Practice Management Operations, Senior Specialist
About The Position
Working directly with Advisor Practices/Practice Management, Distribution Performance, Field Leadership, and Financial Advisors, the Practice Management Operations Senior Specialist evaluates short- and long-term staff incentive compensation plans and provides feedback and guidance. The role supports Career Advisors’ growth objectives and the reward and retention of field talent, while serving as a subject-matter expert on understanding and complying with federal, state, and product regulatory requirements. The specialist identifies conflicts of interest and aligns interests with those of clients, consistent with the enterprise value of “doing the right thing.” The role requires interpreting Northwestern Mutual’s field compensation framework, including insurance, investment brokerage, advisory, and field management compensation information. As a FINRA-registered principal, the specialist exercises independent decision-making authority for Northwestern Mutual, NMIS, and the Wealth Management Company in reviewing, approving, and auditing staff compensation incentive plans. The role also makes recommendations, identifies and escalates issues, conducts audits, assists local Supervision teams, educates stakeholders, and leads or participates in projects and continuous improvement efforts. The position is classified as a Registered Representative under NMIS guidelines and requires fingerprinting.
Requirements
- FINRA Series 6 and Series 26 licenses are required or must be obtained within six months.
- A minimum of 3–5 years of proven experience in the insurance, investment, or financial services industry.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office, with strong emphasis on Excel proficiency.
- Ability to prioritize workload, seek support when appropriate, and work within a larger team.
- Sound decision-making skills using analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment to reach conclusions or recommendations.
- Strong critical-thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Tact and diplomacy, with proven success establishing effective relationships.
- Ability to focus on the client, maintain customer focus, and play to win.
- Attention to detail, including thorough proofreading for presentation, content, accuracy, and quality.
- Ability to facilitate collaboration, communication, coordination, and planning among individuals and teams with diverse expertise, and document aligned priorities, responsibilities, and shared outcomes.
- Ability to evaluate information against defined criteria, document risks, priorities, tradeoffs, and expected outcomes, take timely action, monitor results, and adjust based on evidence.
- Ability to analyze policies and procedures, identify gaps, develop and implement improvements, ensure regulatory and industry compliance, and communicate policies and procedures effectively.
- Fingerprinting is required under NMIS guidelines for this Registered Representative position.
Nice To Haves
- Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Compliance and/or contract, licensing, and registration experience or knowledge.
Responsibilities
- Review, approve, and audit staff compensation incentive plans as a FINRA-registered principal, exercising independent decision-making authority on behalf of Northwestern Mutual, NMIS, and the Wealth Management Company.
- Formulate recommendations and solutions while balancing the interests and expectations of Career Advisors, Field Supervision, and Distribution Performance.
- Identify and anticipate issues and conflicts, escalating them to legal and enterprise stakeholders as needed to resolve them and move teams forward in a timely manner.
- Conduct audits and collect evidence of payment artifacts in accordance with firm policy and NMIS books-and-records requirements.
- Assist the local Supervision team with individual case circumstances and collaborate to resolve questions and issues.
- Educate and train enterprise stakeholders and Supervision team members as needed.
- Lead or participate in projects and continuous improvement efforts.
- Evaluate short- and long-term staff incentive compensation plans and provide feedback and guidance.
- Support understanding of and compliance with federal, state, and product regulatory requirements; identify conflicts of interest and align interests with clients’ interests.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
