We are a distinguished retirement and financial planning firm based in Atlanta. As a registered investment adviser, we manage just under $400 million for high net-worth individuals, families, and institutions. Our unwavering commitment to client success drives our growth, and we’re assembling a remarkable team to build something exceptional—for our clients and our employees. In addition, our collaborative environment fosters professional development, innovation, and a shared sense of purpose. Join us as we shape the future of financial well-being! We are looking for an experienced and versatile Director of Operations to support our advisors, our clients, and our continued growth.
As our Director of Operations, you will build processes at a firm level to support growth objectives, oversee teams, and ensure exceptional client experience. This will include many areas of expertise: client billing processes, workflow management, team performance and training, tech stack optimization, marketing, events, and more. The role is diverse and will also include client-specific, account-specific, and general business functions. You will be willing to help with coverage in any operational area of the firm. The existing team will look to you for support, decision-making, guidance on escalated issues and overall leadership. We are continuously looking for better ways to excel for our clients so you will be thoughtful and creative in continuing that effort. You have great technical expertise and seek to use technology to drive the client experience and individual capabilities. We currently use Orion, Eclipse, Schwab and Wealthbox primarily and look for further guidance on how to integrate these tools and what others we can leverage. You will shield the Advisory Team from operational activities so they can focus on providing excellent advice to clients and expanding client relationships. You will strategize with leadership and bring ideas for improvement, along with the tenacity and project management capabilities to implement. You will also support the Chief Compliance Officer in the operations and maintenance of the firm's regulatory compliance program.
Responsibilities
- Oversee client communication, meeting prep, post-meeting action items, trading/rebalancing, money movement, and account paperwork; continuous development, improvement and documentation of operating procedures
- Ensure quarterly reports are accurate and sent to all clients according to our service model
- Ensure excellent, consistent client experience based on firm service model
- Manage planning of periodic client events and meaningful client gift strategy
- Provide backup client service as necessary (answering phones, trading, paperwork, etc.); take final responsibility for escalations other team members cannot resolve
- Ensure quarterly fee billing is accurately completed on time according to our service model
- Evaluate performance, hold accountable, negotiate fees and terms, and act as primary contact with all vendors, including but not limited to the following:
- Professional services (attorneys, recruiters, consultants)
- Benefits (Insurance, 401K)
- IT services (hardware, email, cybersecurity, some software, phones, and internet issues)
- Software providers
- Custodians
- Marketing (website, content)
- Manage use and review of portfolio management software, workflow software, CRM and cloud platform to broaden reporting, trading and other systems
- Ensure excellent team experience for all, managing down and up
- Evaluate performance and training/resource needs for each operations team member
- Handle all employee issues, including hiring, training, coaching, clarifying roles and expectations, performance reviews, salary and bonus recommendations, managing PTO, performance improvement plans, and terminations
- Oversee the planning of team-building events and activities, as well as meaningful acknowledgments, perks, and gifts
- Ensure compliance with company policies and procedures
- Develop/implement new compliance procedures as needed, including cybersecurity initiatives; serve as primary point of contact with compliance consultants
- Ensure timely completion and filing of all required compliance documents and submission of registration fees
- Head up special projects and additional responsibilities from time to time as needed
- This is a dynamic role that will continue to evolve, with much opportunity for future growth
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s required; advanced degree highly preferred
- Minimum 5 years’ experience with independent registered investment advisor or broker-dealer affiliated firm
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in operations/client service management role
- Has or willing to obtain Series 65 license (required for compliance duties); CFP for knowledge base would be a plus
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Superior knowledge of financial services, including industry regulations and legislative guidelines
- Technology savvy, proficient with Microsoft Office and CRM systems (Wealthbox preferred) and can easily learn new software
- Familiarity with custodian systems and performance reporting (i.e. Black Diamond)
- Compliance, investment trading, and/or financial planning experience ideal
- Ability to streamline and implement new processes and team members’ roles to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy, and support rapidly shifting business demands
- Excellent leadership skills; successful at training, delegating, and holding others accountable
- Team player – humble, hungry, and smart; willing to fill in for others’ duties when needed
- Open to feedback, driven to continually learn, improve, and grow themselves and the company
- Not afraid to make decisions and learn from mistakes; empowers others to make decisions
- Excellent leadership skills; successful at training, delegating, and holding others accountable
- Accomplished communicator able to express concerns, frustrations, have tough conversations, and provide honest feedback in a respectful manner, even when it’s hard to give
- Respectful, loyal, excellent listener, honest, and inspires trust in others
- Ability to diagnose problems quickly and proactively determine creative solutions
- Organized, disciplined, excellent time management to prioritize many projects simultaneously
