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Chief of Staff role at Northern Trust, Chicago – lead CEO operations and drive strategic initiatives.
Join a Fortune 500 financial institution focused on service, innovation, and integrity.
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.
Chief of Staff for the Office of the CEO
The Chief of Staff for the Office of the CEO is responsible for ensuring the CEO’s time, priorities, and operating rhythm are aligned with the strategic needs of the organization. Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer, this role provides orchestration, structure, and clarity across executive priorities.
Coordination with the CAO
This role serves as a central point of coordination for the CAO on matters intersecting with the Office of the CEO—ensuring information flows efficiently, decisions move forward, follow‑ups are closed, and the Leadership Team operates with shared focus.
Key Partnership with Corporate Functions
The Chief of Staff is also a key partner to Corporate Strategy, Corporate Communications, Finance, Legal, and the Corporate Secretary’s office to ensure that the CEO’s internal and external commitments are well prepared, high‑quality, and aligned with Northern Trust’s strategic direction.
Required Fluency
Given Northern Trust’s global scale and regulatory environment, the role requires fluency in board governance, enterprise risk standards, and coordination across a matrixed operating model.
Major Duties
Operating Rhythm Management
- ·Lead Northern Trust’s operating routines, including agenda setting, materials preparation, and action‑item management.
- ·Ensure topics are appropriately prioritized and that decisions and follow‑ups are clearly communicated and tracked to completion.
- ·Participate in meetings, as required, to understand strategic context and translate discussions into clear follow‑up actions.
Strategic Performance Management
- ·Partner with Corporate Strategy to manage Quarterly Operating Reviews (QORs) and enterprise performance routines, synthesizing insights into CEO‑ready narratives, metrics, and dashboards that clearly reflect performance against strategic priorities.
- ·Lead ad‑hoc analyses to refine performance metrics, challenge existing assumptions, and ensure measures are fit for purpose through cross‑team collaboration.
- ·Work across teams to ensure metrics are appropriately cascaded into Board and Committee materials and performance scorecards.
- ·Anticipate issues, remove obstacles, and create the conditions for the Leadership Team to operate with clarity and forward momentum.
Communication and Relationship Management
- ·Partner with the Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, and Head of Corporate Strategy to shape and deliver CEO‑driven internal communications, including town halls, EVP forums, and partner messages.
- ·Ensure the CEO is fully prepared for each engagement with high‑quality talking points, decks, and briefing materials, supplementing with data and analysis as needed.
- ·Support select CEO external engagements by preparing follow‑up correspondence.
Board Operations
- ·Partner with the Chief Administrative Office and Corporate Secretary’s office to prepare for Board and Committee cycles.
- ·Coordinate all aspects of Board engagement logistics, including agenda sequencing, visit itineraries, director communications, seating plans, and event coordination.
Role Expectations & Working Style
Success in this role requires a high‑energy, highly adaptive operator who thrives in a fast‑paced, ambiguous environment. The Chief of Staff must combine sound judgment with pace, discretion, and a strong service orientation.
- ·Demonstrates a strong bias for action , moving work forward with urgency while maintaining high standards of quality and judgment.
- ·Learns quickly and is comfortable rapidly coming up the curve on complex, unfamiliar topics across strategy, finance, risk, regulation, and operations.
- ·Able to toggle seamlessly between strategic thinking and tactical execution , often across multiple priorities in the same day.
- ·Brings a service‑focused mindset, along with the resilience and discretion essential to the role.
- ·Comfortable operating in a highly matrixed organization and navigating ambiguity with composure and sound judgment.
- ·Expected to be in the office 5 days per week , working in close proximity to the CEO, CAO, and Leadership Team to enable real‑time coordination and decision‑making.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience Required
- ·7–10 years of experience in financial services (e.g., investment banking), management consulting, corporate strategy, or a comparable executive‑level environment.
- ·Demonstrated ability to manage senior‑level operating routines, navigate complex organizational dynamics, and drive cross‑functional execution at scale.
- ·Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex data, generate insights, and produce decision‑ready recommendations.
- ·Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft concise, compelling narratives for CEO, Board, and enterprise audiences.
- ·Experience preparing high‑impact executive communications and large‑scale internal events; ability to translate complex topics into clear messages.
- ·Proven ability to manage multiple, competing priorities under tight deadlines and operate effectively amid changing circumstances.
- ·High emotional intelligence, discretion, and the ability to influence without authority.
- ·Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
Salary Range
Salary Range: $137,400 - $240,400 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
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 MyHRHelp@ntrs.com . 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.