Director of Recordkeeping Operations

YMCA Retirement Fund; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

YMCA Retirement Fund is seeking an experienced leader to manage an operations team and drive strategic initiatives that enhance customer experience and operational excellence.

The role requires a senior retirement plan operations professional with a proven track record in financial services or recordkeeping, capable of leading cross-functional programs and delivering scalable processes and improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 15+ years of retirement plan recordkeeping and operations experience with a track record of leading transformative initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of defined benefits plans, defined contribution, and annuities.
• Experience leading complex transformation and driving strategic execution.
• Experience leading teams with a track record of success.
• Ability to work through ambiguity and partner to develop solutions.
• Analytical thinker with the ability to tackle complex challenges.
• Strategic, innovative thinker with high energy and big-picture focus.
• Project management, execution, and management skills preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication across varied audiences.
• Ability to foster relationships across levels; QKA/QPA certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with administration, operations, customer service, compliance, and technology to design solutions for plan recordkeeping and services.
• Identify, evaluate, and implement solutions to complex operational and business challenges; lead transformational projects.
• Demonstrate change management and drive adoption of new processes.
• Identify process gaps and develop controls to ensure effective implementation.
• Gather and document scope and requirements with IT translate for developers.
• Promote a participant- and employer-centric culture focused on customer experience and regulatory compliance.
• Benchmark industry practices to ensure best-in-class solutions across recordkeeping and administration.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Change management

Project management

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Communication (verbal & written)

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The position reports to the SVP, Operations and Customer Service, and is responsible for managing an operations team, driving complex projects with the goal of achieving a superior experience for the customer and operational excellence.

This role requires an experienced retirement plan operations professional with a proven track record in a best-in-class financial services or recordkeeping organization. The successful candidate will leverage industry-leading practices and operational expertise to enhance the Fund's administrative and service delivery capabilities. This role will own executing strategic and cross-functional initiatives, improve operational processes, and identify opportunities to strengthen efficiency, scalability, and overall customer experience.

What You Will Do:

Partner closely with retirement plan administration, operations, customer service, compliance, and technology team to design and implement solutions that support plan recordkeeping, participant services, and operational efficiency, while meeting business objectives and industry best practices.

• In partnership with the operational managers and the support of this role’s direct reports, identify, evaluate, and implement solutions to complex operational and business challenges, support strategic initiatives, process improvement and automation efforts; and lead transformational projects that enhance recordkeeping and retirement plan administration capabilities.
• Strong consulting and advisory skills; ability to think conceptually, handle ambiguity, solve complex problems, and make thoughtful recommendations.
• Ability to implement and drive changes, including demonstrated experience and knowledge of change management principles.
• Identify process gaps and proactively develop solutions and controls to ensure effective implementation and ongoing operations.
• Gather and document project scope and requirements, partnering with the Business Analyst who will translate them into formal technical requirements for IT developers.
• Promote a participant- and employer-centric culture focused on delivering exceptional end-to-end customer experience, operational excellence, process discipline, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct industry benchmarking to ensure best-in-class solutions relative to peers. Support cross-functional initiatives to improve data quality, workflow management, operational controls, and service outcomes across retirement plan administration and recordkeeping functions.

What Qualifications Are We Looking for:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 15+ years of experience in retirement plan recordkeeping and operations, with a demonstrated track record of leading and executing transformative and strategic initiatives that enhance operational effectiveness, service delivery, and business performance
• Strong knowledge of defined benefits plans, defined contribution, and annuities strongly desired. Experience working for a multiple-employer plan a plus.
• Experience leading complex transformation and driving strategic execution.
• Experience leading teams, formally or informally, with a strong track record of success leading high-performance teams.
• Ability to work through ambiguity with intent and focus on results, with the ability to partner to develop solutions to complex issues.
• Analytical thinker who welcomes complex challenges
• Highly strategic; innovative thinker, quick study, with high energy and the ability to see the bigger picture, critical for success.
• Project management, execution, and management skills strongly desired.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage with varied audiences required.
• Ability to foster relationships with colleagues at all levels in the organization.
• Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) and Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) certification preferred