VP-Enterprise Strategy

Northwestern Mutual; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 196,000 - 294,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee, WI, seeks a strategic leader to serve as Vice President of Enterprise Strategy. This role partners with executive leadership to shape next-generation strategies that enhance client experience and financial security, connecting strategy to execution across the organization.

You will develop multi-year plans, coordinate with the ELG and SLT, manage OKR laddering, align incentive plans, and lead a high-performing team to drive strategic initiatives with measurable

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of demonstrated leadership experience in strategy, development and execution for complex initiatives.
• Financial services experience preferred.
• Proven ability to develop and execute multi-year strategic plans.
• Strong strategic agility and ability to connect initiatives to top-level priorities via OKR management.
• High credibility with senior management and ability to influence across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Lead the evolution of the company’s multi-year strategy in alignment with the long-term vision.
• Partner with the Executive Leadership Group and Senior Leadership Team to drive strategic alignment.
• Oversee the OKR laddering process and establish metrics to measure progress across the organization.
• Oversee incentive plan alignment with strategic objectives and resource allocation.
• Lead cross-functional teams to implement strategic initiatives and drive execution.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Executive communication

OKR management

Cross-functional collaboration

Decision making under ambiguity

Job description

Summary

The Vice President of Enterprise Strategy is responsible for leading strategic advancement and alignment across the organization to accelerate our ambitious vision of transforming how clients experience financial security. This role involves working with executive leadership to develop next-generation strategies that position the company to grow, drive value for policyowners, and connect strategy to execution.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Multi-Year Strategy Development: Lead the evolution of the company’s multi-year strategy, ensuring alignment with our long-term vision and ambitions. Collaborate with executive leadership to identify and prioritize strategic initiatives that will drive organizational growth and transformation.
• Executive Leadership Partnership: Partner with the Executive Leadership Group (ELG) and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to drive strategic alignment and decision-making. Facilitate strategic dialogue and collaboration among senior leaders to ensure cohesive execution of the company’s strategy.
• OKR Laddering Process: Manage the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) laddering process to ensure that initiatives are connected to top-level priorities in alignment with the company’s operating model transformation. Establish clear metrics and performance indicators to measure progress and success across all levels of the organization to drive execution of the strategy.
• Incentive plan alignment: Oversee the definition and prioritization of strategic priorities in the company’s incentive plans, ensuring they align with strategic objectives, deliver tangible business outcomes, and align progress to incentives. Provide guidance and oversight to ensure that resources are allocated effectively to achieve these priorities.
• Cross-functional Implementation: Work cross-functionally with various departments and teams to implement and execute strategic initiatives. Ensure that all parts of the organization have aligned and working towards common strategic goals, fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.
• Team Leadership: Lead a high-performing team responsible for executing the company’s strategic initiatives. Provide mentorship, guidance, and support to team members, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of demonstrated professional leadership experience, including strategy, development and execution for business units or large initiatives.
• Financial services experience preferred.
• Proven experience in developing and executing multi-year strategic plans.
• Strong strategic agility, with the ability to connect initiatives to top-level priorities through effective OKR management.
• High degree of credibility and trust, with strong interpersonal skills to build rapport and influence decisions at all management levels, especially senior management.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence across boundaries and build strong partnerships across the enterprise.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and make decisions with limited information.
• Digital transformation experience preferred.

Compensation Range

Pay Range - Start: $196,000.00 Pay Range - End: $294,000.00 This role is eligible for additional short-term and long-term incentive compensation. 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.

Employer Culture

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.

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.