Director, Client Operations (Sydney)

Automic Group; Sydney; On-site; AUD 200,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

A high-growth, scale-up organisation

Professional career growth & dev

Supportive & fast-paced environment

Job summary

Automic Group is seeking an experienced Director, Client Operations to lead a critical shared service for investor services, registry and payments. You will guide approximately 50 people, delivering accurate, timely processing and investor servicing while shaping a clear vision for the investor experience.

Reporting to senior leadership, you will drive process improvements, automation initiatives and strong risk controls, partnering with Product and Technology to scale for growth and new

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading leaders across large, complex operations or service functions in financial services or similarly regulated environments, with a track record of measurably improving service levels, quality, cycle times and operating costs.
• Experience driving large-scale transformation, process redesign and automation initiatives.
• A strong risk and control mindset, built in a regulated business handling high volumes of transactions and sensitive information.
• Strong systems thinking and judgement, with the ability to understand how processes connect and identify where change will have the greatest impact.
• A proven record of developing capable leaders and building high-performing accountable and collaborative teams.
• Strong commercial acumen, including workforce planning, budgeting and supplier management.
• Credibility with senior clients and stakeholders, and the ability to influence across functions.
• A clear commitment to improving customer and investor experience through insight and data.
• Experience across both fund services and company registry operations is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Set direction: develop a clear vision and roadmap for Client Operations, using investor insights and service data to define priorities and service standards.
• Lead operational delivery: oversee registry processing, payments and investor servicing, improving accuracy, turnaround times and service levels while addressing the root causes of errors and recurring issues.
• Develop leaders and teams: coach and empower your leaders, build capability, and create a culture of ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen risk and controls: ensure critical processes have clear owners and effective controls, protecting investor information and payments and embedding sound risk management.
• Drive transformation: partner with Product and Technology to prioritise automation, process redesign and system improvements that reduce manual effort and improve service.
• Scale for growth: build capacity and operational readiness for new clients, major transactions and peak processing periods.
• Own commercial performance: manage budgets, workforce planning and key suppliers, improving cost-to-serve as transaction volumes grow.
• Partner across Automic: work with business leaders, Customer Success, Risk and Enablement, and technical specialists to clarify handovers, resolve issues and deliver a consistent investor experience.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Commercial acumen

Data-driven decisions

Job description

Automic Group is Australia’s expert partner for registry, fund administration and investor services, giving companies, funds and their investors confidence in every moment.

Combining proven experience, exceptional service and a highly scalable, modern technology platform, Automic helps reduce operational risk and deliver stability, security and resilience, while providing clients with trusted data, greater visibility and control.

Founded in Sydney in 2014, Automic employs over 400 people across our Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane offices. Automic supports approximately one in three ASX-listed companies, more than 120 fund managers and over 850 listed and unlisted funds across Australia and New Zealand.

Our culture is collaborative, inclusive and purpose-driven. It is grounded in our mission to connect companies and funds to their investors through technology, service and trust, and guided by our values ofOne Automic, Go Beyond, Empowered and Accountable.

At Automic, we bring together market-leading technology with exceptional service to support companies, funds and their investors. Every enquiry, transaction, payment and interaction is an opportunity to build trust with our clients and their investors.

We're seeking an experienced Director, Client Operations to lead one of the most critical functions in our business. This is an opportunity to combine operational leadership with meaningful transformation, developing leaders, improving client and investor outcomes and building the capability to support continued growth.

About the Role

Reporting to the Group Chief Operating Officer, you will lead Client Operations, the shared service supporting all of Automic's Client Operations functions. Through the Heads of Investor Services, Payment Operations and Registry Operations, you will lead a team of approximately 50 people, with further growth planned, to deliver accurate, timely and well-controlled processing, payments and investor servicing.

You will set a clear vision for investor experience while maintaining strong day-to-day delivery. Working across Automic, you will strengthen accountabilities, improve processes and prioritise technology and automation opportunities that deliver measurable results.

As a senior leader in the Group COO's leadership team, you will make staffing, investment and supplier decisions within your delegated authority. Your influence will extend beyond your own teams, bringing leaders together to ensure work moves seamlessly across functions and delivers on our commitments to clients and their investors.

What you’ll do

• Set direction: develop a clear vision and roadmap for Client Operations, using investor insights and service data to define priorities and service standards.
• Lead operational delivery: oversee registry processing, payments and investor servicing, improving accuracy, turnaround times and service levels while addressing the root causes of errors and recurring issues.
• Develop leaders and teams: coach and empower your leaders, build capability, and create a culture of ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen risk and controls: ensure critical processes have clear owners and effective controls, protecting investor information and payments and embedding sound risk management.
• Drive transformation: partner with Product and Technology to prioritise automation, process redesign and system improvements that reduce manual effort and improve service.
• Scale for growth: build capacity and operational readiness for new clients, major transactions and peak processing periods.
• Own commercial performance: manage budgets, workforce planning and key suppliers, improving cost-to-serve as transaction volumes grow.
• Partner across Automic: work with business leaders, Customer Success, Risk and Enablement, and technical specialists to clarify handovers, resolve issues and deliver a consistent investor experience.

What Success Looks Like

In your first 12 months, you’ll have established a clear vision and roadmap, delivered measurable improvements in service quality and efficiency, and strengthened leadership capability across the function. You'll also have progressed priority automation initiatives, reduced recurring incidents and backlogs, and built the confidence of clients, stakeholders and your teams.

What you’ll bring

Significant experience leading leaders across large, complex operations or service functions in financial services or similarly regulated environments, with a track record of measurably improving service levels, quality, cycle times and operating costs.

Experience driving large-scale transformation, process redesign and automation initiatives.

A strong risk and control mindset, built in a regulated business handling high volumes of transactions and sensitive information.

Strong systems thinking and judgement, with the ability to understand how processes connect and identify where change will have the greatest impact.

A proven record of developing capable leaders and building high-performing accountable and collaborative teams.

Strong commercial acumen, including workforce planning, budgeting and supplier management.

Credibility with senior clients and stakeholders, and the ability to influence across functions.

A clear commitment to improving customer and investor experience through insight and data.

Experience across both fund services and company registry operations is highly desirable.

If you’re motivated by the opportunity to lead a significant operations function and shape how we serve clients and their investors, we’d like to hear from you.

For the right person, this role offers broad scope, visibility and career growth, making it ideal for an experienced operational leader looking to take the next step towards a broader leadership role.

Key benefits include

• A high-growth, scale-up organisation
• Professional career growth & development
• Supportive & fast-paced environment