Senior Project Manager

About the Job

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for leading complex, cross-functional initiatives that support the Talent department’s strategic objectives. This role oversees projects from inception through delivery, ensuring alignment to business requirements, timelines, budgets, and quality expectations. The Senior Project Manager partners closely with HR leaders, cross‑functional stakeholders, and technical teams to ensure seamless execution and continual improvement of key talent processes and enterprise initiatives.

What You’ll Do

Project Planning & Execution

• Develop comprehensive project plans, timelines, milestones, and resource strategies.

• Coordinate internal resources, SMEs, and external partners to ensure flawless delivery.

• Apply strong project Management and project methodologies capabilities to drive efficient execution using Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid models.

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain trusted relationships across HR, technology, and enterprise partners.

• Facilitate cross-functional discussions, ensuring clarity of objectives, risks, and dependencies.

• Provide consistent communication, status reporting, and visibility to leadership.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks while maintaining continuous visibility of project health.

• Apply risk management practices to develop contingency plans and escalate issues appropriately.

Process & KPI Management

• Track performance against KPIs to support operational and strategic decisions.

• Create strategies that streamline and boost efficiency.

• Apply analytical thinking to interpret data, anticipate issues, and support decision‑making.

Team Leadership & Communication

• Lead project teams with clarity, empathy, and accountability.

• Drive collaboration across workstreams, remove blockers, and align teams on shared goals.

• Facilitate clear communication and serve as a liaison between leadership and the designated team members.

Documentation & Reporting

• Produce high-quality documentation including project charters, RACI matrices, dashboards, status reports, retrospectives, and executive updates.

• Maintain organized project artifacts to support auditability and knowledge continuity.

What You’ll Bring to the Role

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Project Management, HR, or related field.

• 5+ years of experience leading complex projects across multiple business areas.

• Demonstrated success applying Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid methodologies.

• Strong communication, interpersonal, and influence skills across all organizational levels.

• Highly organized.

• Proficiency with project management tools (e.g., Wrike).

Skills You Have

Adaptive Communication: Formulates strategies to be used to convey complex information about services, products, or systems, or processes to targeted audiences; communicates and liaises between technical and non-technical audiences.

Business Acumen: Applies knowledge of both general and organization-specific business issues/financial implications for the organization to problem solve.

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.

Emotional Intelligence: Includes self-awareness and self-management, empathy towards stakeholders (internal and external) via active listening. Builds trusting relationships and establishes credibility with peers, managers and stakeholders to influence optimal outcomes for employees and clients.

Project Management: Delivers projects in alignment to business requirements, specific success criteria, and stakeholder expectations. Plans, manages, and completes projects keeping cost and time considerations in mind.

Risk Management: Identifies risks and conducts risk analysis, prioritizes risks based on level of severity, ensures appropriate reporting, monitoring and control of risks. Drives recommendations and consulting to work towards a resolution. Provides transparency around risks and communicates status and outcomes to appropriate stakeholders.

Stakeholder Relationship: Organizes, influences, monitors, and improves relationships with key stakeholders; systematically identifies stakeholders and analyzes their needs and expectations to support in planning and decision making while implementing various tasks to engage with them.

Compensation Range:

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Geographic Specific Pay Structure:

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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. 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.

Skills

Documentation (NM) - Advanced, Prioritization (NM) - Intermediate, Emotional Intelligence (NM) - Intermediate, Process Mindset (NM) - Intermediate, Project Management (NM) - Advanced, Business Acumen (NM) - Intermediate, Risk Management (NM) - Intermediate, Consulting (NM) - Intermediate, Analytical Thinking (NM) - Intermediate, Project Methodologies (NM) - Advanced, Negotiation & Managing Objection (NM) - Intermediate, Adaptive Communication (NM) - Advanced, Change Adaptability (NM) - Intermediate, KPIs & Metrics (NM) - Intermediate, Stakeholder Relationship (NM) - Intermediate

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