Director of Operations

Hilltop Wealth Advisors, LLC

Chapel Hill (NC)

On-site

USD 145,000 - 185,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Hilltop Wealth Advisors in Chapel Hill, NC seeks a Director of Operations to build and lead a reliable, scalable operations function. You will own day‑to‑day performance, client‑service execution, workflow discipline, and capacity planning, reporting to the President.

The role starts with direct leadership of the current client service team and evolves as the department grows. You will establish processes, documentation, and cadence for onboarding, transfers, billing support, and service

Qualifications

10+ years of operations, client service, or business‑process leadership experience in wealth management.
3+ years leading or supervising teams.
Demonstrated experience improving workflows, service delivery, accountability, and capacity.
Experience managing CRM, workflow, documentation, reporting, and process improvement efforts.
Strong people leadership, communication, problem‑solving, and follow‑through.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.

Responsibilities

Build the Operations Function and lead the team.
Establish ownership, standards, workflows, and escalation paths.
Create operating cadence: daily visibility, weekly meetings, KPI reviews, escalation.
Document core workflows: onboarding, account maintenance, transfers, billing, service requests.
Identify leverage points for scale and future staffing needs.
Directly lead current client service and operations until an Operations Manager is in place.
Monitor workload, capacity, errors, backlogs, and handoffs; intervene as needed.
Partner with advisors to improve service handoffs and client experience.
Ensure compliance workflows and documentation are accurate and timely.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Advizion

Orion

Tamarac

Salesforce

Redtail

Wealthscape

Job description

Director of Operations

Hilltop Wealth Advisors | Chapel Hill, NC

Role Purpose

Hilltop Wealth Advisors is scaling toward a $50M revenue future. To do that, the firm needs an operations function that is reliable, visible, accountable, and not dependent on the President stepping into daily operational firefighting.

The Director of Operations will build and lead that function.

This is a hands‑on operational builder role for someone who can create order while leading the work. Reporting to the President, who currently serves as Hilltop’s interim COO/CCO, the Director of Operations will own day‑to‑day operational performance, client‑service execution, workflow discipline, team accountability, and operational capacity.

This person will not inherit a fully built operations department. They will establish the rhythms, standards, documentation, reporting, and team structure required to support Hilltop’s next stage of scale.

The Director supports compliance execution but does not serve as Hilltop’s CCO. CCO responsibility remains with the President, supported by Comply, until Hilltop makes a future decision to establish a dedicated COO/CCO or CCO seat.

Reports To

President / Interim COO-CCO

Direct Reports

Initially:

Client Services Team Lead / Senior Client Service Associate

Client Service Associates

Other client service or operations personnel as assigned

As the team scales:

Operations Manager

Office Manager

Client Services Team Lead

Primary Outcome Owned

Hilltop’s operations and client service function delivers accurate, timely, repeatable work at the capacity required to support advisor productivity, exceptional client experience, compliance execution, and scalable growth.

Key Responsibilities

Build the Operations Function

Assess Hilltop’s current operations, client‑service workflows, CRM usage, task management, service capacity, and operational risks.

Establish clear ownership, service standards, workflows, and escalation paths for recurring operational work.

Build the operating cadence for the department, including daily workflow visibility, weekly team meetings, KPI review, and issue escalation.

Create and maintain practical documentation for core workflows, including client onboarding, account maintenance, transfers, billing support, service requests, and custodian interactions.

Identify the highest‑leverage process, technology, staffing, and capacity improvements required for Hilltop to scale.

Recommend the future structure and timing for an Operations Manager and Office Manager as the function matures.

Lead Daily Operations and Client Service

Directly lead the current client service and operations team until an Operations Manager is in place.

Assign, prioritize, track, and follow up on operational work, client requests, workflow backlogs, and cross‑functional handoffs.

Ensure client service requests, account paperwork, transfers, onboarding, billing support, and other core workflows are completed accurately and within defined standards.

Monitor operational workload, capacity, errors, rework, overdue tasks, and service failures; intervene quickly when standards are not met.

Serve as the escalation point for complex client‑service, workflow, and operational issues.

Partner with advisors to improve service handoffs, advisor support, and client experience.

Systems, Data, and Process Discipline

Drive consistent use of Hilltop’s CRM, workflow tools, documentation standards, and task‑management systems.

