National Director of Sales – NT OCIO+, Wealth Management

Northern Trust•Chicago, IL

15d•$171,700 - $300,500

About The Position

The National Director of Sales for NT OCIO+ is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing the national sales strategy for Northern Trust’s institutional OCIO practice, with primary accountability for new client acquisition across foundation, endowment, retirement, healthcare, association, educational, and other institutional markets. The role reports to the Head of OCIO and has matrixed responsibilities to Wealth Management and Asset Management sales organizations. The director establishes a consistent national go-to-market framework covering target markets, prospect segmentation, sales priorities, opportunity qualification, pipeline management, sales execution, internal referrals, and performance measurement. The position leads, coaches, trains, and holds the national sales organization accountable, while coordinating with OCIO leadership, Wealth Management and Asset Management sales leaders, client-service teams, investment professionals, marketing, philanthropic advisory, and other subject-matter experts. As the central coordinator of the business’s national growth strategy, the director aligns sales resources, processes, and activities with strategic priorities and annual growth objectives. The role also oversees complex opportunities, internal distribution and referrals, sales performance and incentives, new-business onboarding, and sales enablement. By the end of the first year, the director is expected to establish a recommendation for creating an OCIO Search Consultant Relations function. The posting says sales professionals may report to this position, but reporting lines have not yet been determined.

Requirements

Significant experience in institutional business development, investment management, wealth management, OCIO, nonprofit/endowment/retirement advisory, or a related financial services environment.
Demonstrated success developing and executing sales strategies that produce measurable organic growth.
Strong knowledge of the institutional marketplace and institutional clients’ investment, governance, and advisory needs.
Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop experienced sales professionals.
Experience managing complex institutional sales cycles involving senior executives, investment committees, boards, consultants, and other decision makers.
Strong command of pipeline management, forecasting, CRM discipline, sales analytics, and performance measurement.
Ability to collaborate across a matrixed organization and influence professionals and senior leaders outside direct reporting relationships.
Exceptional communication, presentation, relationship-management, and executive-presence skills.
Strong strategic orientation and ability to translate strategy into disciplined execution.
Bachelor’s degree required.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses are preferred, or may be required based on supervisory responsibilities.
Advanced degree or relevant professional designation preferred.
FINRA Series 24 registration is likely to be required if reporting lines to sales professionals are established.

Responsibilities

Maintain a consistent national go-to-market framework defining target client segments, priority markets, prospect profiles, coverage expectations, and sales activities.
Identify market-expansion and client-penetration opportunities across foundations, endowments, nonprofit organizations, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, associations, and other institutional segments.
Develop strategies to achieve or exceed revenue and asset growth objectives, evaluate market opportunities, and prioritize sales resources.
Promote proactive business development, relationship building, and self-sourced opportunity generation.
Establish a recommendation by the end of the first year for creating an OCIO Search Consultant Relations function.
Lead, direct, coach, and develop the national institutional OCIO sales organization; establish expectations for sales activities, pipeline progression, collaboration, and performance.
Conduct regular coaching and development meetings; coach sales professionals through complex opportunities, RFPs, finalist presentations, pricing, and negotiations.
Establish consistent sales practices while allowing appropriate regional and client-specific strategies; support recruiting, onboarding, succession planning, and talent development.
Provide oversight for appropriately licensed sales professionals in accordance with regulatory and supervisory requirements.
Oversee the national new-business pipeline and establish standards for opportunity qualification, pipeline stages, probability assessments, expected close dates, and CRM data integrity.
Conduct pipeline reviews, monitor sales-funnel movement, identify conversion improvements, forecast new assets and revenue, and communicate pipeline trends and risks to senior leadership.
Analyze sales performance, conversion rates, sourcing activity, opportunity size, sales-cycle duration, and other metrics to inform resource allocation and sales strategy.
Strengthen connectivity with Wealth Management and Asset Management sales teams, encourage qualified internal referrals, and establish referral accountability and follow-up.
Provide strategic oversight for significant and complex institutional opportunities, including pursuit strategy, team composition, prospect meetings, finalist presentations, and board-level discussions.
Participate directly in strategically important prospect opportunities and facilitate post-decision reviews of significant wins and losses.
Help the segment communicate its investment, advisory, philanthropic, and broader capabilities to institutional decision makers.
Establish and monitor sales key performance indicators; evaluate individual and team performance, recognize strong performance, and address performance gaps through coaching or development plans.
Oversee the NT OCIO+ sales incentive program and provide transparent reporting on sales performance, pipeline health, and progress toward annual objectives.
Identify onboarding bottlenecks and process obstacles, communicate them through the COO function, and track approved opportunities through funding.
Partner with Marketing and internal stakeholders on campaigns, events, thought leadership, sales materials, tools, messaging, and competitive intelligence.
Monitor industry trends, competitor activity, institutional buying behavior, and evolving client needs; incorporate market intelligence into strategic planning.

Benefits

Retirement benefits, including 401(k) and pension.
Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
Spending accounts and disability benefits.
Paid time off.
Parental and caregiver leave.
Life and accident insurance.
Other voluntary and well-being benefits.
Discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
Flexible and collaborative work culture.
Opportunities for movement within the organization and access to senior leaders.
Inclusive workplace and community involvement.