HR Advisor

Northwestern Mutual; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee is seeking an HR Advisor to coach leaders, interpret policies, and provide consultative support for employee relations issues across the organization.

The role focuses on advising front-line leaders for routine cases, while also contributing to broader HR Solutions initiatives and cross-functional collaboration to improve workplace relations and performance.

Qualifications

• General HR knowledge and understanding across HR disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Provide employee relations guidance to leaders and employees, including policy interpretation and complex consultations.
• Coach managers to create a confidential, psychologically safe space for employees to share experiences.
• Counsel employees and leaders on conflict resolution and performance-related issues.
• Partner with leaders to build strong relationships and foster a positive, trust-based culture.
• Support feedback delivery, goal setting, and continuous employee development.
• Act as a knowledge resource and support for HR Solutions and Business HR initiatives.

Skills

HR Acumen

Consulting

Emotional Intelligence

Interpersonal Savvy

Adaptive Communication

Prioritization

Learning Agility & Critical Thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Job description

About the Job

The HR Advisor provides coaching support to leaders on how to address and manage employee issues (e.g., policy violation, low performance, discipline, job abandonment, conflict mediation) as well as provide general policy interpretation and consultation to leaders and employees (e.g., performance, attendance, misconduct). The HR Advisor typically advises front-line leaders for more routine cases with limited complexity. Finally, HR Advisor also provides employee support for dealing with workplace tension, conflict, or general manager/team/employee concerns.

What You’ll Do

Employee Relations:Provide employee relations general counsel and service to leaders (primary client) and employees; provide complex policy interpretation and strategic consultation to leaders and employees.

Coach & guide managers on how to create a confidential and psychologically safe space for employees to share personal experiences, fostering trust and open communication.

Counsel employees and leaders to help with conflict resolution to better manage potential issues in the workplace. Topics could include components related to Performance Management, Health Services, Union/Collective Bargaining Agreement, and other complex employee matters.

Partner with leaders to build strong employee relationships and cultivate a positive, trust-based team culture. This can include attending meetings to facilitate effective communication, ensure alignment, promote transparency, and support successful resolution of concerns.

Coach managers to capture and deliver feedback that is holistic, balanced, and future-focused. Equip leaders with effective strategies for goal setting, continuous conversations, and employee development, highlighting their intersection with employee relations, coaching, counseling, and discipline.

Follow up with relevant stakeholders (e.g., leaders, employees, Employee Relations, and/or Business HR) to keep a check on the resolution as applicable for effective case management.

Assists in the assembly of HR Solutions insights based on employee relations cases and trends; prepares actionable insights for Business HR (BHR) and HR SET teams as applicable for strategic application.

In partnership with Sr. HR Advisors and HR Advisory leadership, analyzes themes from cases and make recommendations for changes in Company policies, practices, training, programs and/or procedures.

General HR Solutions / Case Management Serve as a general escalation point for HR Contact Center cases; may act as a mentor for aspiring HR Advisors as part of pipeline development.

May be identified as a topic subject matter expert and project lead in support of general HR Solutions transformation portfolio.

May be assigned to maintain components of Knowledge Management in terms of content creation / refreshing to maintain accuracy for consistent application for employees & managers.

Assist with building the future-state model by contributing to the creation of strategy, operating model, SLAs, and processes in partnership with the HR Solutions Team. Improve the consistency of the customer experience and empower leaders / employees via improved self-service, training/resources, process improvement, etc.

Build strong relationships with HR SET partners, working cross-functionally and collaboratively to solve problems and identify areas for improvement.

May act as key liaison for a function(s) Business HR team, to include presenting insights, facilitating proactive 1v1s in hot spots, etc.

The HR Advisor may be strategically paired with a Senior HR Advisor to enhance support for large functions and provide mentorship, enabling independent management of smaller functions.

What Experience You'll Bring

Bachelor's degree in business or related field, or equivalent work experience in employee relations, business HR (generalist/consultant) or related HR field. Typically, 3 years of previous HR experience, with at least 1-2 years within an HR Center of Excellence, HR Solutions, or within Business HR preferred. Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Performs work with thoroughness and adherence to compliance and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Ability to communicate (written/verbal) in a concise manner, adjusting style to match the audience; exhibits self-awareness, empathy, and active listening skills. Ability to think critically to problem solve, anticipate challenges, and propose innovative solutions. Proven ability to deliver superior user‑experience with timely, accurate, and empathetic support to employees and leaders, ensuring professionalism and fostering a positive and productive workplace. Must be able to remain calm under pressure in situations with conflict & high stress; approachable with a strong customer service focused (strong EQ). Experience in assessing and prioritizing work with varied levels of urgency. Adapts to changing case load and projects timelines while still delivering on responsibilities. HR certifications (e.g., SHRM-CP, PHR, or similar) are a plus.

Skills

• HR Acumen Demonstrates general HR knowledge and understanding of the disciplines beyond their own specialty. Understands how all HR disciplines interact and impact other areas. Utilizes their well‑developed network to make informed decisions on various HR matter.
• Consulting Connects with stakeholders to understand and gain specific information to help resolve customer problems in a given domain. Communicates effectively intent to customers, solicits customer requirements, utilizes domain knowledge and collaborates with the right stakeholders.
• Emotional Intelligence Includes self‑awareness and self‑management, empathy towards stakeholders (internal and external) via active listening. Builds trusting relationships and establishes credibility with peers, managers and stakeholders to influence optimal outcomes for employees and clients.
• Interpersonal Savvy Relates well to all kinds of people inside and outside of the organization. Builds appropriate rapport, constructive and effective relationships. Uses diplomacy and tact and diffuses high‑tension situations comfortably.
• Adaptive Communication Formulates strategies to be used to convey complex information about services, products, systems, or processes to targeted audiences; communicates and liaises between technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Prioritization Assesses and accurately assigns priority levels to different tasks based on importance, urgency, and alignment to business and strategic goals.
• Learning Agility & Critical Thinking Pursues learning and obtains knowledge continuously in relevant fields, methods, or technologies in current and future practices; continuously utilizes critical thinking to identify opportunities, execute solutions, and measure impact to constantly improve existing practices and processes based on feedback, lessons learned, and market trends.

Compensation Range

Pay Range - Start: $70,320.00 Pay Range - End: $105,480.00

Geographic Specific Pay Structure: Structure 110: $77,360.00 USD - $116,040.00 USD
Structure 115: $80,880.00 USD - $121,320.00 USD

Company Culture

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.

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.

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. What started in Milwaukee, WI has grown into 7,000+ home office professionals split across 3 campuses: New York City, Franklin and downtown Milwaukee (HQ) - each one bringing with it its own unique talent and culture. 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 as we are growing our digital and tech capabilities and are always on the lookout for bright, tech‑savvy candidates.

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.

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