ABOUT THE ROLE

At Westwood Wealth, we are more than advisors-we are stewards of our clients' financial well-being, delivering personalized, high-touch service with discretion, precision, and care to UHNW individuals and families. Our clients trust us with what matters most, and we honor that trust by ensuring every interaction is seamless, proactive, and deeply personalized.

The SVP, Wealth Strategist, Director of Planning & Compliance serves as a trusted technical expert for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and prospects. In close collaboration with internal teams and external advisors, this role designs and delivers sophisticated, strategic wealth solutions aligned with family and business goals. The ideal candidate brings initiative, accountability, discretion, and a proactive approach to every engagement. In addition to client-facing work, this role leads the firm's comprehensive planning function, advancing complex financial planning standards, improving planning work product, and supporting advisors in delivering integrated advice to families with sophisticated needs.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Wealth Strategy & Client Planning

• Serve as a primary Wealth Strategist, leading comprehensive plans for clients and prospects across cash flow, retirement, estate, tax, wealth transfer, philanthropy, risk, executive compensation, and business-owner considerations.
• Translate complex planning and legal concepts into clear client materials, recommendations, implementation steps, agreements, promissory notes, and related work product.
• Lead client and prospect planning meetings and coordinate implementation with Wealth Advisors and external legal and tax professionals.
• Own the firm's wealth planning methodology, service standards, work-product quality, and development of the planning function.
• Answer fiduciary questions, review estate plan summaries, and assist advisors with estate administration.

Compliance Oversight

• Provide executive and legal oversight of the trust-company compliance program, ensuring recurring responsibilities are assigned, completed, evidenced, and escalated appropriately.
• Promote consistent planning, compliance, and control practices across the Wealth Planning pillar, in partnership with fiduciary, compliance, tax, operations, and advisor teams.
• Serve as primary point of contact with regulators and external auditors.
• Oversee examinations, audits, investigations, remediation plans, and significant information requests.

Team Leadership & Integration

• Manage and develop the VP, Fiduciary and Tax Compliance; set priorities, review capacity, and ensure accountability for recurring trust-compliance, tax, audit, reporting, and control work.
• Partner with the Director of Fiduciary Services to integrate planning recommendations with trust administration realities and fiduciary obligations.
• Mentor advisors and planning colleagues on complex planning concepts, planning standards, and the preparation of clear, actionable client recommendations.
• Coordinate the Wealth Planning pillar's workflow across planning, fiduciary, tax, compliance, and advisor teams; resolve ownership gaps and competing priorities.

Policies, Education & Thought Leadership

• Approve compliance-related policies and partner with the Director of Fiduciary Services on the Trust Policy Manual and related procedures.
• Develop practical education for advisors, client service teams, clients, and prospects on planning and compliance topics.
• Create client-facing and internal thought leadership that reinforces the firm's family-office planning capabilities.
• Other duties as assigned.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Minimum Education Required
• Juris Doctor (JD) and bachelor's degree required.

Licenses/Certifications Required
• CFP strongly preferred

Minimum Specific Experience Required

• 15+ years of relevant wealth planning, legal, advisory, or compliance experience, including leadership responsibility.
• Deep experience developing complex plans for high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth families, business owners, or executives.
• Meaningful experience with compliance programs, policy development, regulatory filings or examinations, and remediation.
• Must be a minimum of 18 years of age and possess unrestricted authorization to work in the United States
• Must have unrestricted authorization to work in the USA. No visa sponsorship is available.

WHO YOU ARE

• Strong understanding of estate, income tax, retirement, philanthropy, risk management, and wealth-transfer strategies.
• Exceptional ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
• Strong leadership presence with a collaborative, low-ego working style.
• Comfortable balancing strategic planning work with governance, oversight, and deadlines.
• Highly organized, pragmatic, client-focused, and committed to strong controls.

Physical Demands

The physical demands required to perform the essential duties successfully are consistent with a professional office environment.

Travel

This position requires travel up to 15%.