Assistant Director, Client & Field Experience Strategy
Northwestern Mutual
Milwaukee, WI
About the Job
The Assistant Director, Client & Field Experience Strategy supports the Client & Field Experience teams in shaping, designing, and enabling the delivery of integrated client and field experiences that help advisors, field teams, and clients achieve successful outcomes. This role blends experience design, research, and insight synthesis with strategic and execution support, partnering with domain and delivery teams to translate client and field insights into actionable, experience-led solutions.
Operating within a domain-based delivery model, the Assistant Director plays a hands-on role in research, journey mapping, insight development, and experience design across both client and field touchpoints. The role ensures experience strategies are grounded in evidence, user-centered thinking, and ready for delivery—connecting client and field perspectives to cohesive end-to-end experiences.
What You’ll Do
Client & Field Experience Strategy Support
Support Journey teams in advancing the enterprise-wide Client & Field Experience capability through research-driven insights and experience design.
Assist in defining experience strategies across client and advisor lifecycles, ensuring alignment between client needs, field workflows, and business outcomes.
Translate client and field needs into experience opportunities, hypotheses, and experience design inputs for domain teams.
Support development of problem statements, opportunity sizing, and value hypotheses informed by client and field insights.
Assist in defining experience-related OKRs and success measures.
Track outcomes and feedback loops to inform continuous improvement.
Research, Insight & Synthesis
Plan and conduct experience research to understand client, advisor, and field leader needs, pain points, and behaviors.
Synthesize insights from Voice of the Client, Voice of the Field, operational data, surveys, and usability testing.
Identify themes, patterns, moments of truth, and experience gaps across client and field journeys.
Create compelling insight narratives that translate research findings into actionable guidance.
Experience Design & Journey Enablement
Lead or support experience design activities for client and/or field sub-journeys, including journey mapping and service design.
Apply human-centered design methodologies to improve client outcomes and simplify advisor workflows.
Ensure experience intent and design rationale are clearly documented and embedded into delivery artifacts.
Domain Partnership & Execution Alignment
Partner with peers, cross-functional partners, domain and delivery teams to ensure client and field experience designs are feasible and scalable.
Support roadmap reviews, prioritization discussions, and dependency identification from an experience perspective.
Collaborate with technology, operations, risk, and compliance partners to ensure alignment with enterprise standards.
Co-Creation, Adoption & Change Support
Participate in client and field co-creation sessions, pilots, and validation activities.
Support documentation of processes, experience impacts, and adoption considerations.
Partner with change, communications, and enablement teams to support rollout and adoption.
Team & Culture Contribution
Contribute to a collaborative, insight-driven team culture focused on client and field outcomes.
Model curiosity, empathy, and evidence-based decision-making.
What You’ll Bring to the Role
Must have experience creating c-suite / executive level storytelling and presentations
Must have demonstrated ability to self-manage multiple medium workstreams or large workstreams
Demonstrate a proactive mindset and willingness to learn and adapt in ambiguity
Show aptitude for building positive partner relationships
Must demonstrate preference for research, analysis, and strategic outcomes over solutions and ‘the how’
Bachelor’s degree in business, design, human-computer interaction, marketing, economics, psychology, or related field.
6–8 years of progressive experience in client experience, field experience, experience research, service design, or journey management.
Demonstrated experience conducting primary and secondary research and synthesizing insights to inform experience decisions.
Working knowledge of advisor-led or client-facing business models, preferably in financial services or regulated industries.
Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, domain-based delivery model.
#LI-Hybrid
Compensation Range:
Pay Range - Start:
$104,090.00Pay Range - End:
$193,310.00Geographic Specific Pay Structure:
Structure 110:
$114,520.00 USD - $212,680.00 USDStructure 115:
$119,700.00 USD - $222,300.00 USDWe 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. Get started now!
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.
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
About the Company
Northwestern Mutual
Who We Are
What we believe.We believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. And that doing what’s right is good for everyone — our clients, our employees, our financial representatives and our communities.
These beliefs launched our company nearly 160 years ago. Today, they’re just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual.
That means we’ll be here for the millions of people who are counting on us—our clients, our employees, our financial representatives and our communities.
We care.We make a positive difference in our communities. Nationally, thousands have benefited 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.
Why Work Here
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. And we want you to grow with us.
We invest in our people.We provide opportunities for employees to grow themselves, their careers, and, in turn, our business. Movement around the company is encouraged and we help our people build meaningful, long-term careers.
Be part of building our future.We’re expanding our campus in downtown Milwaukee overlooking Lake Michigan. The Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons will include a state-of-the-art employee Learning Institute, and will feature a natural light-filled, 21st century work environment. This signature development reinforces our commitment to job growth, attracting top talent and drawing new business to Milwaukee.
Enjoy Milwaukee.Located on beautiful Lake Michigan, Milwaukee offers a perfect balance of big city and small town living. Home to Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival, Milwaukee has a thriving music scene, a celebrated annual film festival and vibrant performing arts community. Professional sports teams include the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and other major teams. And outdoor family fun is easy here. An extensive urban bike path network links our lakefront parks, beaches and other recreational hotspots.
Our Culture
We are always evolving.At Northwestern Mutual, our employees, and our business, are always evolving. We are agile and continuously learning and improving. We have a work environment that empowers problem solving and encourages innovation—you will make an impact here.
We do what’s right.Our “do-what’s-right” value is pervasive. We ask ourselves: “Is this in the best interest of our clients? Our employees? Our financial representatives?” Acting on this value improves our clients’ experience, and makes Northwestern Mutual a better place to work.
We recognize and develop possibilities in our people.Onsite training and leadership development programs help employees succeed and grow. We also sponsor learning opportunities outside the company to help employees stay current in their fields, network with peers and gain external perspective.
Diversity makes us better.We believe diversity and inclusion cultivate creativity, innovation and a better experience for our clients. That’s why we recruit and grow people who bring unique perspectives, ideas, beliefs and cultural backgrounds.