Financial Planning Consultant

Cetera Financial Group Inc; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 148,000; Full time

Job summary

Cetera Financial Group Inc. is seeking a Financial Planning Center Consultant to partner with financial advisors, translating complex planning concepts into clear guidance and measurable business outcomes.

This role emphasizes education, consultation, and decision support rather than hands-on plan creation or software help desk duties. The position focuses on advancing planning adoption, aligning strategies with client opportunities, and driving growth through scalable support across multiple

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in financial planning, wealth management, or advisor-facing consulting roles.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to create simplified advisor explanations and technical internal reference materials.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a firm-wide technical financial planning resource across retirement income, Social Security, IRAs and qualified plans, tax-aware planning, estate and wealth transfer planning, charitable strategies, business-owner planning, risk management, insurance, annuities, and other complex planning disciplines.
• Research, interpret, and communicate complex planning concepts, regulatory developments, tax law changes, and industry trends in clear, practical, advisor-ready language.
• Help advisors evaluate alternatives, understand tradeoffs, identify planning opportunities, and strengthen client relationships through more confident planning conversations.
• Create educational content, technical guidance, and advisor resources that can be applied in client conversations and planning engagements.

Skills

Communication skills

Advisor-facing consulting

Education

CFP® or CPWA® designation

Job description

As a Financial Planning Center Consultant, you will serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor-facing technical planning resource. You will help financial advisors understand, evaluate, and apply planning concepts across common and complex client scenarios, then translate those concepts into clear guidance and actionable business outcomes.

This is a high-impact role focused on consultation, education, and decision support. It does not primarily involve creating financial plans, performing operational execution, or serving as a software help desk.

What You Will Do

Advanced Technical Planning Education, Consultation & Advisor Enablement

• Serve as a firm-wide technical financial planning resource across retirement income, Social Security, IRAs and qualified plans, tax-aware planning, estate and wealth transfer planning, charitable strategies, business-owner planning, risk management, insurance, annuities, and other complex planning disciplines.

• Research, interpret, and communicate complex planning concepts, regulatory developments, tax law changes, and industry trends in clear, practical, advisor-ready language.

• Help advisors evaluate alternatives, understand tradeoffs, identify planning opportunities, and strengthen client relationships through more confident planning conversations.

• Create educational content, technical guidance, and advisor resources that can be applied in client conversations and planning engagements.

Practice Growth, Planning Adoption & Business Outcomes

• Help advisors build and scale planning-centric businesses by integrating financial planning into the client experience, service model, and value proposition.

• Coach advisors on communicating planning value, identifying opportunities, and incorporating planning strategies into client engagement processes.

• Build advisor confidence in delivering and monetizing planning services, including fee-for-service models and ongoing planning relationships.

• Connect technical planning expertise to measurable business outcomes by aligning strategies, client opportunities, and firm resources to drive adoption and growth.

Planning Solutions & Advisor Outcomes

• Leverage technical expertise, internal partnerships, and specialized resources to help advisors move from planning concepts to implementation strategies and measurable client impact.

• Partner with Foundational Planning, Financial Plan Design, Advanced Planning, Trust, Tax, Retirement Income, Insurance, and other specialized groups to provide timely support.

• Escalate complex or specialized cases to the appropriate subject-matter experts while helping advisors understand available solutions and next steps.

• Capture recurring advisor questions, emerging trends, and common technical themes to inform future education, training, knowledge management, and scalable support.

What You Need to Have

• 8+ years of experience in financial planning, wealth management, or advisor-facing consulting roles.

• CFP® or CPWA® designation required.

• Demonstrated technical knowledge across multiple planning disciplines, including retirement income, Social Security, IRAs and qualified plans, tax-aware planning, estate and wealth transfer, charitable planning, businessowner and succession planning, stock options, insurance, and annuities.

• Ability to research, interpret, and explain planning concepts, rules, and strategy tradeoffs in a clear, practical, advisor-ready manner.

• Strong judgment in distinguishing general planning education from client-specific advice, tax or legal advice, plan construction, tool support, and product recommendations.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to create simplified advisor explanations and technical internal reference materials.

• Ability to manage multiple concurrent advisor engagements and collaborate across regional teams, planning, compliance, legal, tax, trust, insurance, and other subject-matter groups.

What is nice to have

• ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, CPA/PFS, JD, LL.M., CEPA, or a similar advanced planning-related credential.

• Experience supporting financial advisors in a home-office, planning center, RIA, broker-dealer, family office, trust, tax, estate, or advisor education environment.

• Experience creating advisor education, technical briefs, FAQs, webinars, job aids, or planning guidance materials.

• Comfort with planning research tools, financial planning software concepts, tax-planning tools, estate-planning platforms, and knowledge-management systems.

The base annual salary range for this role is $113,000-$148,000 (Dallas) / $125,000-$148,000 (San Deigo), plus a competitive performance-based bonus. Base annual salary depends on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and location. Base annual salary may also differ significantly due to geography and cost of labor considerations.

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