Senior Director Advanced Markets Operations

Northwestern Mutual • Milwaukee, WI

41d • $144,000 - $248,400 • Onsite

About The Position

Develop, implement and monitor a three to five-year contact center strategy across the Advanced Markets contact centers to ensure that financial representatives and policyowners maintain a favorable view of Northwestern Mutual's brand and reputation. Create a culture of high quality and continuous improvement through the process of assessment, evaluation, insight, action, implementation and measurement. Develop comprehensive strategies and direct resources to achieve Department and Company field and client experience objectives through integrated client service interactions (billing collection, beneficiary title, client data maintenance, etc.). Develop, maintain and improve effective communications with customers regarding all aspects of service. Develop, implement and monitor service recovery and concierge services across customer operations. Direct, develop and provide guidance to Assistant Directors and Managers in all operational matters, including those relating to service delivery, talent management, budgeting and staffing for integrated client services. Direct the delivery of contact center support services and works with business process owners to resolve service levels gaps. Leverage relationships across departments to ensure that customer service representatives are knowledgeable about all relevant products and product changes. Drive implementation of best practices for hiring, training and retention across all of the contact centers. Participate in company-wide projects and analyze impact of process and/or system changes cross-functionally. Accountable for maintaining peer and industry relationships and education on current and future state contact center best practices and incorporating innovation and industry best practices into the strategic direction of the company's contact centers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree business or related field.
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible level experience including expertise in operations and/or the designated investment products (if applicable) that the position supports.
• Comprehensive understanding of customer service environments, large scale contact center operations, and contact center technologies.
• Solid understanding of the insurance business, including field relations, servicing functions, billing and collections and client data maintenance.
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to think creatively to find solutions that deliver and' vs or'.
• Demonstrated superior written and verbal communication skills with ability to build rapport and gain acceptance at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to independently analyze and solve complex business problems.
• Strong skills and desire to develop direct reports and others.
• Demonstrated knowledge in process improvement, Lean, Continuous Learning and Improvement, or similar methodologies.
• Requires Series 6 and 26.
• Escalation Management: Addresses and resolves incidents where customer wants to communicate with leadership or higher authorities regarding their problems. Empathizes, understands, and interacts with the customer to mitigate their issues using domain expertise and adaptive communication techniques.
• Prioritization: Assesses and accurately assigns priority levels to different tasks based on importance, urgency, and alignment to business and strategic goals.
• Strategic Vision & Planning: Develops, defines, and executes strategic vision for the team and business function they manage with an understanding of the enterprise’s goals as a people manager; defines business planning, strategy formulation, and management engine to support strategic vision.
• Talent Development & Planning: Develops direct reports’ skills based on organizational objectives, evaluates skill gaps, and manages succession planning to develop more capable direct reports, diverse, strong teams and better organizational performance in an equitable and inclusive manner.
• Change Adaptability: Becomes adaptable in response to continual changes; shows an openness to new ways of working, new methods, work-in-progress improvements and changes and seamlessly navigates the changing business environment and adjusts behavior as appropriate to the situation.
• Business Influence: Collaborates, communicates and influences direct reports, stakeholders, and other business functions based on understanding of the marketplace, organizational needs, and the client as a people manager.
• Analytical Thinking: Organizes and compares various aspects of a situation to comprehend and identify key or underlying complex issues through the use of quantitative data and analysis; leverages strong business acumen, problem solving, and interpersonal skills to think critically about situations from multiple perspectives and consistently seeks ways to improve processes.
• This position has been classified as a Registered Representative under NMIS guidelines and requires fingerprinting.
• Series 26 - FINRA
• Series 6 - FINRA

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement and monitor a three to five-year contact center strategy across the Advanced Markets contact centers.
• Create a culture of high quality and continuous improvement.
• Develop comprehensive strategies and direct resources to achieve Department and Company field and client experience objectives.
• Develop, maintain and improve effective communications with customers regarding all aspects of service.
• Develop, implement and monitor service recovery and concierge services across customer operations.
• Direct, develop and provide guidance to Assistant Directors and Managers in all operational matters.
• Direct the delivery of contact center support services and works with business process owners to resolve service levels gaps.
• Leverage relationships across departments to ensure that customer service representatives are knowledgeable about all relevant products and product changes.
• Drive implementation of best practices for hiring, training and retention across all of the contact centers.
• Participate in company-wide projects and analyze impact of process and/or system changes cross-functionally.
• Accountable for maintaining peer and industry relationships and education on current and future state contact center best practices and incorporating innovation and industry best practices into the strategic direction of the company's contact centers.

Benefits

• Compensation Range: Pay Range - Start: $144,000.00 Pay Range - End: $216,000.00
• Geographic Specific Pay Structure: Structure 110: $158,400.00 USD - $237,600.00 USD Structure 115: $165,600.00 USD - $248,400.00 USD
• 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.
• Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our clients' interests at the center of all we do.
• 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.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior