Director of Operations & Integration

Stouffer Legal•Towson, MD

About The Position

We're building a CPA/tax platform designed to roll up practices, and we need an operator to run the firm and integrate what we buy. You will own the weekly operating cadence, protect CPA billable time, build one operating system for the whole firm, and lead the Day-1 to Day-90 integration for every practice we acquire. You will partner with a visionary owner and a precision-focused CPA partner, acting as the person who makes the plan a reality. This role is for someone who is structured, assertive in service of the mission, allergic to dropped balls, and proud when others become more effective. It is not a fit for someone who wants their own book of business, needs to be told every step, or goes quiet when work is in progress. We are building an operating platform that can absorb other tax/accounting practices, standardize work processes, protect CPA billable time, and scale without chaos. You are the person who makes this vision real by following the set direction, major bets, and the roll-up thesis. You will own the machine: cadence, accountability, throughput, people operations for the firm, and the integration of every practice we bring in. This is an opportunity to be the operator who turns a good firm into a repeatable growth engine.

Requirements

5+ years running operations in a professional services firm (CPA, legal, advisory, healthcare practice, or PE-backed roll-up strongly preferred)
Proof you built an operating cadence (meetings, scorecards, accountability) - not only "kept things organized"
At least one meaningful integration story (acquisition, office merge, system cutover, or multi-entity consolidation)
Comfortable holding professionals accountable without being a technician yourself
Excellent writing; lives in the communication loop
Clean background check; references from prior principals / CEOs / MPs

Responsibilities

Run the operating cadence
Own the weekly leadership meeting (scorecard, Rocks, to-dos, etc.)
Publish a same-day written summary
Keep Rocks to a short list; every Rock has one owner, one date, one definition of done
Maintain the Issues List; solve the vital few completely
Protect meeting discipline: on time, phones down, decide on data
Protect CPA capacity
Drive utilization toward 85–90% billable target (or the board-approved number)
Own WIP aging, billing coordination, and AR follow-up cadence (with CSA / admin support)
Keep non-billable work off CPA plates - Client Services / admin owned and measured
Spot capacity cliffs before they hit tax season
Own the accountability chart and people system
Keep a living accountability chart: who owns what, Level of delegation clear
Role scorecards written before we hire (never hire into fog)
Hire, onboard, and performance-manage ops/admin seats
Weekly 1:1 rhythm with directs; written expectations; no silent underperformance
Build the firm operating system
One system of record for client status, tasks, deadlines, documents, billing status
SOPs that a newly acquired team can adopt in weeks, not years
Quality checklists and handoffs that survive busy season
Lead roll-up / practice integration
For every acquisition or tuck-in, you own the integration playbook: Day-1 / Day-30 / Day-90 integration plan
Systems cutover (files, portals, billing, calendar, communications)
Role mapping: who stays, who reports where, what gets standardized vs. left local
Client communication plan (no surprise drops)
Culture + cadence install: scorecard, Rocks, meeting rhythm
Synergy tracking: utilization, realization, turnaround time, client retention
Escalate to the Principal only on Visionary-level decisions (price, brand, major bets); you run the rest
Communication loop: Quiet competence is a fail here. Got it on receipt, Status while in progress, Done summary on completion, Daily brief to Principal: done / in progress / today / needs from you / risks, Confirm verbal asks from Principal in writing within 24 hours