Senior Vice President of Operations

ADP, Inc.; Bellingham (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Saturna Capital Corporation in Bellingham, WA seeks a Senior Vice President of Operations to provide enterprise-wide leadership for mutual fund and investment-management operations. Reporting to the COO, this executive will align teams, systems, and vendors to scale the firm's operating platform.

The role emphasizes translating strategy into disciplined execution, leading through change, and building efficient, controlled client-focused capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field.
• Advanced degree or securities licenses preferred.
• FINRA licenses SIE, Series 7, 63, and 24 required or preferred.
• Twelve or more years of experience in investment-management operations.
• Experience with fund-administration platforms; Bloomberg/FactSet preferred.
• CPA/CFA/CIPM a plus.

Responsibilities

• Set operational strategy with the COO and define budgets, priorities, and staffing.
• Lead operations managers across funds administration, investor services, transfer agency, and related functions.
• Translate priorities into actionable plans with clear ownership, timelines, and resources.
• Improve processes, controls, documentation, systems, reporting, workflows, and vendor relationships.
• Develop scalable operating practices to improve accuracy, efficiency, risk management.
• Lead modernization initiatives including automation and reporting enhancements.
• Assess readiness for growth opportunities, new products, and partnerships.
• Establish staffing models and succession planning to support growth.
• Maintain a strong control environment for regulatory compliance and data integrity.
• Collaborate with Compliance, Legal, Finance, and Technology on audits and continuity planning.
• Oversee incident tracking and remediation of gaps and issues.
• Manage relationships with custodians, fund administrators, and vendors.
• Establish meaningful management reporting withKPIs and risk indicators.
• Serve as escalation point for material operational matters.
• Step in for COO when unavailable.

Skills

Leadership

Operational strategy

Budgeting

Staff management

Process improvement

Change leadership

Regulatory compliance

Vendor management

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance

Advanced degree or securities licenses preferred

FINRA licenses (SIE, Series 7, 63, 24) preferred

Tools

Bloomberg

FactSet

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Senior Vice President of Operations

Full Time Bellingham, WA, US

Salary Range: $150,000.00 To $200,000.00 Annually

Saturna Capital is seeking an accomplished, strategic, and hands-on Senior Vice President of Operations to provide enterprise-wide leadership for the firm’s mutual fund and investment-management operations. Reporting to the Chief Operations Officer, this executive will serve as a key link between the COO and the operations management team, helping to strengthen, modernize, and scale the firm’s operating platform.

This is a high-impact leadership role for an operational executive who can translate strategy into disciplined execution, lead through change, and build efficient, well-controlled, client-focused operational capabilities. The successful candidate will bring deep investment-management operations expertise, strong judgment, and the ability to align teams, systems, processes, and service providers in support of Saturna Capital’s continued growth.

Location: Bellingham, WA

Expected Starting salary range: $150,000 – $200,000 annual base wage

Primary duties include:

• Partner with the COO to establish operational strategy, annual priorities, budgets, staffing plans, performance expectations, and improvement initiatives.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to operations managers and teams across fund administration and accounting, investor services, transfer agency, retail brokerage, dealer services, trading support, mutual fund distribution, and related functions.
• Translate organizational priorities into practical operational plans with clear ownership, timelines, resource needs, and measurable results.
• Evaluate and improve operational processes, procedures, documentation, systems, reporting, workflows, controls, and vendor relationships.
• Develop scalable operating practices that improve accuracy, efficiency, risk management, service quality, and employee experience.
• Lead operational modernization initiatives, including process redesign, automation, systems implementation, reporting enhancements, and workflow improvements.
• Assess operational readiness for growth opportunities, including new products, services, distribution channels, technologies, strategic partnerships, and client segments.
• Establish staffing models, capacity plans, cross-training opportunities, succession planning, and performance measures to support organizational growth.
• Maintain a strong control environment that supports regulatory compliance, safeguards fund assets, protects data integrity, and promotes timely, accurate execution.
• Partner with Compliance, Legal, Finance, Technology, Investment Management, and senior leadership on regulatory filings, examinations, audits, vendor oversight, business continuity, and operational due diligence.
• Oversee the identification, escalation, tracking, and remediation of operational incidents, control gaps, process weaknesses, and recurring service issues.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with custodians, transfer agents, fund administrators, technology vendors, and other third-party service providers.
• Establish meaningful management reporting, including operational KPIs, service-level measures, capacity indicators, project-status reporting, exception reporting, and key-risk indicators.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for material operational, client-service, vendor, and business-continuity matters.
• Assume delegated leadership responsibility for operations when the COO is unavailable.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field required.
• Advanced degree, relevant securities licenses, or industry certifications are preferred.
• Required to obtain and maintain applicable FINRA licenses, including SIE, Series 7, Series 63, and Series 24.
• Twelve or more years of progressively responsible experience in investment-management operations, mutual fund or ETF operations, fund administration, transfer agency, brokerage operations, trading operations, or a related field.
• Experience with fund-administration platforms, reporting tools, Bloomberg, FactSet, or similar systems is preferred.
• Professional credentials such as CPA, CFA, or CIPM are a plus.

Our Employee Benefits package includes:

• 100% company-paid medical premium for employees; High-deductible plan offers full family coverage at no cost to employee
• Health Savings Account with employer contribution, Employee Assistance Program, regular Wellness activities
• Supplemental insurance such as Long-Term Disability, Voluntary Life, Critical Illness
• 401k with generous match
• Profit sharing and annual performance bonuses
• 11 personal and 10 vacation paid days off after first year of service
• Paid Parental and Bereavement leavesUp to $2,000 per month in childcare/tuition assistance
• Adult continuing education and professional development assistance
• Home-buyer assistance program

Saturna Capital Corporation, established in 1989 in Bellingham, Washington, USA, is an independent, employee-owned investment advisor based in Bellingham, Washington, managing approximately $9 billion in assets for clients under management, providing investment advisory services to mutual funds, institutions, businesses, individuals, and endowments. Saturna Capital is adviser to the Amana Mutual Funds Trust, the oldest and largest family of funds in the US that follow principles of Islamic finance. Saturna Capital is also adviser to the US-based Saturna Funds.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug-free Workplace.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.