Visual Communications Designer

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

About the Role:
The Visual Communications Senior Designer is a individual contributor role responsible for translating complex ideas, strategies, and data into clear, compelling visual stories—primarily through PowerPoint and presentation-based communication. Reporting to the Creative Execution Lead, this role partners closely with executives, marketers, and cross functional teams to elevate how ideas are communicated internally and externally.

This designer lives and loves PowerPoint—not just as a layout tool, but as a storytelling medium. You will bring structure, clarity, and polish to high-stakes executive presentations, ensuring messages are visually engaging, on-brand, and easy to understand. You’ll collaborate with other designers while often operating as the primary design partner for leadership-facing communications.

What You’ll Do:
Lead Visual Storytelling Through Presentation Design
• Design high-impact PowerPoint presentations for executive, leadership, and client-facing audiences.
• Translate complex concepts, strategies, and narratives into clear, visually compelling stories.
• Apply strong information design principles to structure content logically and intuitively.
• Elevate raw content—outlines, drafts, data, and notes—into polished, presentation-ready materials.

Partner with Executives & Senior Stakeholders
• Act as a trusted design partner to senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Effectively manage stakeholder relationships, expectations, and feedback in high-visibility situations.
• Ask the right questions to clarify objectives, audience, and desired outcomes.
• Present design rationale confidently and guide stakeholders toward strong visual solutions.

Collaborate Within the Creative Team
• Work closely with the Creative Execution Lead and fellow designers to align on standards and priorities.
• Contribute to shared presentation templates, visual systems, and storytelling frameworks.
• Support integrated campaigns and initiatives by ensuring presentation materials align with broader creative efforts.
• Provide peer feedback and help raise the overall quality of visual communication across the team.

Ensure Brand Consistency & Quality
• Ensure all presentations adhere to brand guidelines, visual identity, and tone of voice.
• Maintain a high bar for craftsmanship, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Adapt brand systems flexibly to meet a wide range of business and communication needs.
• Ensure final deliverables are polished, accurate, and ready for executive-level use.

Drive Efficiency & Continuous Improvement
• Identify opportunities to improve presentation workflows, templates, and processes.
• Create and maintain reusable assets, slide libraries, and visual components.
• Balance speed and quality in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
• Stay current on presentation design trends, storytelling techniques, and PowerPoint capabilities.

Mindset, Behaviors and Attributes:
• Story-first thinker: able to distill complexity into clarity and narrative flow.
• Executive-ready presence: confident, composed, and comfortable working with senior leaders.
• Highly detail-oriented: meticulous about alignment, consistency, and visual polish.
• Collaborative and adaptable: works seamlessly with creatives, marketers, and stakeholders.
• Proactive and solutions-oriented: anticipates needs and brings thoughtful recommendations.

What You Bring:
• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or equivalent experience
• 6–9+ years of experience in visual design with a strong emphasis on presentation design
• Advanced expertise in PowerPoint as a design and storytelling tool
• Strong command of typography, layout, color, and information design
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma; experience integrating assets into presentations
• Proven experience working directly with executive or senior leadership stakeholders
• Ability to translate complex, abstract, or technical information into clear visuals
• Excellent communication, listening, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience working in large organizations or regulated industries is a plus
• A portfolio showcasing presentation design, visual storytelling, and executive communications

Working Model: 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.

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Salary Range:

$83,100 - 141,300 USD

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.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa).

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [email protected], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.