Vice President | Mutual Fund Operations

Hybrid Work Environment: This position follows our hybrid-friendly schedule, with 3 in-office days per week in one of the following locations: St. Petersburg, FL, Memphis, TN, or Southfield, MI.

About the role

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 drive performance, foster collaboration, support succession planning initiatives, and position the department for long-term success.

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.
• Oversee product setup and platform readiness, partnering with internal stakeholders on the open-end mutual fund platform. Manage 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. Maintain fund reference data integrity and enforce prospectus and regulatory compliance through robust operational processes and platform controls.
• 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 through active participation in industry committees, influencing standards and regulatory developments.
• 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.
• 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 as necessary.
• Lead the development of annual and longer-term business plans for a significant function, ensuring alignment with strategy; quantify business outcomes (e.g., revenues or other KPIs) and resource budgets (financial and headcount).
• Set and communicate strategy, along with broad actions needed to implement it, to inspire a large or diverse workforce to achieve the organization's mission, vision, and values.
• Identify and manage stakeholders up to and including top management, addressing their needs, issues, and concerns by leading stakeholder engagement plans.
• Develop strategy for a significant area of responsibility, anticipating complex issues, challenges, and opportunities.
• Represent the organization in industry forums, boards, and committees to promote the company brand and efforts. Engage in external relations with investors, clients, industry partners, and the public.
• Identify capabilities needed to meet current and emerging business needs, evaluate gaps, and prioritize development activities. Build capabilities through mentoring and informal methods.
• Define the detailed organization structure for a business area to align with corporate principles and business objectives.
• Participate in the development of corporate strategy, applying functional expertise to test viability and contribute creative ideas.
• Collaborate with private client group management to identify and implement solutions.
• Monitor regulatory compliance with internal and external groups, including auditors, FINRA, IRS, and SEC.

Requirements

• High School diploma (required).
• More than 15 years of general work experience.
• 10 to 15 years of management experience.
• Project management methodology sufficient to act in a sponsorship role.
• Knowledge of the company’s working structure, policies, mission, and strategies.
• Principles of finance and securities industry operations.
• Understanding of financial markets and products.
• Performance management expertise.

Skills

• Act as the organizational authority on developing plans or performing actions based on recommendations and requirements.
• Plan, organize, prioritize, and oversee activities to efficiently meet business objectives.
• Shift mental mindsets to assess facts and circumstances, making innovative adjustments to thrive in any scenario.
• Strategic planning expertise.
• Develop and maintain organizational culture, values, and design to reach objectives while managing structural change.
• Develop, monitor, interpret, and align policies and procedures with organizational strategies and objectives.
• Develop and implement policies.
• Manage projects and/or programs within desired cost, time, and quality parameters.
• Use clear and effective verbal communication skills to express ideas, request actions, and formulate plans or policies.
• Develop solutions based on an understanding of the business environment and objectives.
• Costing, budgeting, and finance expertise.
• Negotiate to obtain consensus between internal or external parties with different interests.
• Review and create relevant, lucid, and effective reports.
• Orient work in a workflow to plan, organize, and execute steps to achieve goals and higher efficiencies.

Licenses/Certifications

• SIE required or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA), provided that an exemption or grandfathering cannot be applied.
• Series 99 required, or ability to obtain within 120 days (as required by FINRA). Persons holding Series 6, 7, 17, 37, 38, or principal-level registrations (Series 4, 9/10, 14, 16, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 51, and 53) are qualified to register as an Operations Professional (Series 99) without passing the examination.
• Series 7 highly preferred but not required.

Travel

Less than 25%.

Pay

The total compensation for this position includes base salary or wages and may include additional components such as cash or equity, discretionary bonuses, or commissions.

Benefits

This position is eligible for a benefits package that may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance.
• Disability benefits.
• Retirement savings.
• Paid time off (including vacation, holidays, and sick leave).
• Parental leave.

Eligibility for benefits and specific offerings may vary based on position and employment status. For more details, visit Myrjbenefits.com.

Workstyle

Associates at Raymond James use five guiding behaviors to deliver on the firm's core values of client-first, integrity, independence, and a conservative, long-term view:

• Develop professionally and inspire others to do the same.
• Work with and through others to achieve desired outcomes.
• Make prompt, pragmatic choices with the client in mind.
• Take ownership and hold themselves and others accountable for delivering results.
• Contribute to the continuous evolution of the firm.

The company honors, values, and respects the uniqueness, experiences, and backgrounds of all associates. Raymond James is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions based on merit and business needs.