Cetera Financial Group is seeking a Senior Manager, Wealth Management Practice Operations to serve as an operating partner within its Owned Portfolio, a core pillar of Cetera’s corporate development and long-term value creation strategy. The Owned Portfolio consists of wealth management practices in which Cetera maintains direct ownership and operating responsibility, including recently acquired offices.
This role is designed for a leader who thrives in hands-on practice management, with direct accountability for advisor performance, client outcomes, financial results, and day-to-day operations. This position requires deep financial services expertise and active FINRA licenses, enabling the leader to credibly partner with advisors and operate within a registered environment.
You will work closely with advisors and staff daily to drive growth, improve execution, and ensure alignment with Cetera’s operating standards, platforms, and strategic priorities. Success in this role requires strong business judgment, operational rigor, and a willingness to engage deeply in execution.
What You'll Do:
- Owned Portfolio Leadership & Practice Integration
- Serve as the primary day-to-day operating leader for a portfolio of owned wealth management practices, including acquired offices transitioning into Cetera’s operating model.
- Lead the assimilation of systems, workflows, and business practices from acquired practices into Cetera platforms, policies, and standards.
- Assess legacy operational, advisory, and client service practices; identify gaps, risks, and inefficiencies, and implement corrective action plans.
- Act as the central liaison between owned offices and Cetera enterprise teams (Operations, Compliance, Technology, Investments, Planning, Finance.)
- Advisor & Practice Performance
- Partner closely with financial advisors to improve practice performance, client engagement, productivity, and retention across the full advisor lifecycle.
- Drive organic growth and client satisfaction through consistent adoption and effective use of Cetera’s technology platforms, investment solutions, financial planning tools, and coaching programs.
- Provide hands-on coaching and guidance related to business management, client strategy, workflow optimization, and execution of growth initiatives.
- Oversee local office operations, including staffing models, capacity management, client assignments, billing and collections, and operational discipline.
- Monitor operational and performance metrics; deliver actionable insights and recommendations to leadership.
- Ensure operational consistency, scalability, and service quality across all assigned offices.
- Leadership & Team Development
- Manage, mentor, and develop a team of registered representatives, registered administrators, and planning professionals.
- Fostering a high‑performance, accountable culture focused on operational excellence, strong client outcomes, and compliance.
- Support onboarding and development of advisors and staff into Cetera platforms, systems, and cultural expectations.
- Compliance, Supervision & Risk Management (FINRA-Registered Role)
- Maintain active FINRA registrations and operate as a licensed leader supporting registered activities, as required.
- Partner closely with Compliance and Supervision to ensure adherence to FINRA, and Cetera requirements.
- Identify, escalate, and remediate supervisory or compliance risks within owned and newly acquired operations.
- Reinforce a strong culture of compliance, ethical conduct, and risk awareness.
- Systems, Technology, & Special Projects
- Execute and lead special projects and operating initiatives at the direction of senior leadership, including optimization, integration, and process improvement efforts.
- Lead adoption and optimization of Cetera-approved systems for trading, CRM, reporting, planning, and operations.
- Support enterprise initiatives at the direction of senior leadership, including optimization, integration, and process improvement efforts.
- Develop and review client-facing and internal communications and deliverables as required.
- Perform additional responsibilities consistent with the objectives of the RIA & Branches Channel within Cetera.
What You Need to Have:
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in wealth management, banking, or financial services, with prior experience as a Senior Financial Advisor, Relationship Manager, Investment Manager, Sales Manager, or Program Manager.
- Demonstrated experience providing direct, hands-on oversight of advisors or client-facing teams, ideally in a multi-practice or portfolio environment.
- Strong operating mindset with the ability to balance strategic priorities and day-to-day execution.
- Excellent leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to deliver results under tight timelines.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to influence advisors and cross-functional partners.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
- Active FINRA licenses: Series 7 and Series 66 (or Series 63 & 65), and Life & Health state insurance licenses.
- Series 24 license preferred.
Travel: Up to 30%
About Us
What we give you in return:
Not many teams can say that they support people’s dreams coming to life… We happen to do that every day. And as important as we know your career is, we recognize that there’s a whole lot more to life. To ensure that our Employees can make the most of their time outside of working hours, we offer a competitive salary and for full-time roles, a benefits package including:
- Inclusive health, dental, vision and life insurance plans built to support diverse lifestyles, offer preventative care, and protect against hardship.
- Easy access to mental health benefits to meet our team members and their families where they are.
- 20 plus days of paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and 2 paid wellness days to give our employees the time they need to stay close with their loved ones, recharge, and give back to their communities.
- 401(k) Savings plan with a generous company contribution (up to 5%), and access to a financial professional to offer our employees the opportunity to plan-ahead for a strong financial future well beyond their working years.
- Paid parental leave to support all team members with birth, adoption, and foster.
- Health Savings and Flexible Spending Account options to help you save money on healthcare, daycare, commuting, and more.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP), LifeLock, Pet Insurance and more.
About Cetera Financial Group:
Cetera Financial Group® ("Cetera") is a leading network of independent retail broker-dealers empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is one of the largest independent financial advisor networks in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.
Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support, and innovative technology.
"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Wealth Services LLC (f/k/a Cetera Advisor Networks), Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions, or Cetera Investors. All firms are members FINRA/SIPC.
Cetera Financial Group is committed to providing an equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. For us, this is the only acceptable way to do business. Accordingly, all employment decisions at Cetera Financial Group, including those relating to hiring, promotion, transfers, benefits, compensation, and placement, will be made without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, age, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic characteristics, religion, religious dress and/or grooming, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, U.S. military status, political affiliation, or any other class protected by state and/or federal law.
Agencies please note: this recruitment assignment is being managed directly by Cetera’s Talent Acquisition team. We will reach out to our preferred agency partners in the rare instance we require additional talent options. Your respect for this process is appreciated.
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