You could say we’re at the center of the center.
Here at Edward Jones the client is our single focus and our relationships with them are the measure of everything we do. And Service and Operations divisions are at the center of it all. We support our clients, branch teams and headquarter associates in providing the best possible experience. Advocate for our more than 7 million clients through regulation communication, fraud protection and managing their investment distributions. Protect their investments by mitigating risk. And innovate new ways of working. Using insights to create solutions for the future – in the here and now.
Job Overview
Enterprise Operational Excellence (OE) is seeking a highly skilled and motivated professional with experience influencing and optimizing at an enterprise-level and effectively leading through change and ambiguity. Our team is responsible for driving sustainable, firm-wide efficiency and effectiveness, identifying opportunities and building an enterprise multi-year roadmap that can be integrated into financial plans, and improving speed to value. This role leads of a team of professionals that supports business areas in developing plans to achieve OE targets and financial/resource restraints, and collaborates across the firm to support strategies to reach short and long-term objectives. A successful candidate will be a senior leader with strong business and financial acumen, ability to analyze data, derive insights, translate and make recommendations to stakeholders and exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence executive-level leaders.
What you’ll do…
The Director of Enterprise Optimization role within Firm Planning and Strategic Execution (FPSE) serves as an enterprise leader of home office efficiency and effectiveness at a Fortune 300 company, ensuring the firm’s ability to redeploy talent and resources towards high priority work, enabling firm strategies and operational efficiencies. The Director identifies and operationalizes strategies, develops measures and builds systems of accountability, and integrates operational efficiency and resource management into the firm’s financial and business plans
This is a senior-level leadership role, leading a team of experienced professionals that operate at an enterprise-level, and directly leads in the Operating Committee’s responsibility of blueprinting an operationally efficient organization. There is accountability for delivering on annual firm efficiency targets and multi-year efficiency plans in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Creates the enterprise efficiency strategies for operational efficiency and resource management, aligning to the firm’s strategy and priorities and defining OKRs to advance those strategies. Accountable for outcomes that positively impact our firm’s operating leverage – growing revenue, reducing expenses, or both.
- Provide executive and senior leader level strategic consulting and thought leadership; continuously improve the Firm’s acumen through educating senior leaders as well as recommending an optimal or preferred solution to influence strategic direction; deliver original insights on opportunities for enhancing Firm performance.
- Provide executive leadership support for firm ambition and multi-year plans and strategic initiatives with hundreds of millions of dollars of impact. Identify and escalate issues with recommendations to Operating Committee and Sub-Committee for resolution.
- Develop Firm-level measurements to influence strategic direction and lead recurring performance reviews with Operating Committee and other senior leaders across the firm.
- Collaborate with Finance to create final operational efficiency and resource management targets and resource supply models and socialize with key stakeholders to gain buy-in prior to seeking Operating Committee approval. Evaluate firm-wide operational efficiency and resource management plans in advance of and throughout planning process to enable investment and resource decisions for strategic priorities and new segments.
- Facilitate process improvement and problem solving work sessions, applying best practices within the vertical and across the network as required to support accelerated delivery of the Firm’s Operational Excellence strategy. Provide hands-on leadership for key strategic enterprise projects using various problem solving disciplines that include, but not limited to Lean, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Change Management, Design Thinking, Resource Management or Workforce Planning.
Skills/Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required
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At least 6-10 years in senior-level operational leadership role(s) or enterprise-level leadership role(s)
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Requires an ability to lead in solving complex, ambiguous problems. Skillset of at least 5 years experience with one or more of the following: Design Thinking, Financial Planning & Analysis, Business Consulting, Six Sigma Black Belt, Mergers & Acquisitions, Sourcing (with relevant design thinking certification preferred)
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Demonstrated ability to influence and lead teams including senior leaders. Includes a strong ability to summarize complex financial information and clearly communicate with executive management.
- Excellent interpersonal, written communication and presentation skills at all levels of the organization
- Master’s Degree/MBA preferred
- Accounting/GAAP
- CPA or CFP/CFA
Candidates that live within in a commutable distance from our Tempe, AZ and St. Louis, MO home office locations are expected to work in the office three days per week, with preference for Tuesday through Thursday.
Awards & Accolades
Check out our U.S. awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Check out our Canadian awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
About Us
Behind everything we do is our purpose: We partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. We are an innovative, flexible, and inclusive organization that attracts, develops, and inspires performance excellence and a sense of belonging.
