Director, Operations | New Accounts

Raymond James•Southfield, FL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position follows our hybrid-friendly schedule, so you get the best of both worlds – flexibility and collaboration. In office days will be 3 per week averaging 12 days per month in one of the following locations: St. Petersburg, FL or Southfield, MI. In addition to the core operational leadership responsibilities outlined below, this role will oversee a diverse portfolio of teams responsible for enabling service excellence, associate readiness, and advisor experience across the organization. The Director will provide strategic and day-to-day leadership for functions including Training, New Hire Onboarding, Call Quality & Analytics, Processing Quality Assurance, Documentation, and Team Leads. This includes designing and executing scalable programs that ensure new and tenured associates are effectively trained, consistently coached, and supported by clear procedures and performance insights. The role will be accountable for establishing quality standards, leveraging analytics to drive performance improvements, and ensuring documentation is accurate, accessible, and aligned to evolving business needs. This leader will also oversee teams that directly support advisors and internal partners across key service channels. Responsibilities include leadership of account opening and maintenance operations, supporting advisors and their clients via phone and email, with a strong focus on accuracy, timeliness, and service quality. Additionally, the Director will lead the internal support desk, ensuring associates receive timely guidance and resolution to service-related inquiries, enabling consistent and confident client support. The role will further own the transitioning advisor account opening experience, ensuring a seamless, efficient, and well-coordinated onboarding process for new advisors and their client accounts. This includes close partnership with cross-functional stakeholders to reduce friction, improve cycle times, and enhance the overall onboarding experience. Success in this expanded scope will require the ability to lead through complexity, drive alignment across multiple functions, and utilize data-driven insights to continuously improve operational performance, quality outcomes, and both associate and advisor experiences at scale.

Requirements

SIE required or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA), provided that an exemption or grandfathering cannot be applied.
Series 99 required, or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA).
Persons holding Series 6, 7, 17, 37 or 38 or those who hold principal-level registrations: Series 4, 9/10, 14, 16, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 51, and 53 would be qualified to register as an Operations Professional (Series 99) without passing the examination.
High School (HS) (Required)
General Experience - More than 15 years
Manager Experience - 10 to 15 years
s99 - Operations Professional Examination - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE) - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

Nice To Haves

Review and evaluate recommendations and requirements and to develop appropriate plans or deliver actions required.
Shift into and out of a mental mindset associated with assessing the facts and circumstances of the current situation and/or environment, and making the appropriate/innovative adjustments to thinking and work habits to thrive in any scenario.
Plan and manage small project work assignments within desired cost, time and quality parameters.
Orient work in a workflow to plan, organize, and execute the steps it takes to achieve higher efficiencies.

Responsibilities

Support the overall organizational strategy by developing and delivering operational plans and outcomes for a large portion of the business.
Manage and report on the performance of the function/business area; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports and hold individuals accountable for achieving them; take appropriate corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of annual business objectives.
Communicate the function's strategy and its relationship to the organization's mission, vision, and values; clarify the actions needed to implement this strategy within the area of responsibility; motivate people to commit to the mission, vision, and values and do extraordinary things to achieve the organization's business goals.
Develop the strategy for a significant area of responsibility, such as a function, anticipating complex issues, challenges, and opportunities. Ensure the strategy is successfully implemented and meets medium-term business needs.
Identify the capabilities needed to meet the current and emerging business needs of a significant business area. Evaluate current capabilities, identify gaps, and prioritize development activities.
Motivate others to develop their capabilities and fulfill their personal potential. Build capabilities elsewhere in the organization through mentoring and other informal methods.