Director, IT Platform Services

Hightower Advisors; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Parental leave

Gym in Chicago office

401k matching

HSA contributions

Student loan assistance

Pet insurance

Flexible PTO

Work Fri from home

Job summary

Hightower Advisors, based in Chicago, seeks a Director of IT Platform Services to lead strategy, governance, and service delivery for enterprise platforms including Salesforce CRM, Client Portal solutions, IT Services, and productivity tools.

You will build and manage teams serving over 2,000 employees and advisor users, oversee budgets and vendor relationships, and drive standardized service delivery, security, and scalability across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, CS, or business administration.
• 10+ years of progressive technology leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading services or platform operations in wealth management or financial services.
• Proven ability to build high-performing teams and leadership development.
• Experience managing enterprise platforms: Salesforce, Client Portal (Black Diamond, E-Money, Tamarac), Microsoft 365.
• Strong service management, governance, and performance metrics.
• Experience with integrations, security controls, and enterprise architecture.
• Project and program management for complex tech initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a high-performing IT Platform Services team (IT Services, CRM, Client Portal, Productivity platforms).
• Oversee a team supporting 2,000+ employees and advisor users across the platform ecosystem.
• Manage operating budgets, vendor relationships, contracts, and strategy alignment.
• Establish and improve service delivery standards, processes, and KPIs for exceptional user experiences.
• Oversee platform service adoption, SLAs, lifecycle management, security and reliability.
• Promote training, documentation, and user experience initiatives across platforms.
• Lead projects, upgrades, implementations with resource, risk, and communications management.
• Collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and product teams to automate and scale services.
• Develop a multi-year platform services roadmap aligned with growth and modernization goals.

Skills

Technology leadership

Team building

Coaching and development

Service management

Governance frameworks

Program management

Enterprise architecture

Regulated industries experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT / CS / Business Admin

Tools

Salesforce

Client Portal solutions (Black Diamond, E-Money, Tamarac)

Microsoft 365

Productivity tools

Job description

Our Story

Founded in 2008, Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations and family offices, as well as 401(k) consulting and cash management services to corporations. Hightower's capital solutions, operational support services, size and scale empower its vibrant community of independent-minded wealth advisors to grow their businesses and help their clients achieve their financial vision. Based in Chicago with advisors across the U.S., we operate as a registered investment advisor (RIA).

Our Story

Founded in 2008, Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations and family offices, as well as 401(k) consulting and cash management services to corporations. Hightower's capital solutions, operational support services, size and scale empower its vibrant community of independent-minded wealth advisors to grow their businesses and help their clients achieve their financial vision. Based in Chicago with advisors across the U.S., we operate as a registered investment advisor (RIA).

Your Future Team

The Director of IT Platform Services leads the strategy, governance, service delivery of Hightower's enterprise services. You will oversee business critical platforms including Salesforce CRM, Client Portal technologies, IT Services, Enterprise Productivity and collaboration applications. The leader will develops teams focused on delivering exceptional advisor and client experiences while driving operational efficiency, and continuous improvement across the enterprise. You combine service leadership, enterprise application expertise, and business relationship management skills to align technology capabilities with organizational goals.

What You'll Do

• Develop a high performing team(s) including; IT Services, CRM, Client Portal, and Productivity platforms.
• Leads a team of professionals supporting more than 2,000 employees and advisor users across the Hightower platform ecosystem.
• Manage operating budgets, strategic vendor relationships and service providers, including performance management, contract oversight, and strategy alignment.
• Establish and improve service delivery standards, operational processes, support models, knowledge management practices, and performance metrics to ensure exceptional user experiences.
• Oversee the operational metrics, service level agreement, adoption, and lifecycle management of platform services, ensuring reliability, scalability, security, and understanding of our goals.
• Promote training, documentation, and user experience initiative to maximize user satisfaction across enterprise platforms.
• Lead projects, upgrades, implementations, and projects while managing priorities, resources, risks, and partner communications.
• Collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and product teams to automate processes, improve operational efficiency, and enhance service scalability.
• Develop a multi-year platform services roadmap aligned with business growth, advisor experience, operational efficiency, and technology modernization goals.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive technology leadership experience with at least 5 years leading managers or senior individual contributors.
• 5+ years of experience leading services or platform operations within wealth management, financial services, or other regulated industries.
• Build a high-performing organization through coaching, succession planning, talent acquisition, and leadership development.
• Experience managing enterprise platforms such as Salesforce, Client Portal solutions (Black Diamond, E-Money, Tamarac), Microsoft 365, collaboration tools, document management platforms, and other productivity applications.
• Expertise building service-oriented teams with focus on customer experience and employee development.
• Experience developing service management processes, support models, governance frameworks, and performance metrics.
• Experience with application integrations, security controls, compliance requirements, and enterprise architecture principles.
• Project and program management capabilities with experience leading complex technology projects and organizational change efforts.
• Experience within wealth management, financial services, or highly regulated industries.

What We Offer

• Coverage on the first day of employment for medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid parental leave (16 weeks for primary caregiver and 8 weeks for secondary caregiver)
• Mother's lounge onsite
• Flexible PTO plan
• In-office Monday through Thursday and work from home on Fridays
• Free brand-new gym in the Chicago office
• 401k matching plan
• HSA employer contributions
• Student loan assistance
• Pet insurance
• Base salary of $145,000-$155,00 plus discretionary bonus (exact base salary amount will be dependent on experience)

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Hightower is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, national origin, citizenship, veteran status, ancestry, age (over 40), physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related), gender identity or expression, genetic information including sickle cell or hemoglobin C trait, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state, or local law. You are a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or possess other unrestricted U.S. work authorization and will not require sponsorship for U.S. work authorization now or anytime in the future.