Vice President | Mutual Fund Operations

Raymond James; Saint Petersburg (FL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Raymond James is seeking a seasoned Vice President of Operations for Mutual Funds to lead account services, reconciliations, security setup, and trading. The role requires guiding large teams, driving operational excellence, and ensuring regulatory compliance in a high‑caliber financial services environment.

The position offers a hybrid work model with in-office days three per week at St. Petersburg, FL; Memphis, TN; or Southfield, MI, and a focus on strategic leadership, succession planning,

Qualifications

• Extensive leadership experience in financial services operations.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, and cost control skills.
• Experience aligning operations with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end mutual fund operations, including governance, trade settlement, and reconciliations.
• Partner with stakeholders to onboard new funds, ensure data integrity, and enforce regulatory compliance.
• Lead governance of platform readiness, fund setup, and corporate actions, optimizing efficiency and scale.
• Provide executive direction for projects and change portfolios with prioritised resource allocation.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic Planning

Budgeting

Financial Markets

Project Management

Stakeholder Management

Regulatory Compliance

Communication

Education

High School

Job description

Job Description Summary

Hybrid Work Environment: This position follows our hybrid-friendly schedule, so you get the best of both worlds – flexibility and collaboration. In-office days will be 3 per week in one of the following locations: St Petersburg, FL; Memphis, TN; or Southfield, MI.

Job Description

Mutual Funds is seeking a seasoned Vice President of Operations to lead and oversee all aspects of Mutual Fund Operations, including Account Services, Reconciliations, Security Setup, and Trading. This critical leadership role is ideal for a highly regarded financial services leader with a proven track record of driving operational excellence, leading large‑scale teams, and delivering results in complex, highly regulated environments. As a key leader within the organization, this individual will be instrumental in driving performance, fostering collaboration, supporting succession planning initiatives, and positioning the department for long‑term success.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end‑to‑end mutual fund operations function, including governance of securities master and trading restrictions; trade execution and settlement; corporate actions and fund event processing (mergers, liquidations, MF to ETF conversions); share class conversions; networking functions; cash, share, and dividend reconciliation; direct fund account management; vendor oversight; fund relationship management; and leadership of the project/change portfolio.
• Product Setup & Platform Readiness: Partner with internal stakeholders on open end mutual fund platform. Oversee onboarding of new mutual funds and share classes, ensuring accurate configuration of eligibility rules, minimums, fees/load structures, and trading restrictions across all systems and channels. Manage fund reference data integrity and enforce prospectus and regulatory compliance through robust operational processes and platform controls.
• Fund Relationship & Industry Advocacy: Serve as the executive liaison with fund families, transfer agents, vendors, and market utilities (NSCC/DTCC), ensuring operational readiness for new offerings, corporate actions, and regulatory changes. Advocate for the broker‑dealer industry within the mutual fund ecosystem and through active participation in industry committees, influencing standards and regulatory developments to promote operational compatibility, efficiency, and client benefit.
• Provide executive oversight and strategic direction for the project and change portfolio, setting priorities, aligning initiatives with business objectives, and ensuring optimal resource allocation for timely, high‑quality delivery that drives operational efficiency and scalability.

Leadership & Strategic Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deliver the organization's operational strategy and outcomes.
• Set and approve area budgets that achieve organizational strategy.
• Manage and report on business performance; hold direct reports accountable for achievement of business plans, and take corrective action where necessary.
• Lead the development of annual and longer‑term business plans for a significant function, ensuring alignment with strategy; quantify business outcomes and resource budgets.
• Set and communicate strategy, inspire workforce, and manage stakeholder engagement.
• Ensure regulatory compliance with auditors, FINRA, IRS, SEC and others.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Principles of finance and securities industry operations.
• Project management methodology sufficient to act in a sponsorship role.
• Financial markets and products.
• Performance management.
• Strategic planning and organizational leadership.
• Expertise in budgeting, costing, and finance tasks.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to negotiate and build consensus among stakeholders.

Licenses and Certifications

• SIE required or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA).
• Series 99 required, or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA). Persons holding Series 6, 7, 17, 37 or 38 or those who hold principal‑level registrations such as Series 4, 9/10, 14, 16, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 51 and 53 would qualify to register as an Operations Professional (Series 99) without passing the examination.
• Series 7 not required, but highly preferred.

Education

High School (HS) (Required)

Work Experience

General Experience – More than 15 years; Manager Experience – 10 to 15 years.

Certifications

General Securities Representative Examination (Series 7) – FINRA; Operations Professional Examination (Series 99) – FINRA; Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE) – FINRA.

Travel

Less than 25%.

Workstyle

Hybrid.

Compensation and Benefits

The total compensation for this position includes base salary or wages, and may include components such as additional compensation (cash or equity), discretionary bonuses, or commissions. Eligible for a benefits package that may include medical, dental, and vision; life insurance; critical illness and accident insurance; disability benefits; retirement savings; paid time off (including vacation, holidays, and sick leave); and parental leave. Eligibility for benefits and specific offerings may vary based on position and employment status. To view more details of the benefits offered, visit Myrjbenefits.com.

Company Culture and Expectations

At Raymond James our associates use five guiding behaviors (Develop, Collaborate, Decide, Deliver, Improve) to deliver on the firm's core values of client‑first, integrity, independence and a conservative, long‑term view. We expect our associates at all levels to grow professionally, work with and through others to achieve desired outcomes, make prompt pragmatic choices and act with the client in mind, take ownership and hold themselves and others accountable for delivering results that matter, and contribute to the continuous evolution of the firm.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Raymond James – as part of our people‑first culture, we honor, value, and respect the uniqueness, experiences, and backgrounds of all of our Associates. The Company is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions on the basis of merit and business needs.