Asst. Director, IT Governance Operations, GRC

Northwestern Mutual - New York, NY

Full-time - Mid Level

Hybrid - New York, NY

Insurance Carriers and Related Activities

About the position

As the Assistant Director of IT Governance Operations at Northwestern Mutual, you will play a crucial role in ensuring effective governance and compliance within an organization recognized as one of FORTUNE's World's Most Admired companies. This hybrid position requires you to be on-site two days a week if you are in the New York City office or three days a week if you are in the Milwaukee office. You will be responsible for implementing and maintaining a comprehensive governance framework for IT policies, standards, and procedures. This includes overseeing the entire policy and standard lifecycle, which encompasses creation, review, revision, approval, communication, and retirement of policies. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that policies and standards align with business objectives, regulatory requirements such as NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500, and industry best practices. Additionally, you will coordinate with stakeholders to ensure effective communication of policies and standards, supporting training and awareness initiatives. Staying updated on emerging trends, regulations, and best practices related to IT governance will be essential, as you will proactively integrate these into the organization's processes. In your role, you will also supervise and lead a team of IT governance professionals, providing guidance, mentorship, and performance management. Establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for the team will be key to promoting a collaborative and results-driven work environment. You will foster a culture of continuous learning and development by providing training opportunities and resources to enhance the team's capabilities. Furthermore, you will identify opportunities to streamline governance processes, optimize workflows, and automate policy and standard management tasks, championing continuous improvement initiatives to foster a culture of innovation and operational excellence within the IT governance function.

Responsibilities

• Implement and maintain a comprehensive governance framework for IT policies, standards, and procedures.
• Oversee the entire policy and standard lifecycle, including creation, review, revision, approval, communication, and retirement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure policies and standards align with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to ensure policies and standards are communicated effectively, supporting training and awareness initiatives.
• Stay updated on emerging trends, regulations, and best practices related to IT governance and proactively integrate them into the organization's processes.
• Supervise and lead a team of IT governance professionals, providing guidance, mentorship, and performance management.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for the team, promoting a collaborative and results-driven work environment.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and development, providing training opportunities and resources to enhance the team's capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to streamline governance processes, optimize workflows, and automate policy and standard management tasks.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation and operational excellence within the IT governance function.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree with an emphasis in MIS, Business, or related field; or ten years of directly related work experience beyond the minimum required for the position.
• Demonstrated experience in managing the entire policy and standard lifecycle.
• Strong understanding of applicable regulatory requirements, industry standards, and best practices (NIST SP 800-53, NYDFS NYCCR 500).
• Proven experience in people management, including leading and developing high-performing teams.

Nice-to-haves

• Excellent social skills: emotional intelligence, collaboration, approachability, and authenticity.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a keen attention to detail.
• Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CGEIT, or similar are highly desirable.
• Experience with ServiceNow.

Benefits

• Collaborative team first environment
• Tons of room for career growth
• Highly competitive compensation, including annual bonus opportunities
• Medical/Dental/Vision plans
• 401(k)
• Pension program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Commuter plans
• Paid time off
• Extensive Professional Training Opportunities
• Excellent Work/Life Balance