Head of Operations

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

Base salary $110,000–$120,000 plus bonus; competitive, with flexibility for exceptional experience

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 owns service delivery across all of our client firms: the people, capacity, workflows, quality and execution behind it. You will lead a remote team of 20+ across client service, investment operations and financial planning, and build the team-lead layer beneath you.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will stay close to daily delivery while building an operation that can support significant client growth over the next year.

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.
• 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

• Standardize and document core workflows while allowing for differences between client firms.
• 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

• Experience leading operations or advisor services in wealth management, either at an RIA or at a custodian supporting RIAs.
• Hands-on knowledge of advisory firm workflows: account opening, transfers, custodian requirements, client service and operational accuracy.
• Direct people management of a sizable team, including hiring, coaching, performance management and workload allocation. Project leadership alone is not enough.
• RIA candidates: experience at a firm with more than $500M AUM. $1B+ is preferred.
• A track record of owning service delivery, quality, staffing and capacity, with measurable improvements in turnaround time, accuracy, productivity or service levels as the business grew.
• Experience leading remote teams and developing team leads or managers.
• 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.