Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

Sequoia Financial Group Llc•Mayfield Heights, OH

21h

About The Position

Sequoia Financial Group is a growing Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), headquartered in Northeast Ohio, offering financial planning and wealth management services. At Sequoia, we exist with a singular purpose: to enrich lives. Our values define how we behave and guide us through the pursuit of our purpose to enrich lives. At Sequoia, our core values are: Integrity. We act in the best interests of others by providing an honest, consistent experience for our clients and team. Passion. We pursue our full potential, seeking to continually enhance and evolve our ability to serve our clients and team. Teamwork. We subordinate our egos to work together for the benefit of our clients. Our promise to team members is that you will grow with us. From experienced advisors to new college grads to transitioning principals, every team member will find Sequoia a place to refine their professional mission, move into new opportunities, go deeper, and lead further. We are built to help you build a career here as a long-term contributor in our work to enrich lives for generations. Position Summary Reporting into the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, the Head of Risk & Compliance is responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing the Sequoia Financial Group’s internal control framework, ensuring full adherence to SEC regulations (including the Advisers Act of 1940), internal policies, industry best practices, and fiduciary obligations to clients. This leader proactively identifies, evaluates, and mitigates risks across the firm while serving as the primary steward of a robust compliance culture among the Advisors, Investment Research (CIO), Operations and members of other relevant functions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (JD, MBA, or similar) strongly preferred.
7–15+ years of compliance, legal, or risk experience in investment management or financial services.
Understanding of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related SEC rules and ability to build a team / bench strength on the subject.
Experience with regulatory exams, compliance testing, and risk frameworks.
Strong analytical skills, sound judgment, and excellent communication abilities.
Proven ability to lead teams and operate in a fast-paced, regulated environment.
High integrity and strong fiduciary mindset – able to balance commerciality with risk and compliance mitigating decisions
Proactive, detail-oriented, and able to anticipate regulatory expectations.
Skilled at building collaborative relationships across the organization.
Effective at translating complex regulations into practical operational controls.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Private Equity.
Experience with M&A integration and, preferably the acquisition process.

Responsibilities

Serve as the Chief Compliance Officer.
Maintain, update, and enforce the firm’s Compliance Program, including policies and procedures required under Rule 206(4)-7, and building a relevant team of Compliance subject matter experts reporting into this role.
Act as the key point of contact for relevant Regulatory agencies.
Oversee annual risk assessments and the annual compliance program review.
Monitor regulatory developments (SEC, state regulators, FINRA interactions if applicable) and ensure timely updates to policies and staff training.
Coordinate and manage regulatory exams, responses, and remediation steps.
Oversee Form ADV filings, code of ethics reporting, personal trading review framework and process, and other required regulatory submissions.
Develop and maintain the firm’s enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, including the development of a robust Risk and Control framework, corresponding policies and audit / test framework and process.
Conduct ongoing risk assessments covering operational, market, cybersecurity, third-party/vendor, trading, valuation, and conflicts-of-interest risks.
Partner with business and investment teams to design risk controls and ensure effective implementation, including periodic testing of firmwide controls and local-level execution (e.g., through branch-level audits).
Establish metrics, dashboards, and reporting structures for risk monitoring.
Lead incident investigations and root-cause analysis, implementing corrective action plans and effective consequence management (in partnership with Organization Development).
Oversee periodic and thematic compliance testing, surveillance, and internal audits.
Monitor trading activity, allocation practices, best execution, and adherence to investment guidelines and client mandates.
Maintain documentation standards that meet regulatory expectations for completeness and evidentiary quality.
Provide ongoing compliance and risk training to all employees, including onboarding and annual refreshers.
Engage senior leadership on emerging risks and communicate expectations clearly across the firm.
Foster a strong culture of compliance and fiduciary responsibility.
Draft, update, and enforce policies related to: Code of Ethics Insider Trading & MNPI Controls Cybersecurity & Business Continuity Portfolio Management Oversight Advertising/Marketing Rule (206(4)-1) requirements Books & Records (Rule 204-2) Valuation and pricing procedures
Oversee approval processes for marketing materials, regulatory communications, and new products/services.
Strengthen role Risk & Compliance plays within the formal end-to-end acquisitions process.
Perform pre-deal diligence, regulatory risk evaluation, integration planning, and post-acquisition oversight
Partner with the Acquisitions team to surface risks and issues that may impact deal close, valuation, ability to integrate and forecast accretion / business case delivery
Serve as a strategic advisor to members of Executive Committee as it relates to Risk, Compliance and Controls.
Work cross-functionally with operations, IT, portfolio management, trading, legal, and finance teams.
Manage compliance/risk staff and/or external compliance consultants.