Improve CRM data quality, operational reporting, workflow visibility, and accountability.

Partner with the President and other leaders on the Advizion CRM transition, related process changes, and data cleanup.

Identify recurring friction, redundant steps, and bottlenecks; implement practical improvements.

Ensure the firm has reliable operational data to make decisions about staffing, capacity, service levels, and priorities.

Team Leadership and Development

Set clear expectations, scorecards, development plans, and accountability for direct reports.

Coach and develop the Client Services Team Lead/Senior CSA in technical leadership, quality control, training, and future management readiness.

Build cross‑training and coverage plans so critical workflows do not depend on one person.

Hire, onboard, and develop future operations and client‑service talent as approved.

Address unclear ownership, missed commitments, and sustained underperformance directly.

Compliance and Risk Execution

Ensure operational compliance workflows, recordkeeping, documentation, and follow‑up tasks are completed accurately and on time.

Partner with the President and Comply on audits, compliance requests, operational evidence, and remediation activity.

Escalate material client‑service, process, documentation, or compliance risks promptly.

Reinforce adherence to established compliance policies and procedures across the operations and client‑service function.

This role executes and manages compliance‑related operational workflows. It does not independently interpret regulations, establish compliance policy, or replace the President as the CCO.

Key Performance Indicators

Client service requests completed within defined service standards

New‑client onboarding turnaround time and accuracy

Workflow completion rate, overdue task volume, and backlog aging

CRM data completeness, accuracy, and workflow adherence

Operational error, rework, and exception rates

Advisor satisfaction with operational and client‑service support

Client‑service team capacity, workload balance, and cross‑training readiness

Completion rate for priority operational improvement initiatives

Compliance workflow and documentation completion rate

Time required from the President for operational escalations and firefighting

What Great Looks Like in 90 Days

First 30 Days

Understands Hilltop’s service model, client‑service team, workflow volume, systems, and current bottlenecks.

Identifies the highest‑risk breakdowns in CRM data, task ownership, workflow handoffs, and client‑service capacity.

Builds strong relationships with the President, advisors, client service staff, Comply, custodians, and key vendors.

Establishes clear ownership and immediate priorities for the current team.

By 60 Days

Implements a visible daily and weekly operating cadence.

Creates a prioritized list of workflow, capacity, CRM, and service‑level improvements.

Establishes baseline metrics for workflow backlog, turnaround time, errors, and service capacity.

Begins reducing the most material overdue work, dropped‑ball risks, or recurring bottlenecks.

Gives the President consistent visibility into operational issues without requiring them to manage the details.

By 90 Days

Core workflows have defined owners, documented standards, and predictable escalation paths.

The current client‑service team has clearer accountability, stronger workload visibility, and improved process discipline.

Priority operational backlogs and recurring execution failures are materially reduced.

The President is spending less time in daily operations and has a clear recommendation for the next operations‑layer hire: Operations Manager, Office Manager, or another targeted role.

Decision Rights

The Director of Operations may independently:

Assign and prioritize work across the operations and client‑service team.

Set daily workflow‑management practices, service standards, training expectations, and team meeting rhythms.

Implement process improvements within approved systems and policy boundaries.

Hold direct reports accountable for performance, workflow discipline, and quality.

Escalate client‑service, capacity, operational, and compliance risks.

Recommend staffing, role design, technology, workflow, and capacity changes to the President.

The Director of Operations requires President/Interim COO-CCO approval for:

New headcount, compensation changes, or material organizational changes

Material vendor, technology, or systems investments

Changes to firm‑wide client segmentation or service model

Material policy changes or regulatory communications

Compliance‑policy interpretation or final compliance decisions

Ideal Candidate Profile

You are a hungry builder, not a caretaker of an already mature department.

You can move between strategic judgment and hands‑on execution. You are comfortable creating structure from ambiguity, leading a small team directly, enforcing standards, and improving the work without waiting for a large support layer to appear.

You have enough maturity to work closely with senior leadership, but you are not above rolling up your sleeves to resolve workflow failures, coach team members, clean up process gaps, and make daily execution more reliable.

Required Qualifications

10+ years of operations, client service, or business‑process leadership experience in wealth management, financial services, or a similarly regulated professional‑services environment