Senior Director Portfolio Management
At Northwestern Mutual, we are strong, innovative and growing. We invest in our people. We care and make a positive difference.
At Northwestern Mutual, we believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. These beliefs launched our company over 160 years ago. Today, they're just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual.
We're strong and growing. In a company with such a long and storied history, this may be the most exciting and important time to be a part of Northwestern Mutual. We're strong, innovative and growing.
We invest in our people. We provide opportunities for employees to grow themselves, their career and in turn, our business.
We care. We make a positive difference in our communities. Nationally, thousands have benefitted from our support of research and programs to fight childhood cancer. Each year, our Foundation, employees and financial representatives donate time, talent and financial support to causes they're passionate about.
What you will do:
The Senior Director, IPS PMO Portfolio Manager, is a member of the Investment Products & Services Program Management Office and plays a critical role in enabling the successful delivery of IPS and enterprise efforts by driving planning and prioritization decisions that achieve the goals set forth by our business strategy. The individual uses their expertise across business, product, and technology domains to engage business and cross-functional delivery partners to develop a multi-year delivery roadmap while understanding and leading through implementation constraints within the portfolio. The role recognizes and demonstrates planning framework rigor to establish insights and recommendations into portfolio-level interdependencies, sequencing, resource planning, and delivery risk, in pursuit of creating a credible delivery plan. The successful candidate will demonstrate use of an enterprise-wide perspective to drive partnership throughout the planning and delivery cycle by forging relationships with a diverse group of leaders and cross-functional partners. As the Senior Director of Portfolio Management, you will be a member of the IPS PMO leadership team. This is a high-transparency role requiring influence, partnership, and gravitas. This position requires a high degree of strategic competence, strong ability to collaborate horizontally and vertically, and leadership skills.
How you will do it:
- Accountable for aligning large, complex programs consisting of multiple efforts into a cohesive roadmap and delivery plan.
- Defines and aligns strategic objectives to program results; contributes to defining the program structures and resourcing to deliver on objectives.
- Understands and ensures portfolio outcomes and key results are managed.
- Makes connections across teams and workstreams to drive identification and facilitation of interdependencies.
- Identifies, assesses, and mitigates portfolio-level risks and impediments.
- Ensures project delivery teams identify and manage to critical-path milestones with respect to program outcomes and quarterly planning increments.
- Develops supportive relationships with business partners to handle program delivery expectations and implementation.
- Leans into ambiguity to create a way forward with the portfolio and programs.
- Uses extensive knowledge of program management and business requirements to understand the key business drivers as they relate to the programs.
- Establishes a resourcing model framework to ensure the appropriate allocation of resources are aligned to work efforts.
- Applies real-world experience to ensure delivery teams use the best and most appropriate tools and techniques to enable end-to-end value delivery.
- Accountable for portfolio health reporting to business line leaders, department and cross-functional leadership.
- Continually strive for increased transparency on portfolio health and outcomes.
- May lead or mentor program managers. Contributes to the building and motivating of team members, influencing positive action and accountability for assigned work.
Bring Your Best! What this role needs:
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Systems or related field; advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of proven experience delivering innovative solutions and strategies, preferably within wealth management and financial services, with significant responsibility in planning and driving large-scale programs.
- Experience connecting work with broader corporate strategies.
- Experience prioritizing, analyzing first and second order consequences across the portfolio in real time.
- Broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can build driven and breakthrough innovation strategies and plans.
- Ability to work with general direction to scope, plan and coordinate cross-department or multi-department programs.
- Strong strategic competence and proven track record to build executive-level relationships, gain confidence, and work collaboratively with colleagues and leaders at all levels to identify and resolve issues.
- Ability to drive consensus and decisions amongst many disparate constituents.
- Outstanding communication skills with ability to influence across boundaries and build positive relationships across the enterprise and externally; has the political savvy to get work implemented across the enterprise, understands and can articulate trade-offs, and the ability to challenge status quo.
- Prior experience as a people leader.
- Experience working in agile and mixed methodologies and tooling.
Benefits:
Great pay package, 401K, Company sponsored retirement plan, Educational assistance, Performance based incentive pay, Medical, dental and vision insurance, Parental leave, Caregiver time off....and more
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This job is not covered by the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Required Certifications:
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We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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