Senior Strategic Implementation Manager

Kestra • Austin, TX

2d

About The Position

Kestra Financial, a leading provider of wealth management platforms, technology solutions, and investment products empowering independent financial advisors and RIAs nationwide, is seeking a Senior Strategic Implementation Manager. This role serves as a pivotal execution leader accountable for the disciplined delivery of Kestra Wealth Management’s highest-priority strategic initiatives in investment products and platform capabilities. You will drive the successful launch of new investment products and manage end-to-end launch campaigns while coordinating complex cross-functional projects spanning technology, compliance, business development, and operations. By implementing and championing agile, Scrum-like cadences and robust portfolio governance practices, you will build transparency, predictability, and accountability across initiatives. Your leadership will ensure that strategic intent translates into measurable business outcomes—including accelerated advisor adoption, revenue contribution from new products, enhanced platform capabilities, and operational excellence. This is a hands-on, high-impact role for a collaborative leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy, execution, and cross-functional influence in a dynamic, growth-oriented wealth management environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or Software Engineering.
• 2+ years experience in technical product management in an Agile environment.
• 5+ years of experience in wealth management, investment operations, or trading
• 3-5+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategic program/portfolio management, product implementation, launch execution, or enterprise transformation roles within wealth management, RIA platforms, investment product development, fintech, asset/wealth platforms, or similarly complex, regulated financial services environments.
• Demonstrated success leading multiple end-to-end launches of investment products or major platform capabilities, including coordination across technology builds, compliance/regulatory approvals, and go-to-market execution.
• Track record of successfully implementing or significantly maturing agile delivery practices (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, hybrid, or tailored approaches) in product development or regulated contexts, with quantifiable improvements in predictability, velocity, and time-to-value.
• Series 7 , 63 or 66 required within 2 years.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience with alternatives/private markets access, model portfolios, structured solutions, or advisor-facing technology platforms within a broker dealer organization is strongly preferred.
• Series 65 preferred

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end governance and planning that results in successful delivery of priority investment product launches (e.g., alternative investment solutions, insurance products, or curated offerings) and strategic platform implementation initiatives (new advisory revenue vertical, investment program redesign, etc) from concept through post-launch optimization and benefits realization.
• Lead the coordination and execution of comprehensive launch campaigns, aligning go-to-market activities including sales enablement, marketing communications, advisor training and onboarding programs, distribution strategy, and adoption tracking to drive rapid uptake and sustained engagement.
• Establish and maintain a prioritized portfolio of strategic initiatives for Investment Platforms & Products; drive rigorous sequencing, capacity alignment, funding discipline, and proactive trade-off decisions (scope, timeline, resources, investment) aligned to Kestra’s business objectives and growth priorities.
• Partner with Product Management to translate product strategy and roadmap into executable implementation plans with clear milestones, dependencies, and success criteria.
• Support Wealth Management platform and product leads by facilitating high-performing cross-functional project teams and workstreams involving: Technology: Platform development, data integrations (including MDM/medallion architectures), APIs, advisor portals/tools, and infrastructure enhancements. Compliance & Legal: Product due diligence, regulatory reviews/approvals, disclosures, risk assessments, and ongoing product governance to ensure adherence to SEC, FINRA, fiduciary, and other requirements. Business: Commercialization strategy, RIA/advisor engagement and feedback loops, distribution channel readiness, pricing/packaging, and P&L impact modeling. Operations & Finance: Operational readiness, process design, financial tracking, and benefits measurement.
• Map and manage complex dependencies, risks, and interdependencies across teams; proactively identify and remove blockers while fostering alignment and shared ownership in a matrixed environment.
• Ensure every initiative incorporates appropriate compliance guardrails, risk controls, audit readiness, and change management from the start.
• Design, implement, and continuously mature agile delivery operating models tailored to regulated investment product and platform initiatives. This includes establishing Scrum-like cadences (sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives), Kanban for workflow transparency and flow optimization, and scaled frameworks (e.g., program-level planning or release management) for larger or interdependent efforts.
• Stand up consistent governance rhythms and forums, including steering committees, launch readiness reviews/tollgates, dependency management sessions, risk reviews, and clear escalation paths to executive leadership.
• Drive adoption of modern agile/project tools (Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, or equivalent) and best practices to improve delivery velocity, predictability, collaboration, and quality across technology and business teams.
• Champion a shift toward iterative, outcome-focused delivery—balancing the need for structure and compliance in product launches with the speed and adaptability required in a competitive wealth tech landscape.
• Build and operate a portfolio “control tower” capability: deliver timely, credible, decision-oriented reporting and dashboards on initiative status, milestones, risks/issues, dependencies, financial performance (budget vs. plan, ROI tracking), and leading indicators of business impact.
• Define, track, and report on key business outcome metrics tied to each strategic initiative (e.g., new product net flows/AUM/revenue contribution, advisor adoption and usage rates, client/advisor satisfaction or NPS impact, reduction in time-to-market or launch cycle time, compliance adherence, platform feature utilization and engagement).
• Proactively surface execution risks, capacity constraints, and recommended trade-offs to senior leadership; lead structured issue resolution, corrective action planning, and recovery efforts to protect delivery commitments and protect/enhance business results.
• Prepare and present high-quality materials for executive leadership, steering committees, and governance forums; represent the delivery health and outlook of the Investment Platforms & Products portfolio with clarity and fact-based insights.
• Instill a culture of genuine accountability—where teams own and are measured on the delivery of agreed business outcomes and value realization, not merely activity completion or milestone hitting.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and benefits with a large employer (over 1600 employees nationwide)
• 401(k), health insurance, and a competitive benefits package
• Work in a supportive, collaborative environment committed to professional excellence
• Help clients navigate meaningful financial decisions with confidence
• Opportunities for training, development, and long-term growth within the firm
• Tuition reimbursement for qualified expenses

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior