Trust Operations Lead

Rockefeller Capital Management•Hamilton Township, NJ

About The Position

The Trust Operations Lead will oversee the Trust Operations function for the Rockefeller Trust Companies (RTC) — Rockefeller’s Delaware and nationally chartered (OCC-regulated) trust companies — a differentiated fiduciary offering of the Rockefeller Private Office. Reporting to the Head of Operations for Rockefeller Capital Management, this leader holds end-to-end accountability for the operating model, controls, and day-to-day execution of trust operations. The Trust Operations Lead manages a team of operations professionals and plays a major role in managing the relationship with the firm’s trust platform technology provider, ensuring the systems, processes, and controls that support fiduciary account administration are efficient, resilient, and audit-ready. We are seeking a solutions-oriented, strategic thinker who looks around corners and thrives on delivering white glove service to internal and external clients, in line with Rockefeller’s culture of excellence. We seek a highly proactive leader and operator who anticipates control weaknesses before they materialize, pressure-tests processes, designs durable solutions that scale, and builds institutional credibility with Internal Audit, Compliance, and regulators.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
10–15 years of experience in Trust Operations, including leadership of regulated fiduciary operations at scale.
Experience with both Delaware and nationally chartered trust companies regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience owning the relationship with — and the implementation, optimization, and integration of — a trust accounting or trust platform technology provider.
Deep knowledge of trust and fiduciary requirements, including OCC Regulation 9, account and asset transfer policies, securities settlement, and fiduciary tax reporting.
Thorough knowledge of securities and securities trading.
Track record of designing and owning end-to-end control frameworks in an audit- and examination-ready environment.

Nice To Haves

Solutions-oriented, strategic thinker who “looks around corners” — highly proactive, anticipating issues and preventing repeat failures.
Strong technical and systems-integration fluency to manage multiple, inter-related platforms and scale processes efficiently.
Deep regulatory, risk, and controls expertise; able to design, implement, and own end-to-end control frameworks with clear ownership and evidence standards.
Strong program and execution leadership; drives complex cross-functional workstreams to closure without external escalation.
Audit-ready documentation and reporting discipline (procedures, root-cause analyses, remediation plans).
Constructive, collaborative leadership style that invites challenge and builds credibility with Internal Audit, Compliance, and regulators.
Excellent leadership ability to direct, motivate, and develop staff.
Excellent verbal and written communication, organizational ability, and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, and develop a team of Trust Operations professionals, establishing clear accountability, coverage, and a consistent daily operating cadence across the Delaware and nationally chartered trust companies.
Own the end-to-end Trust Operations operating model — people, process, and technology — establishing the practices, processes, and procedures that govern trust account transactions and fiduciary account administration.
Play a major role in managing the relationship with the firm’s trust platform technology provider, including service levels, system releases and upgrades, automation, and integration across multiple inter-related platforms.
Design, implement, and own end-to-end control frameworks across systems, with clear ownership, evidence standards, and governance.
Anticipate emerging control weaknesses early, pressure-test processes, and prevent repeat failures through proactive, prevention-first issue management.
Manage relationships with external custodians, systems vendors, proxy voting vendors, statement vendors, and tax reporting providers; resolve complex, sensitive issues involving securities trades and trust account transactions.
Oversee the timely and accurate completion of trust regulatory and tax reporting, including OCC fiduciary requirements (Regulation 9) and annual Reg 9 account reviews, call reports, and applicable state and federal filings, in coordination with Compliance and Tax.
Drive complex, cross-functional workstreams and transformation initiatives with clear timelines, accountability, escalation paths, and closure of open items.
Maintain audit-ready documentation discipline — procedures, root-cause analyses, remediation plans, and routine reporting that stand up to Internal Audit, Compliance, and regulatory scrutiny.
Establish and run a standing governance cadence (e.g., weekly operations review, monthly controls review, and quarterly Trust Operations & Compliance Committee reporting) with defined owners and standard artifacts.
Own centralized issue management — a single backlog for findings and incidents with severity, root cause, remediation owners, due dates, and evidence requirements.
Contribute to the Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) program in coordination with executive management, senior managers, and quality assurance.
Make decisions regarding hiring, performance management, and staffing; evaluate performance and recommend salary actions and promotions.