Organizational Design Specialist

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.  

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Role/ Department: Organizational Design (OD) Specialist/Talent Management and Development

The Organizational Design (OD) Specialist is a newly created, dynamic role designed to fortify and elevate the organization’s organizational design capabilities and governance. As a member of the Talent Management & Development team, this exciting opportunity focuses on supporting the enterprise in achieving strategic goals through effective organizational design practices. The OD Specialist acts as the technical subject matter expert (SME) and practitioner, developing frameworks, standards, and processes while training key stakeholders and driving impactful organizational design initiatives. This role also serves as the application business owner for our vended OD software and other organizational design tools, leveraging technology to model structures, workforce plans, and spans and layers. Combining strategic and critical thinking with strong consulting, data analysis, influencing and storytelling skills, the OD Specialist delivers innovative solutions to executives and HR teams, helping shape the future of the organization.

This position offers a unique and exciting opportunity to build and refine organizational design capabilities within a fast-paced, dynamic environment. The OD Specialist will play a key role in ensuring governance, alignment, and scalability across enterprise-wide organizational design efforts.

The key responsibilities of the role include:
Technical SME and Practitioner:
•    Acts as the technical organizational design SME, providing expertise and hands-on support to HR teams and business leaders for complex design initiatives.
•    Applies advanced organizational design methodologies and tools to address structural challenges and align the organization with strategic objectives.
•    Serves as a practitioner, executing key organizational design processes that drive efficiency and effectiveness across the enterprise.

Strategic Consultation and Influence:
•    Acts as a trusted consultant to HR Business Partners and senior leaders, providing strategic guidance on organizational design challenges.
•    Collaborates with business leaders to design and implement operating models and organizational structures that align with our enterprise standards, business priorities and future growth.
•    Leads or supports mid-to-large-scale initiatives such as reorganizations, workforce optimization, and role alignment.
•    Builds credibility with executives by delivering innovative, data-driven solutions and insights.
•    Influences and aligns stakeholders across the organization to ensure the success of organizational design initiatives.

Fortifying Organizational Design Capabilities and Governance:
•    Develops and implements governance frameworks to ensure consistency and compliance in organizational design practices across the organization.
•    Builds repeatable and scalable standards, processes, and tools to support scalable and sustainable solutions.
•    Develops templates, toolkits, and resources to enable HR teams and business leaders to conduct organizational design effectively.

Training and Enablement:
•    Develops and facilitates communications and training to build organizational design capabilities within HR teams and leadership.
•    Coaches and equips stakeholders with the knowledge and skills needed to execute organizational design initiatives independently.
•    Leads workshops and educational sessions to enhance understanding of organizational design principles and processes.

Technology:
•    Serves as the application business owner for OrgVue or similar organizational design tools, ensuring effective utilization.
•    Manages system updates, develops requirements and documentation, trains users, and collaborates with external vendor and internal technology support teams to optimize tool performance and capabilities.
•    Leverages organizational design technology to generate insights and actionable recommendations for improvement.

Data Analysis and Storytelling:
•    Conducts in-depth data analysis to identify trends, gaps, and improvement opportunities in organizational structures and workforce plans.
•    Develops compelling, data-driven presentations and stories to share insights and recommendations with executives and decision-makers.
•    Utilizes dashboards, reports, and visual models to illustrate the impact of organizational design initiatives.

Skills/ Qualifications:
•    Minimum of 8-12 years of direct experience in organizational design, organizational development, HR, and related roles.
•    Deep knowledge and experience with organizational design concepts and practical application.
•    Demonstrated ability to lead organizational design initiatives that support large-scale transformation efforts.
•    Proven experience partnering with HR teams and business leaders to deliver organizational design solutions.
•    Data analysis, data visualization and executive presentation skills.
•    Experience using OrgVue or similar organizational design tools is preferred.
•    Strategic thinking and alignment.
•    Strong interpersonal, communication and executive engagement skills.
•    Critical thinking and problem-solving.
•    Ability to navigate ambiguity and lead through change.
•    Commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
•    Experience working in a global or matrixed organization, G-SIFI organizations preferred.
•    Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

Working Model: Hybrid (#LI-Hybrid)
We have a balanced hybrid working model to ensure you get the flexibility you need, and the successful candidate will spend their time between working in the office and working from home.

Salary Range:

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

Working with Us: 

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater 

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [email protected].

 
We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.