The Company: 

Merit Financial Advisors is a fast growing, pioneering financial services firm that invests heavily in the growth and development of team members. Merit seeks to establish, educate, and help individuals reach their financial goals as they transition into and experience retirement. With an unswerving commitment to excellence and reliability, Merit provides objective financial advice and believes in establishing long-lasting relationships. By offering an array of services, clients can receive tailored solutions that promote growth and help them achieve financial goals.

Merit believes in addressing the retirement challenges in America by helping clients reach financial freedom and confidence to the working population and retirees alike. This focus on comprehensive financial wellness enables us to deliver the ultimate client experience. 

Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, with 48 locations across the country, Merit balances tactical advice with innovative strategy. Our 200+ hardworking employees are leaders rooted in humility and we are poised to grow. Merit is a multi-generational firm with a foundation built around servant leadership and total team leadership. We have been recognized as a “Best Places to Work” by InvestmentNews and have made the fastest growing companies list in both INC 5000 and Georgia’s Fastest 40. As we expand and work to bring our relationship-driven approach to the financial industry, we are looking for the right individuals to join our team. 

The Position: 

The VP of Operations is a firm leader who will oversee daily activities and coordinate all operations processes, procedures, and protocols, with a focus on iterative excellence. 

Responsibilities:

• Assist in maintaining appropriate guidelines, adequate departmental methods and procedures to minimize risk, and ensure compliance of regulatory and legal requirements
• Assist in the interviewing process and make recommendations on hiring
• The Vice President is proactive in reviewing OKRs and stays focused on company goals
• They must be active in managing relationships, take ownership of issues, and be results-oriented
• Ability to effectively lead in the strategic design process, owning the overall strategy and execution
• Oversees the team’s daily activities and monitors goals
• Assist with ensuring workflow improvements, and new process procedures and trainings are adhered to by all
• Ensures business process workflow within the teams meets departmental and firm quality standards while adhering to company policies and procedures
• Makes recommendations to Executive Leadership Team concerning changes, improvements, and enhancements that benefit the processes and technology ops
• Collaborate with technology and field operations in building processes and improvements
• Understanding & coordination of operational items within Salesforce to build best practices with the field operations (Client Service)
• Collaborate with field and technology to make Salesforce data field decisions
• Guide the best practices of field and corporate on how to establish the Merit way
• Work with compliance to create less risk and more controls for Orion and Salesforce data
• Technology & Operations collaboration on processes and procedures within Salesforce and Orion
• Coordinate new initiatives with Operations and bring departments that may be affected together, Investments, Marketing, Compliance, etc.
• Complete operations due diligence review of all acquisitions/selling firms
• Operations overview presentation for M&A
• Strategize and guide /training and development initiatives with field operations, Regional Operations Directors
• VP of Operations will play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence within our organization as we continue to grow our platform
• Responsible for overseeing and optimizing the day-to-day operations of the RIA, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and a seamless advisor and client experience
• This role requires a strategic thinker, an effective leader, and a problem solver who can thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Lead and manage the operations team, providing strategic direction, guidance and hands-on work
• Continuous implementation of best practices to streamline operational processes and enhance overall efficiency
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with organizational goals
• Develop and execute strategies to support the scalability of RIA operations in line with the company's growth trajectory
• Work closely with client service teams and regional operations directors to ensure a high-quality client experience
• Oversee principal approval for all advisory account paperwork and discretionary agreement
• Work closely with the technology team to implement and support new systems
• Work closely with legal and compliance teams to address any regulatory issues or updates

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or a similar field
• Series 7 & Series 24 required, Series 66 preferred
• Seven or more years of operational experience in a leadership role with a GROWING RIA with broker/dealer relationship
• Demonstrated success in scaling operations in a high-growth, fast paced environment
• Experience with Fidelity, LPL Financial, and Schwab
• Experience in Orion and Salesforce
• Proven history of developing optimized and efficient operational processes leveraging technology in the financial services industry
• Strong leadership skills and experience leading and growing a dynamic team of A-players
• Strategic thinker with a track record of implementing operational process improvements
• Excellent written, presentation, communication, and coaching skills
• Highly observant and analytical
• Must have strong verbal and written skills
• World-class problem solver
• Excellent organizational skills and follow-through skills
• Ability to make timely and appropriate decisions
• Ability to develop and promote new processes and workflows
• Able to work with various key personnel and management to better serve our clients, advisors, and Merit operational team

Salary + Benefits:

• Competitive salary based on experience 
• Medical Insurance 
• Dental/Vision Insurance 
• Life & Personal Accident Insurance 
• Short-term Disability Insurance 
• Long-term Disability Insurance 
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA) or Dependent Care FSA 
• 401(k) Plan with company matching 
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays 

Best Places To Work for Financial Advisors 2018-2024: Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors 2018-2024 – Recognized firms were required to be a registered investment advisor (RIA) that has been in business at least one year and having a minimum of 15 full-time/part-time employees. The assessment consisted of a questionnaire on benefits and policies completed by human resources staff along with an engagement & satisfaction survey completed by a minimum of 40% of staff. 50 firms were selected for this award from an undisclosed list of submissions. There was no charge to be included in this award listing.

Georgia Fast 40 2019 & 2022: The Georgia Fast 40 for 2019 & 2022 was awarded by the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. To be eligible companies must be for profit and headquartered in Georgia and the most recent year-end revenues ranging from $15 million to $500 million and have three years of verifiable revenue and employment growth.

Inc 5000 2019-2023: The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, which consists of more than 5000 companies, represents virtually all of the capitalization of the entire U.S. stock market.