Trust Associate

Zia Trust, Inc.; Albuquerque, Santa Fe (NM, NM); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Zia Trust, Inc. is seeking a detail-oriented Trust Associate to support Trust Officers in administering trust, estate, agency, and related fiduciary accounts. The role requires discretion, organization, and the ability to work with confidential information while meeting deadlines.

Ideal candidates will communicate professionally with clients and advisors, maintain accurate records, and manage multiple priorities with minimal supervision. Strong MS Office and CRM familiarity is preferred.

Qualifications

• Detail-oriented with accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
• Ability to learn quickly and move work forward with minimal direction.
• Strong written communication for professional client correspondence.
• Discretion and professionalism with confidential information.
• Excellent organization and prioritization under deadlines.
• Willingness to learn CRM, document management, and trust accounting systems.

Responsibilities

• Support Trust Officers in day-to-day trust administration, including account maintenance, documentation, distributions, payments, and follow-up.
• Prepare, review, proofread, and organize client correspondence, forms, reports, and account-related documents.
• Maintain accurate client records, internal notes, tickler items, CRM entries, and trust-account information.
• Coordinate account activity with proper documentation, approvals, and adherence to internal policies and procedures.
• Communicate professionally with clients, beneficiaries, attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, portfolio managers, and internal team members.
• Track deadlines, identify issues, and follow through until matters are resolved.
• Enter and review data carefully, including names, dates, account numbers, dollar amounts, instructions, and supporting details.
• Prioritize daily work using sound judgment and prioritize appropriately when needed.

Skills

Attention to detail

Written communication

Organization

Prioritization

Independent problem solving

Discretion

Client service mindset

Education

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM software

Document management systems

Trust accounting software

Job description

Company Description

Zia Trust, Inc. is a specialized trust company that focuses exclusively on serving as trustee while partnering closely with clients’ existing professional advisors. Branded as “The Advisors’ Trust Company,” Zia Trust collaborates with investment advisors, attorneys, CPAs, and other trusted professionals to support each client’s long-term goals. The firm relies on the client’s chosen investment advisor to manage portfolios, ensuring established advisory relationships remain intact. Zia Trust works with advisors across the country and is committed to delivering personalized, high-quality trust services tailored to each client’s needs.

About the Opportunity

The Trust Associate position is a detail-heavy, client-service-oriented role supporting Trust Officers with the administration of trust, estate, agency, and related fiduciary accounts. We are looking for someone sharp, dependable, discreet, and highly organized—someone who learns quickly, thinks on their feet, shows initiative, follows through, and takes pride in doing things the right way.

The right candidate will be comfortable working with confidential information, managing competing deadlines, communicating professionally with clients and advisors, and figuring out next steps independently when the answer is not immediately obvious.

What You’ll Do

• Support Trust Officers in day-to-day trust administration, including account maintenance, documentation, distributions, payments, and follow-up.
• Prepare, review, proofread, and organize client correspondence, forms, reports, and account-related documents.
• Maintain accurate client records, internal notes, tickler items, CRM entries, and trust-account information.
• Coordinate account activity while ensuring proper documentation, approvals, and adherence to internal policies and procedures.
• Communicate professionally with clients, beneficiaries, attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, portfolio managers, and internal team members.
• Track deadlines, identify issues that need attention, and follow through until matters are resolved.
• Enter and review data carefully, including names, dates, account numbers, dollar amounts, instructions, and supporting details.
• Prioritize daily work using sound judgment and prioritize appropriately when needed.

What We’re Looking For

• Exceptional attention to detail and a strong instinct for accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
• Ability to learn quickly, understand the objective, and move work forward without constant direction.
• Strong written communication skills, including grammar, punctuation, proofreading, tone, and professional client correspondence.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism when handling confidential client and family information.
• Strong organization, follow-through, and ability to manage multiple priorities under deadlines.
• Resourcefulness and comfort figuring things out independently, while also knowing when to ask questions or elevate.
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving ability, including spotting inconsistencies in documents, data, dates, account numbers, names, and instructions.
• Client-service mindset with patience, diplomacy, and the ability to respond calmly and professionally when clients are concerned or frustrated.
• Dependability, initiative, motivation, pride in producing careful, high-quality work.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and ability to learn trust accounting, CRM, document management, and related systems.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in trust administration, banking, financial services, legal, accounting, estate planning, or another detail-heavy professional environment.
• Familiarity with fiduciary administration, trust documents, account documentation, client service, or financial transaction processing.
• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree preferred, but equivalent professional experience and demonstrated aptitude will be considered.

Hiring Process

As part of the hiring process, candidates will be asked to complete practical exercises that reflect the day-to-day work of the role, including document review, data accuracy, professional email drafting, situational judgment, and task prioritization. Final candidates should also expect that a credit check and background check will be conducted in accordance with applicable law.