Change Management Consultant

Northwestern Mutual•Milwaukee, WI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

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: This role leads small to medium change management efforts while collaborating on larger, transformational initiatives. Focuses on the people side of change and influencing behavior, including efforts that involve changes to people, processes, technology and/or culture, to realize business outcomes and benefits. Builds an integrated approach and implements change management, communication, and training plans that minimize employee/field resistance and enhance engagement to drive adoption of change. Collaborates with leaders, stakeholders, sponsors, and project teams to develop overall plans for navigating change, identifying the scope and impact of change. How you will do it: Applies NM emphasized change methodology and process to deliver the people side of change that is required to achieve our desired business outcomes. Identify potential people-related risks and anticipated points of resistance and develop and recommend specific plans to mitigate or address the concerns. Develop change management plans and activities, including training, communication, and sponsorship. Design and implement actionable and targeted change plans to meet deliverables and achieve stated objectives, using established tools and techniques. Guide others to implement the plans, to drive adoption and optimize business benefits. Own the potential change impacts to people, process, technology, organization, and culture. Identify scope and impact of changes and call out change plan gaps or deficiencies within projects or business group and provide updates to leaders as needed. Educate, influence, align, and coach sponsors, leaders, and project teams to drive effective change, manage resistance, and optimize the success of the project. Ensure change strategy and ownership is in place and functioning for the full duration of the change adoption phase to realize stated business outcomes. Participate as an active member of the NM change community to advance change competencies of the company. Adopt and promote common NM enterprise-wide change process, methodology and language. Promote and advocate for the practice of organizational change management throughout the Enterprise, including seeking and applying external perspective and benchmarking change practices.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Human Resources, Communication, or a related field.
Minimum of 4 years of relevant professional experience, with at least 2 years' experience leading small to medium change management efforts.
In-depth understanding of how people go through change and the change process.
Experience and knowledge of change management principles and methodologies.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills to influence others and ability to articulate vision, strategy and solutions that best meet business objectives.
Familiarity with project management approaches, tools, and phases of the project lifecycle.
Ability to work effectively at all levels of the organization and influence others, including influencing without formal authority and influencing executive leadership, toward a common vision.
Self-starter mentality with the ability to lead in new and ambiguous situations.
Must be a team player, open to collaboration and on the job coaching and mentorship
Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams on transformation efforts and projects of significant scope required.
Ability to build relationships and effectively execute in a collaborative and matrixed environment.
Active intellectual curiosity to learn and grow professionally within the change management discipline as well as other valuable business skill acumen.
Outstanding communication skills both written and verbal.
Excellent active listening, root cause identification, and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

Leads small to medium change management efforts while collaborating on larger, transformational initiatives.
Focuses on the people side of change and influencing behavior, including efforts that involve changes to people, processes, technology and/or culture, to realize business outcomes and benefits.
Builds an integrated approach and implements change management, communication, and training plans that minimize employee/field resistance and enhance engagement to drive adoption of change.
Collaborates with leaders, stakeholders, sponsors, and project teams to develop overall plans for navigating change, identifying the scope and impact of change.
Applies NM emphasized change methodology and process to deliver the people side of change that is required to achieve our desired business outcomes.
Identify potential people-related risks and anticipated points of resistance and develop and recommend specific plans to mitigate or address the concerns.
Develop change management plans and activities, including training, communication, and sponsorship.
Design and implement actionable and targeted change plans to meet deliverables and achieve stated objectives, using established tools and techniques.
Guide others to implement the plans, to drive adoption and optimize business benefits.
Own the potential change impacts to people, process, technology, organization, and culture.
Identify scope and impact of changes and call out change plan gaps or deficiencies within projects or business group and provide updates to leaders as needed.
Educate, influence, align, and coach sponsors, leaders, and project teams to drive effective change, manage resistance, and optimize the success of the project.
Ensure change strategy and ownership is in place and functioning for the full duration of the change adoption phase to realize stated business outcomes.
Participate as an active member of the NM change community to advance change competencies of the company.
Adopt and promote common NM enterprise-wide change process, methodology and language.
Promote and advocate for the practice of organizational change management throughout the Enterprise, including seeking and applying external perspective and benchmarking change practices.