Assistant Director, Corporate Development

Northwestern Mutual Group; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 131,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern Mutual is seeking an experienced professional to support the mergers, acquisitions and partnerships team. You will analyze business cases for acquisitions and partnerships, build valuation models, and coordinate cross‑functional activities with senior leaders.

The role requires deep finance expertise, strong communication skills, and the ability to interact with external partners and executives.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of experience in research, financial analysis, corporate strategy, or banking.
• Significant experience developing valuation models for mergers and acquisitions projects.
• MBA preferred with bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or related business degree.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and interpret financial data and other technical information.
• Understanding of the financial services industry, insurance, and other financial products.
• Ability to engage with senior external parties and stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build rapport at all levels.
• Strong presentation skills to simplify complex information for broad audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple, diverse assignments in a timely and quality manner.

Responsibilities

• Develops business cases for acquisitions and partnerships through qualitative and quantitative analyses.
• Partners with business leaders to generate and evaluate opportunities to accelerate the execution of multi-year strategy.
• Researches and stays informed on financial services industry trends to synthesize external learnings with Northwestern Mutual’s operations.
• Monitors mergers, acquisitions and partnership trends for insights and comparative analysis.
• May develop valuation models for prospective acquisitions and partnerships using Excel (multiples, DCF, strategic value).
• Establishes relationships with colleagues, senior management and industry contacts.

Skills

Financial analysis

Valuation modeling

Research experience

Communication skills

Project management

Education

MBA

Bachelor’s degree in finance/economics/accounting

Job description

About This Job

Supports the planning, initiation, and execution of business development activities across the organization. As a member of the mergers, acquisitions and partnerships team the individual will analyze and develop business cases for acquisitions and partnerships, lead external research to access benchmarks, build valuation models, and help coordinate cross-departmental team activities.

What You'll Do:

• Develops business cases for acquisitions and partnerships through qualitative and quantitative analyses. Outputs may be memos, written presentations, and oral presentations delivered to the business development mergers, acquisitions and partnerships team and senior business leaders.
• Partners with business leaders to proactively generate and evaluate opportunities to accelerate the execution of our multi-year strategy
• Researches and stays informed on broad financial services industry trends to synthesize external learnings with an understanding of Northwestern Mutual’s business operations and strategy.
• Monitors financial services industry mergers, acquisitions and partnership trends for insights and comparative analysis.
• May develop or co-develop valuation models for prospective acquisitions and partnerships through the use of Excel. Uses various modeling techniques: multiples, discounted cash flow, strategic value, etc.
• Establishes and maintains relationships/dialogue with colleagues, senior management, and industry contacts.
• Functions as a liaison with investment banking partners focused on potential acquisition opportunities.
• Supports transaction team with negotiation and diligence process.

What You'll Bring:

• A minimum of 6 years of experience with a background in research, financial analysis, corporate strategy, or banking.
• Significant experience developing valuation models for mergers and acquisitions projects.
• Preference given for MBA with a minimum of bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or related business degree.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and interpret financial data and other technical information.
• Understanding of the financial services industry, insurance, and other financial products.
• Presence and skills to successfully navigate working with senior-level external parties.
• Demonstrated superior written and verbal communication skills with ability to build rapport and gain acceptance at all levels in the Home Office.
• Presentation skills with capability to simplify complex information for consumption by broader audience.
• Ability to manage multiple, diverse assignments in a timely and quality manner.

Skills You'll Have:

• Organizes and compares various aspects of a situation to comprehend and identify key or underlying complex issues through the use of quantitative data and analysis; leverages strong business acumen, problem solving, and interpersonal skills to think critically about situations from multiple perspectives and consistently seeks ways to improve processes.
• Understanding of market or customer‑specific product use‑cases, ecosystem dependencies, and competitor offerings. Ability to conduct or interpret competitive analysis of features with key competitive products.
• Oversees and is responsible for the realization of larger workstream goals and manages activities that span across the program. Understands technical aspects of the program, defines scope, develops schedules, and manages resourcing, risks, and dependencies to deliver successful outcomes.
• Demonstrates extensive knowledge of common practices, regulatory considerations, market trends and the competitive landscape within a particular industry / sector to better understand and address unique client requirements, challenges, and context

#LI-Hybrid

Compensation Range:

Pay Range - Start:

$130,800.00

Pay Range - End:

$196,200.00

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.

Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. 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.

Skills

Customer, Market & Ecosystem Knowledge (NM), Collaborative Partnership & Planning (NM), Program Management (NM), Strategic & Systems Thinking (NM), Industry Knowledge (NM), Analytical Thinking (NM)