambiguous environment where the playbook does not yet exist, and you may need to even write it yourself.
- Strong cross‑functional stakeholder management and facilitation across business and technology.
- Clear, concise communicator; strong storyteller; confident building and presenting C‑suite materials.
- Ability to drive change, including communications and coaching on new ways of working.
- Data‑driven approach to tracking and managing programs via RAID/decision logs and dependency management; experience building dashboards and reporting on OKRs/KPIs and targets.
- Highly independent self‑starter; thrives in high‑demand, high‑visibility settings; moves fast with quality under tight deadlines while maintaining high integrity and discretion.
- Comfort with ambiguity and leading change; strong business acumen; ability to raise the bar and bring new thinking.
Responsibilities
- Drive execution: Lead enterprise-wide transformation workstreams from strategy through execution; ensuring accountability by translating strategic objectives into clear milestones and measure progress against milestones. Unblock dependencies and resolve issues quickly.
- Help define the new way of working: Identify operating model opportunities and elevate to leadership for further definition
- Scale Value Delivery: Establish execution rigor through monitoring key program OKRs and KPIs and sequencing work to deliver the most value to NM quickly.
- Orchestrate parts of the transformational roadmap: orchestrate decision forums and meeting cadences that enable, high‑quality decisions and clear ownership.
- Shape the strategic narrative: Develop and deliver executive-level communications, progress reports, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership, translating complexity into clarity.
- Problem Solver: Identify and eliminate systemic barriers, process bottlenecks, and organization friction that impede teams operating within the new model
- Credibility: Build credibility and influence across the enterprise to operate as a trusted advisor and deliver results through influence
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
