Director, Head of Family Governance and Philanthropy

BNY Mellon

$160K — $200K *
Finance & Insurance
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
  • 15+ years of experience in wealth management, with at least 5 years focused on family governance and philanthropy.
  • Deep expertise in advising high-net-worth families on governance, legacy, and philanthropy-related matters.
  • Proven track record in developing and scaling advisory offerings in financial services.
  • Exceptional facilitation and executive presence, capable of leading sensitive family discussions.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the development of family governance and philanthropy offerings for ultra-high-net-worth clients.
  • Create a scalable advisory practice with clear processes and success metrics.
  • Facilitate complex family meetings and guide discussions on wealth and legacy.
  • Advise on governance frameworks and family communication practices.
  • Design and implement educational experiences for families focused on stewardship and financial fluency.

Benefits

  • Access to competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits packages.
  • Generous paid leave options, including volunteer time off.
  • Support for personal and family health, resilience, and financial goals.
  • Participation in a 401(k) plan and company-sponsored insurance plans for employees and eligible dependents.
  • Opportunities for continuing education and professional development.
Full Job Description
Job Description

We're seeking a future team member for the role of Director, Head of Family Governance and Philanthropy to join our Wealth Management team. This role is located in NYC, Philadelphia, Boston, DC, Atlanta, Florida or Pittsburgh.

In this role, you'll make an impact in the following ways:
  • Lead the continued development and delivery of BNY's family governance and philanthropy offering for ultra-high-net-worth clients and families.
  • Evolve an existing capability into a differentiated, scalable advisory practice with clear engagement models, intellectual capital, operating processes, referral pathways, and success metrics.
  • Serve as a trusted advisor and skilled facilitator in client and family meetings, helping families navigate sensitive and complex conversations related to wealth, purpose, values, legacy, philanthropy, governance, communication, and multigenerational continuity.
  • Advise families on governance structures and practices, including family meetings, decision-making frameworks, generational engagement, family communication, and stewardship development.
  • Help families build the structural and interpersonal capacity needed to sustain wealth and family continuity over time, including preparing family members across generations to participate thoughtfully in governance, philanthropy, and shared decision-making.
  • Guide clients in shaping philanthropic strategy, including charitable intent, family participation, legacy goals, and values-aligned giving, in partnership with internal and external specialists as appropriate.
  • Design and lead educational programs, family experiences, workshops, and summits for ultra-high-net-worth families and rising-generation family members focused on stewardship, leadership, philanthropy, financial fluency, and responsible wealth ownership.
  • Develop practical frameworks, discussion tools, educational materials, and client-facing content that support consistent and scalable delivery across the wealth management organization.
  • Partner closely with wealth advisors, wealth strategists, trust managers, and other client-facing teams to integrate family governance and philanthropy into broader client strategy and ongoing relationship management.
  • Enable internal teams to identify opportunities, position the offering effectively, and deliver a high-quality, coordinated client experience that deepens relationships and supports prospect development.
  • Partner with Marketing and business leadership to shape BNY's internal and external narrative around family governance, next-generation engagement, philanthropy, and multigenerational advisory work.
  • Serve as an internal and external thought leader through strategic content, speaking engagements, events, and insights that enhance market visibility and advisor credibility.
  • Establish operating standards, reporting, and business metrics to measure adoption, engagement, commercial influence, client impact, and overall success of the offering.
  • Travel as needed to support client engagement, program delivery, advisor enablement, and strategic business priorities.


To be successful in this role, we're seeking the following:
  • Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
  • 15+ years of experience in wealth management, with a minimum of 5 years dedicated to family governance and philanthropic advisory.
  • Deep experience advising high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families on multigenerational wealth, legacy, governance, family communication, philanthropy, and stewardship-related issues.
  • Proven ability to build, scale, and commercialize an advisory offering, specialized practice, or strategic client capability.
  • Strong executive presence and exceptional facilitation skills, with the ability to lead nuanced, personal, and sometimes emotionally complex family conversations with discretion, empathy, and credibility.
  • Demonstrated ability to help families navigate differing perspectives, communication styles, readiness levels, and generational dynamics in productive and constructive ways.
  • Strong knowledge of philanthropic strategy and the charitable landscape; familiarity with common charitable structures, vehicles, and governance considerations preferred.
  • Experience designing and delivering client education, family meetings, workshops, summits, or rising-generation development programs.
  • Demonstrated success creating frameworks, intellectual capital, and client-facing content that can be used consistently across a broad advisory organization.
  • Strong partnership skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across relationship management, planning, fiduciary, investment, marketing, and business leadership teams.
  • Strong strategic, analytical, and business management capabilities, including the ability to define objectives, assess opportunity, measure outcomes, and communicate value in business terms.
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to create structure, momentum, and credibility in an evolving area of the business.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; thought leadership, speaking, publishing, or market-facing experience preferred.


Our Benefits and Rewards:

BNY offers highly competitive compensation, benefits, and wellbeing programs rooted in a strong culture of excellence and our pay-for-performance philosophy. We provide access to flexible global resources and tools for your life's journey. Focus on your health, foster your personal resilience, and reach your financial goals as a valued member of our team, along with generous paid leaves, including paid volunteer time, that can support you and your family through moments that matter.

BNY assesses market data to ensure a competitive compensation package for our employees. The expected base salary for this position when employment commences can be found in the Job Info section at the bottom of the posting.

Base salary offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Base salary is only part of the total rewards package, which may include eligibility for an annual discretionary incentive award. Subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect, eligible employees may enroll in a 401(k) plan as well as participate in Company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance plans for the employee and the employee's eligible dependents. Eligible employees also may receive other benefits (including various paid time off benefits, such as vacation and sick time), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

If hired, the employee will be in an "at will" position and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payments or compensation programs) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

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