Chief of Staff – Service, Technology, Trading, & Operations Full Time

The Chief of Staff, STTO role partners with the Chief Operating Officer and their team to provide thought leadership, oversight, and control of the Service, Technology, Trading and Operations (STTO) business unit. Spearheads performance improvement, efficiency, and cost reduction initiatives across Cetera’s operating platform and various business units, focusing on optimizing the cost structure and implementing an efficient target operating model. This role involves integrating systems and processes from acquisitions, driving workforce optimization through efficiency tools and automation, and establishing performance metrics to ensure efficiency. Reporting to senior leadership, the executive will leverage significant financial services experience, strategic planning skills, proficiency in data analysis, and deep institutional knowledge to align STTO functions with the company’s growth objectives, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and scalability. Oversees and manages key strategic initiatives to improve productivity and business effectiveness. Provides strategic planning and creates strategic updates for executive level meetings. Serves as the executive proxy as needed.

Responsibilities

• Efficiency
  • Develop and implement strategies that optimize the company’s cost structure, improve efficiency, and reduce costs across the enterprise while delivering a superior advisor client experience.
  • Implement workforce optimization strategies, including workforce planning and efficient scheduling, to align staffing with business needs, leveraging data analytics for decision-making.
  • Drive process optimization through automation and streamlining to reduce both staff and non-staff expenses.
  • Define and implement the target operating model in collaboration with senior leadership, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, including centralized and decentralized structures.
  • Collaborate with other departments and teams within the organization to provide internal consulting services to solve complex problems, leading and supporting a variety of strategic initiatives across the organization.
  • Support the integration of new M&A and B/D consolidation through process improvement and enterprise gearing best practices, while ensuring standardization and efficiency
  • Develop comprehensive cost-to-serve models, enterprise gearing, other operational measurements to identify business process issues and provide recommendations and solutions to business challenges.
  • Establish and monitor performance metrics, such as cost per transaction and employee productivity, to assess the effectiveness of operational improvements and report to senior management.
  • Build executive level dashboards utilizing leading & lagging productivity / efficiency indicators to forecast trends, anticipate challenges, and guide real-time strategic decision-making
  • Leverage the implementation of AI, Machine Learning, and other automation and digitization to achieve intended objectives
  • Analyze and monitor external operational excellence trends with a focus on people, process, and technology
• Planning & Reporting:
  • Provides operating leadership by partnering with senior management and functional leaders to plan and manage strategic and staff meetings.
  • Leads action planning for annual engagement surveys for the leadership teams;
  • Facilitates preparation of annual budget, partnering with Finance to prepare annual submission, forecasts, tracking cost reductions or investments, accruals and regular and other requirements throughout the year coordinating across the business unit leadership team as required. Lead monthly budget review in team meetings and manage follow-up items.
  • Assists the human resources department with new hires, including documentation and onboarding, and collaborate to enhance employee experience and/or drive engagement
  • Oversees strategic planning and goal setting process. Establishes management routines for follow-up and measurement.
  • Reviews and proposes organizational design enhancements.
• Project Leadership:
  • Manages or oversees large, cross-functional, strategic projects or initiatives on behalf of the Executive.
  • Serves as liaison between staff and senior leaders, regarding project updates, proposals, and planning, reviewing and discussing results to track and better understand business performance against objectives
• Communications:
  • Leads development and coordination of regular all-team member calls for business units.
  • Acts as a central resource for information and administrative matters relating to the business unit, connecting to the right areas and people to resolve.
  • Serves as a subject matter expert, handling inquiries and developing action plans to address them, and assisting with the preparation and dissemination of communications

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and experience
• Minimum 7 years in a business or executive management role
• Proven experience organizing and directing multiple teams and departments
• Excellent communicator in written and verbal form
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships at all levels in the organization
• Demonstrated conceptual thinking and analytical skills, and an ability to convey complex information
• Experience planning and leading strategic initiatives
• Financial acumen
• Extremely versatile, dedicated to efficient productivity
• Process improvement skills and background

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration or similar experience preferred
• Experience with data analysis
• Experience with budget management
• Consulting experience with a focus on operations management
• Proven success in a project coordination role
• Nimble business mind with a focus on developing creative solutions
• Strong project reporting skills, with a focus on interdepartmental communication

Compensation:

The base annual salary range for this role is $171,000 – $231,000 plus a competitive performance-based bonus. Base annual salary depends on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and location. Base annual salary may also differ significantly due to geography and cost of labor considerations.

What we give you in return:

Not many teams can say that they support people’s dreams coming to life… We happen to do that every day. And as important as we know your career is, we recognize that there’s a whole lot more to life. To ensure that our Employees can make the most of their time outside of working hours, we offer a competitive salary and for full-time roles, a benefits package including:

• Inclusive health, dental, vision and life insurance plans built to support diverse lifestyles, offer preventative care, and protect against hardship.
• Easy access to mental health benefits to meet our team members and their families where they are.
• 20+ days of paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and 2 paid wellness days to give our employees the time they need to stay close with their loved ones, recharge, and give back to their communities.
• 401(k) Savings plan with a generous company contribution (up to 5%), and access to a financial professional to offer our employees the opportunity to plan-ahead for a strong financial future well beyond their working years.
• Paid parental leave to support all team members with birth, adoption, and foster.
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Account options to help you save money on healthcare, daycare, commuting, and more.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP), LifeLock, Pet Insurance and more.

About Cetera Financial Group:

Cetera Financial Group ® (“Cetera”) is a leading network of independent retail broker-dealers empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is an independent financial advisor network and a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.

Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support and innovative technology.

” Cetera Financial Group ” refers to the network of retail independent broker-dealers encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors , Cetera Advisor Networks , Cetera Financial Institutions, and Cetera Financial Specialists .

Cetera Financial Group is committed to providing an equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. For us, this is the only acceptable way to do business. Accordingly, all employment decisions at the Cetera Financial Group, including those relating to hiring, promotion, transfers, benefits, compensation, and placement, will be made without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, age, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic characteristics, religion, religious dress and/or grooming, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, U.S. military status, political affiliation, or any other class protected by state and/or federal law.

Agencies please note : this recruitment assignment is being managed directly by Cetera’s Talent Acquisition team. We will reach out to our preferred agency partners in the rare instance we require additional talent options. Your respect for this process is appreciated.

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