Senior Specialty Operations Professional

Cetera is seeking a Senior Specialty Operations Professional for our Fee for Service Operations team in Des Moines, IA or St. Cloud, MN. This role supports operational needs and delivers world-class customer service to clients and financial advisors across our Individual Consulting Programs, including Financial Planning and Participant Advice. Potential for hybrid work after a successful training period.

About the Role

Join our team in providing operational support to financial advisors and their clients, ensuring high-quality service delivery across our Individual Consulting Programs, such as Financial Planning Fee for Service and Participant Advice.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational support to financial advisors and clients, ensuring high-quality service at every touchpoint.
• Receive, review, and process client agreements submitted via mail, fax, document imaging upload, or the AdvicePay platform, validating all fields against source documents in our internal database.
• Perform good-order reviews of incoming paperwork, cross-referencing form data with database records to confirm accuracy and completeness before releasing commission payments.
• Process and reconcile multiple payment types, including physical check deposits, commission file batches, ACH debits/credits, and wire transactions, ensuring proper documentation and reporting of billing activity.
• Run and maintain operational reports to support billing, payment processing, and workflow tracking using Excel functions such as VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, and pivot tables.
• Partner with internal stakeholders, including Program Managers, the AdviceWorks team, and Compliance, to ensure transactions meet regulatory and broker-dealer standards.
• Handle low to mid-level escalations, collaborating with the Operations Team Lead and leadership to research, communicate, and resolve issues promptly.
• Proactively identify and resolve operational problems using analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Respond to inquiries from internal and external customers via email, Support Center tickets, and outbound phone calls, providing first-level contact resolution.
• Perform detailed research on customer accounts and deliver accurate, timely responses to advisors, clients, and internal partners.
• Support the development and maintenance of written procedures and workflow documentation using tools like Microsoft Visio.
• Comply with team processes, procedures, regulatory requirements, and service level agreements while achieving quality metrics.
• Cross-train on additional queues and operational workflows to support team capacity and continuity.
• Complete other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 1 year of experience in the financial industry.
• 1 year of experience with MS Office tools.
• Ability to multi-task and adapt to change.
• Strong communication, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Highly responsive to coaching and training; able to work independently with minimal guidance.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, pivot tables, data analysis), Word, and PowerPoint.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Visio for documenting procedures and workflows.
• Basic understanding of API concepts and system data flow.
• Familiarity with broker-dealer and advisory compliance rules.
• Willingness to make outbound phone calls to advisors and clients to resolve issues proactively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Series 99, 6, or 7 license.
• Demonstrated experience delivering excellent problem resolution, organizational, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to multi-task while meeting regulatory deadlines, field inquiries, and internal assignments.
• Knowledge of AI tools and prompting techniques for operational workflows.
• Experience with financial services platforms such as AdvicePay, AdviceWorks, Salesforce, or similar systems.

Benefits

• Competitive salary for full-time roles.
• Inclusive health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans supporting diverse lifestyles and preventative care.
• Mental health benefits for employees and their families.
• 20+ days of paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and 2 paid wellness days.
• 401(k) savings plan with a generous company contribution (up to 5%) and access to a financial professional.
• Paid parental leave for birth, adoption, and fostering.
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Account options for healthcare, daycare, and commuting expenses.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP), LifeLock, pet insurance, and other voluntary benefits.
• Paid caregiver leave for caring for an ill or recovering family member.

About Cetera

Cetera Financial Group is a leading network of independent retail broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families, and company retirement plans. Cetera supports financial advisors and institutions with award-winning wealth management platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer services, practice management support, and innovative technology. Cetera is committed to equal employment opportunity and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic characteristics, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, U.S. military status, political affiliation, or any other protected class.