Assistant Director, Business Ops Strategy & Planning

Description

About the Job

Helps to drive strategic vision, operating model, budget, planning activities, and outcomes for the department or division, serving as a core integration role (in partnership with the head of the Strategic Integration Office - SIO) that aligns strategy, resources, execution, and adoption across Campus and Event Experiences (CEE). This role operates as part of a shared services and strategic operations capability, enabling CEE to execute enterprise priorities with discipline, clarity, and speed.

What You'll Do:

Strategic Planning

• Directs department/division strategy development and execution, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities, CEE strategic objectives, and portfolio‑level outcomes.
• Leads department/division strategic initiatives that drive business value, with an emphasis on translating strategy into sequenced, executable work.
• Collaborates, plans and organizes with and through people to bridge strategies across teams, strengthening cross‑functional alignment and reducing duplication of effort. Leads and supports portfolio strategy activities for CEE, including intake, prioritization, sequencing, and alignment of initiatives to strategic priorities.
• Ensures the division is focused on the right work at the right time, surfacing tradeoffs, dependencies, and capacity considerations to leadership.
• Partners with SIO leadership to establish and maintain operating rhythms (annual planning, quarterly reviews, and ongoing portfolio updates).

Business Operations

• Identifies gaps between ideal and current state of operating model and recommends solutions to close the gaps, with a focus on scalability, consistency, and governance across CEE.
• Facilitates execution of department/division operating models to improve the health of the department and organization, including adoption of standard practices, tools, and expectations
• Responsible for strategy and planning to align business operations with the company's overarching strategy, mission and goals, ensuring operational discipline supports strategic intent.
• Exhibits high level of local (department/division) business acumen to identify and solve complex operational or organizational problems and identify innovative solutions.

Change, Communications and Adoption Enablement

• Partners closely with change and communications role(s) to ensure initiatives are understood, adopted, and sustained.
• Anticipates change impacts and operational risks associated with strategic initiatives and escalates as needed.
• Supports leaders in reinforcing strategic narrative, priorities, and expectations across the organization.

Project Management

• Partners with department/division leadership team to identify and track priority work, including identifying business outcomes and key metrics, portfolio‑level transparency, and progress against commitments.
• Enables execution of strategic initiatives by connecting leaders, program managers, change partners, and functional teams, portfolio management of key department priorities, developing strategy for project execution, and creating transparency on priority work in the department/division and throughout the enterprise.
• Leads teams or projects with moderate resource requirements, risk, and/or complexity, particularly those requiring cross‑divisional and/or cross-functional coordination.

Department Planning Budgeting

• Leads planning and financial/budgeting process, in partnership with Finance and SIO peers
• Provides data and recommendations and oversees budget forecasting, administration and reporting, supporting leadership decision‑making and tradeoff discussions.
• Manages multiple and complex funding mechanisms and provides guidance to leadership on securing resources to achieve business outcomes, reinforcing financial discipline and stewardship.
• Aligns planning and budget to functional and company priorities, working cross-functionally with peers in the function.

Meeting Planning

• Plans and prepares agendas for staff, portfolio, and leadership planning sessions and meetings.
• Facilitates cross-functional initiatives and the flow of information between stakeholders and other teams, serving as a connector across strategy, execution, and operations.
• Participates in regular leadership meetings to evaluate barriers to success and develop courses of action supporting faster decision‑making and issue resolution.
• Impacts the achievement of operational or project objectives and ensures alignment of department/division priorities to organizational strategy.
• Coordinates requests for information from stakeholders and prepares reports and presentations in response. Interprets internal/external business challenges and recommends best practices to improve products, processes or services.

What Experience You'll Bring:

• Minimum of 7 years' business leadership experience.
• Proven leadership skills working with diverse teams.
• Superior interpersonal skills to lead a group of people.
• Experience operating in an enterprise or shared‑services environment that emphasizes integration, governance, and cross‑functional delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into operational plans and execution rhythms.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, adapting to change and influencing without formal authority in matrixed environments.
• Ability to work horizontally w/ shared priorities elevate functional priorities over department objectives.
• Thinks within lateral accountability and interdependence.
• Proven skills in dealing with ambiguity and paradox, and leading change.
• Ability to translate goals and strategies into executable business plans.
• Strong integrity and proven ability to treat confidential information confidentially.
• Demonstrated learning agility and outside-in perspective to identify future trends and practices.
• Experience in portfolio and/or project management, strategic and operational planning, and leading multiple complex projects with organization-wide impact.
• Demonstrated organizational agility to work across organizational boundaries, influence, and collaborate with all levels on solutions that benefit the organization.
• Exceptional business acumen and focus on achieving business impact through progressive practices and sound business judgment.
• Strong organizational skills; able to handle competing demands, and work under tight deadlines and short time frames. Strong problem solving and strategic/critical thinking skills.

Additional Job Description

• Ability to identify underlying issues and influence others without formal authority. Facilitation and team building skills; ability to play an active, operational and communicative role.
• Interpersonal savvy and comfort interacting with and presenting to all levels of the organization, including senior leaders.
• High degree of self-motivation with leadership and initiative in sharing information, contributing towards group goals, and accepting responsibility for results.
• Proactive and an ability to anticipate needs for a range of broad / complex business problems and staying ahead of them; comfortable working in an ambiguous environment.

#LI-Onsite, #LI-Hybrid

Compensation Range:

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Geographic Specific Pay Structure:

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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.

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Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. 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

Analytical Thinking (NM) - Advanced, Business Case Development (NM) - Intermediate, Prioritization (NM) - Intermediate, Business Acumen (NM) - Advanced, Cross Functional Partnering & Planning (NM) - Advanced, Adaptive Communication (NM) - Advanced, Program Management (NM) - Advanced, Root Cause Analysis & Decision Quality (NM) - Advanced, Learning Agility & Critical Thinking (NM) - Advanced, Stakeholder Relationship (NM) - Intermediate, Executive Presence (NM) - Intermediate, Interpersonal Savvy (NM) - Advanced

FIND YOUR FUTURE

We’re excited about the potential people bring to Northwestern Mutual. You can grow your career here while enjoying first-class perks, benefits, and our commitment to a culture of belonging.

Flexible work schedules

Concierge service

Comprehensive benefits

Employee resource groups