Director of Training & Development

Overview

A career with Northwestern Mutual – Park Avenue brings mutual success. When you bring your talent, hard work, and commitment to excellence, we offer the training, mentorship, and resources to help you achieve your vision and discover your potential. Our Financial Advisors help clients reach their goals by developing and implementing financial plans to show clients where they are today, plan where they want to go tomorrow, and provide the financial tools and support to help get them there. Our Network Office team supports those Advisors and provides the critical systems & resources needed for them to achieve their entrepreneurial dream.

The Director of Training & Development’s primary responsibility is to educate and develop full time Financial Advisors, focusing on elevating their sales skills. This role partners closely with the Development Officer, Training Manager, and Firm Leadership to assess the developmental needs of each area, implement training and development strategies & programs across those areas, monitoring & evaluating results, and resolving all training issues to help build and retain talent within the company. Critical competencies in this position include enhancing sales skills, motivating & coaching others, and exceptional communication skills.

Responsibilities

New Financial Advisor Business Development

Design and deliver comprehensive development programs that cover essential sales techniques, product knowledge, and industry best practices.

Create a supportive and encouraging environment that boosts morale and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and learning.

Assess individual Financial Advisor strengths and areas for improvement to create tailored development plans aimed at enhancing their sales capabilities.

Partner with the Development Officer to ensure mastery of training materials, build tailored development recommendations for new Financial Advisors, and support training facilitators with custom plans & evaluations.

Design and monitor productivity contests and incentive programs.

Retention & Sales Coaching

Host new Financial Advisor training sessions, building mastery of our sales cycle, and preparing Financial Advisors to confidently conduct client meetings on their own.

Regularly observe Financial Advisor sales interactions and provide constructive feedback to help refine their approach and improve performance.

Train advisors on effective communication techniques to build rapport with clients and address their needs effectively.

Encourage continual skill development through workshops, role-playing exercises, and other interactive learning methods.

Ensure advisors have access to necessary sales tools, resources, and technologies to streamline their workflows and enhance productivity.

Streamline processes & practices, moderate & proactively problem-solve training issues as an overall component of office best practices.

Facilitate Financial Planning Academy sessions and other office development programs (client builder, development days, board of reviews, activity coaching) as needed.

Conduct growth & culture interviews (third interviews) throughout full time selection processes in both group and one on one settings as needed.

Champion continuing education programs and other learning components, communicate to Financial Advisors, support progress, and celebrate achievements.

Activity Coaching

Conduct group activity coaching sessions with Financial Advisors in the first 6 months of the business.

Hold new Financial Advisors accountable to Granum level activity.

Coach advisors to Pacesetter first 40 and Pacesetter Second 60.

Partner with Development Officer to develop initiatives to improve new Financial Advisor production.

Qualifications

3 – 10 years of experience in Financial Services.

2+ years of experience building Financial Sales, Training, and Development programs.

Demonstrated experience coaching and developing Financial Advisors to meet sales metrics & goals.

Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in business or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible work experience.

Life, Accident, and Health Insurance licensed preferred

FINRA Licensing: Series 6, 63 preferred

Results-driven leader with an energetic, inquisitive personality who embraces disruption and is not afraid to challenge the status-quo.

Demonstrated leadership to motivate and hold others accountable.

Demonstrated ability to maintain effective working relationships with clients.

Demonstrated organizational and time management skills and ability to multitask, set priorities and meet deadlines.

Experience handling highly sensitive communications.

Strong relationship management skills with ability to adapt approach to different people.

Strong project management and collaboration skills

Ability to be diplomatic, handle change, pressure, and criticism.

Ability to take independent action to make sound decisions.

Experience in administrative support or customer service, preferably in the financial services and/or insurance industry.

Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Ability to proactively identify what needs to be accomplished and act as appropriate.

Ability to embrace change and work in a fast-paced environment.

Ability to work both independently and in a team.

Ability to be flexible and open minded.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping families and businesses achieve financial security for over 165 years. Through a distinctive, whole-picture planning approach including both insurance and investments, we empower people to be financially confident. We combine the expertise of our financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and leading-edge technology to best serve our clients.

With $309 billion in assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and more than $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people who rely on us for life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, brokerage and advisory services, trust services, and discretionary portfolio management solutions. The company holds more than $200 billion of client assets as a part of its wealth management and investment services.