People are at the center of our partnership. Edward Jones associates are seen, heard, respected, and supported. This is what we believe makes us the best place to start or build your career.
View our Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report.
¹Fortune 500, published June 2023, data as of December 2022. Compensation provided for using, not obtaining, the rating.
Associate Testimonial
Experience Purpose at Edward Jones
At Edward Jones, we partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. Hear from Synthea Fischer, Service Team Leader, on the culture at Edward Jones and how she’s supported in enabling healthier futures and advancing inclusive growth.
Associate Testimonial
Edward Jones Managing Partner
Edward Jones Managing Partner
Experience Purpose at Edward Jones
At Edward Jones, we partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. Hear from Bryan Roady, Senior Product Delivery Manager, on the culture at Edward Jones and how he’s supported in his role and division to promote healthier futures.
Career Progression
Career Progression
Career Progression
Career Progression
Career Progression
It’s like professional development in the world’s largest sandbox.
Training, continuing education and mentoring – that’s only the beginning. Our headquarter campuses offer thousands of roles – and as many opportunities – for you to try new skills, get involved on different projects and step up as a leader. You’re in charge of your professional development. We just provide the opportunities.
Hear from Experienced Advisors who’ve transitioned their practice to Edward Jones
Where clients come first. And you are part of a branch team making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Where the culture is surprisingly collaborative. And opportunities to lead push you to grow – as you grow your practice.
Extra compensation when you need it most – with no ceiling on how much you can earn.
And we really mean it. There is no ceiling on how much you can earn as we have a work hard and be rewarded philosophy. We also understand that new financial advisors might be more worried about the floor. So we provide a guaranteed salary for your first four years. Did we mention bonuses, commissions, profit sharing and travel awards?
“As hard as I want to work determines how successful my business can be.”
– Mark Audet, CFP Financial Advisor – St. Louis
Your new career comes with support from day one.
At Edward Jones, we support you with resources and training from day one. You’ll be joining a firm that is consistently recognized and awarded for our training. We believe you’ll see our investment in you as one of the best parts of working at Edward Jones. When you join the client team in your local branch, you won’t be on your own.
Come as you are. We will teach you everything you need to know.
Our Branch Office Administrators come from many different career backgrounds. Sales. Marketing. Customer service. Even finance. But they have one thing in common: a desire for a rewarding career that empowers them to make a difference in people’s lives. Your training begins with six months of dedicated onboarding – and is built out with mentoring, learning plans tailored to your needs, and 6,000-plus at the Headquarters making sure you have everything you need to succeed.
Put your talent to the test – Working with the industry’s best.
There’s no better way to flex your skillset than working with the best. And you will find the best here. We aggressively recruit a vast array of top talent that help us innovate. And build the tools and systems that support our goal of being the #1 choice for the serious long-term investor. Our clients’ needs are becoming more complex. They have high expectations for a personalized user experience that puts them in control – so they can feel confident managing their financial lives. You won’t be competing with your colleagues to develop the next breakthrough technology. We are a team. Some say a family. And our collaborative culture permeates every aspect of our firm. Including tech innovation. Everyone is working toward the same goal: to create technology to make it easier for our clients to do business with us. And when any of us succeed, it’s a win for all of us.
Your colleagues will inspire you. And hold you accountable.
Our vast resources, solid reputation and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives attract next-level talent that creates an inspiring work environment. You won’t just be working alongside some of the industry’s best – you will be collaborating with them. Our relationships with our clients and each other are, in a word, authentic. And we hold ourselves accountable to both. Building products, services and technologies that strip out the complexity for our branch teams – and elevate our client-centric experience.
You can see the future. Because you’re building it.
Our client-first focus comes with a promise: to think like them, not just about them. So much so that we can anticipate their needs before even they do. How? By staying ahead of changing regulations and mitigating risk for over 7 million clients. Developing new tools and technologies. Creating data driven innovative business solutions. And building automation, agility and nimbleness into our workflows. So we can pivot on a dime. Prepared to solve future challenges before they ever arise.
Career Progression
Career Progression
Start here. Grow your career.
