Manager, Client Services

Principal Financial Group • Raleigh, NC

8h • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Manager in our Non-qualified Retirement business, you will lead and develop Transfer Coordinators. They lead the onboarding and transition of nonqualified deferred compensation plans. This role oversees the transfer, conversion, validation, and onboarding of client data and assets from prior recordkeepers, ensuring a seamless client experience and timely implementation of new business.
This position combines people leadership, operational oversight, process improvement, and data-driven decision-making to enhance onboarding efficiency, improve service quality, and reduce implementation timelines. The ideal candidate is a strategic and analytical leader who excels at developing high-performing teams, inspiring change, and leveraging technology, automation, and AI-enabled solutions to optimize workflows and improve business outcomes.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in financial services, retirement services, operations, client services, onboarding, data management, or a related field.
• 1+ years of Leadership experience, including coaching, mentoring, team leadership, or direct people management is required.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, Power Query, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, data validation, reporting, and analysis of large datasets is required.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to make data-driven decisions.
• Experience with reporting, trend analysis, forecasting, operational performance management, and process improvement.
• Proven track record to lead teams through change while maintaining high levels of engagement and performance.
• Strong organizational, project management, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with non-qualified deferred compensation plans or retirement services is preferred.
• Experience in onboarding, implementation, recordkeeping, or related financial services operations.
• Experience with Alteryx, Power BI, Power Query, or similar analytics and automation platforms is preferred.
• Knowledge of data governance, data quality management, workflow automation, and operational risk management practices.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI tools to improve efficiency, decision-making, reporting, or team effectiveness, or a strong interest in adopting emerging AI technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Transfer Coordinators, fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and client service excellence.
• Oversee onboarding activities for new nonqualified retirement clients, including the transfer, conversion, validation, and transformation of plan data and assets from prior providers.
• Establish and maintain effective partnerships with internal stakeholders, onboarding teams, prior recordkeepers, and external data providers to ensure successful client implementations.
• Ensure operational excellence by managing onboarding workflows, service level agreements (SLAs), quality standards, and implementation milestones.
• Utilize data and analytics to identify trends, forecast workload, improve operational performance, and support business decision-making.
• Develop, monitor, and communicate key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, reporting, and operational metrics.
• Lead root cause analysis efforts and implement sustainable solutions to improve efficiency, quality, scalability, and risk management.
• Drive process optimization, workflow automation, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance onboarding speed, accuracy, and client outcomes.
• Champion the adoption of technology, automation, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled tools to improve productivity, data management, reporting, and operational effectiveness.
• Partner across business functions to optimize processes, improve resource allocation, and support business growth.
• Manage resource planning, capacity forecasting, operational priorities, and team workload distribution.
• Support the testing, implementation, and optimization of new systems, software, and workflow solutions.
• Effectively manage escalations, resolve complex operational issues, and deliver measurable service results.

Benefits

• Flexible Time Off (FTO) is provided to salaried (exempt) employees and provides the opportunity to take time away from the office with pay for vacation, personal or short-term illness.
• Pension Eligible

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed