Head of Operations - Wealth Management

South Key is conducting a confidential search for a Head of Operations for one of its clients.

Head of Operations, Wealth Management Service Delivery Remote (U.S.; Eastern or Central time zone preferred) · Full-time · Reports to the COO Starting base salary $150,000 plus bonus

About the company

We are a growing operations partner to registered investment advisors. Our team works as an extension of our clients' staff, handling financial planning support, investment operations, new business processing and client service so advisors can focus on their clients and their growth.

The role

The Head of Operations is a leadership role, accountable for service delivery, quality, capacity and team performance across all of our client firms. You will lead a remote team of 20+ across client service, investment operations and financial planning, and build the team-lead layer beneath you.

You will stay close to daily operations, but you will lead through your team leads and managers rather than doing the work yourself. This is not a working-supervisor role. Over the next year, you will build an operation that can support significant client growth.

What you'll do

Service delivery and quality

• Own timely, accurate delivery across all operations service lines.
• Set service standards, quality controls and escalation procedures.
• Track turnaround times, SLA commitments, errors, NIGOs, rework and client feedback, and fix the root causes of recurring problems.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for significant delivery issues.

Team leadership

• Lead, coach and develop team leads and staff with clear responsibilities and performance expectations.
• Run consistent training, performance reviews and accountability.
• Partner with recruiting to define staffing needs, interview candidates and onboard new hires.
• Build career paths, cross-training and backup coverage that support retention.

Capacity and delivery economics

• Keep a forward-looking 60–90 day view of workload, staffing, skills and available capacity.
• Measure capacity and put the right staffing structure in place, including team-lead and manager roles, as the business grows.
• Recommend hiring and resource allocation based on demand, service requirements and financial impact.
• Balance productivity with quality and sustainable workloads.
• Make sure new client start dates line up with operational readiness.

Process improvement and onboarding

• Build, standardize and document core workflows while allowing for differences between client firms.
• Improve workflows to reduce manual work, errors and unnecessary handoffs, partnering with the technology team on automation and system changes.
• Own operational readiness for new client engagements: staffing, training, workflows and handoffs.

Reporting

• Maintain a weekly operations scorecard covering quality, service levels, capacity, staffing and delivery risks.
• Turn performance data into clear actions, owners and deadlines, and own the department's quarterly priorities.

What you'll bring

• 3–5 years of direct people-management experience, including hiring, coaching, performance management and staffing decisions. Project leadership alone is not enough.
• Experience overseeing multiple operations functions, such as client service, new business and account opening, money movement, investment operations and financial planning support.
• Experience developing team leads or managers who run their own teams.
• A track record of building and scaling an operation, not only maintaining one: building processes, improving workflows, measuring capacity and putting the right staffing structure in place as the organization grew, with measurable improvements in turnaround time, accuracy, productivity or service levels.
• Experience leading operations or advisor services in wealth management at an RIA. Custodian candidates are welcome if they have led advisor-facing service operations and understand how independent RIAs operate across client service, new business and investment operations.
• Hands-on knowledge of advisory firm workflows: account opening, transfers, custodian requirements, client service and operational accuracy.
• RIA candidates: experience at a firm with more than $500M AUM. $1B+ is preferred.
• Experience leading remote teams.
• Direct, collaborative communication and confidence handling difficult performance conversations.

Nice to have

• Experience with Salesforce, Redtail and common custodian platforms.
• Workflow automation or process-improvement experience.
• Experience with a structured operating or accountability framework (for example EOS).

Your first 90 days

• Get to know the team and each client's delivery requirements.
• Assess immediate service, staffing and coverage risks.
• Clarify responsibilities and escalation paths across operations.
• Set baseline metrics and weekly reporting.
• Build a 60–90 day capacity forecast and a prioritized improvement plan.

How to apply

This search is confidential and is being handled by South Key. Company details will be shared with qualified candidates after an initial conversation.

Pay: $150,000.00 - $160,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Remote