Service and Operations are known as places that grow and develop top talent at the firm. When you join our large divisions, you’ll have many opportunities to learn outside of your role. We have specialized focus areas, all waiting for you to expand your knowledge and contribution. Develop your skills. Work in many settings. And move down the path that interests you most. As your skills grow, your leader may recommend you for opportunities in other areas. Selflessly losing top talent – all in the name of your development. And the success of the firm.
Find your niche. We insist.
Investment Products & Strategy is home to many areas of expertise. This works to your advantage. And supports your professional development. Working in research but curious about trusts? Check it out. Hired in banking but a trader at heart? Give it a try. Passionate about finding innovative ways to help clients protect their goals? Your leaders will encourage you to explore. Mentor you. And connect you with other leaders and colleagues who can show you the way. And you and your leader will have meaningful, performance and development discussions throughout the year. Not only at your annual review. So as your interests evolve, your leader can help you find the next opportunity. So you can find your niche.
Associate Testimonial
Grow your skills – And find your passion.
Your professional development is our priority. World-class training, mentoring and continuing education – that’s a given. But you can expect so much more. Digital transformation throughout the firm creates a steady stream of opportunities for you to stretch your skills. In different tech areas – and different business areas. We promote collaboration and movement between divisions and departments. And encourage you to understand the business drivers by plugging you into design sprints, research projects and situations where you can see our workflows firsthand. Helping you find your passion, with so many paths to get there.
Bring your skills and experience here. We’ll find a place to put them to work.
Tech? HR? Marketing? Operations? You’ve got the skills. We’ve got the team. We are a large firm with many areas of expertise but each division is small enough for you to make an impact. And you can test the waters in other areas. We encourage it. Learning new skills and gaining leadership experience along the way.
Associate Testimonial
When it comes to your compensation, we want to be clear.
#1 Your performance drives your compensation – and we won’t limit it with earning caps. Not now, not ever.
#2 Our compensation is competitive and multi-faceted. Commissions and trimester bonuses – based on individual branch and firm profitability – make up the bulk of your variable income. But your total payout may include travel awards and profit sharing. And the opportunity to be rewarded for transitioning client relationships to financial advisors looking to grow.
#3 Our compensation is simple and transparent. We make it easy to understand how you are rewarded and strive to minimize grid changes. You know exactly what to expect and how to impact your results.
Our partnership structure frees you to focus on your clients.
Being a partnership makes us distinctly different from our competitors. More than a structure, it’s a mindset. And it permeates every aspect of our business. From how we work with each other – think collaboration not competition – to our long-term investment philosophy. It’s most at work in our shared focus on doing what’s right for the client. And it’s easy for us to do. Because we have no competing interests. No shareholders clamoring for short-term profits. We can take the long view, because we only answer to our clients. And to ourselves. Our financial advisors find this single-minded focus freeing. A clear mandate for success. And a clear path to get there.
Transitioning your practice is a difficult decision. We’re here to help.
Moving your practice to another firm may be the most stressful decision of your professional life. We understand. And our transition team is here to help. From early days when you are just beginning to consider the opportunity. To that glorious first day of opening your practice. And our support is not one-size-fits-all. We will tailor your transition to you and your practice – with you leading the way. Ensuring a smooth transition for you and your clients. And a solid path forward for next-level growth.
Investing in You
As a valued branch-team member, you will share in the success of your branch – and the firm. Our market competitive compensation program recognizes your individual contributions, promotes a long-term career, contributes to your financial security and promotes the well-being of you and your family.
Investing in You
As a valued branch team member, you will share in the success of your branch – and the firm. Our market competitive compensation program recognizes your individual contributions, promotes a long-term career, contributes to your financial security and supports the well-being of you and your family.
Edward Jones Due Diligence Events
How will I be compensated? Will my clients be taken care of? Will Edward Jones’ products meet my clients’ sophisticated needs? You have many questions, and we have the answers. Talk with firm leaders who can share their personal stories and insights. Meet with subject matter experts and learn about our technology, marketing, transition support – and how we can help you grow your practice your way.
No experience in finance? Bring your developed skills, we’ll guide you the rest of the way.
Some of our most successful financial advisors come to us from other fields. Our training and development is designed to help you succeed. From helping you pass your licensing exams and training you to understand the complexities of our industry, to arming you with the knowledge and skills to build your practice, we invest in your training and development. Every. Step. Of. The. Way.
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
Headquarters Events
Occasionally we have recruiting events providing unique opportunities to network with hiring leaders and recruiters. Currently there are no events scheduled – please check back soon.