Director of People Operations

The mission of Kitces.com is to help real financial advisors be better and more successful, creating a 100X multiplier effect for our work and the number of consumers we can positively impact with the power of financial planning delivered by a Kitces-supported Financial Advicer to their clients.

To achieve this mission, Kitces.com publishes the leading financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View, producing award-winning commentary on financial planning strategies and practice management trends for financial advisors ranked as the most Influential, Objective, Relevant, and Useful content amongst any online media publication for financial advisors. Our Members Section provides additional white papers, webinars, training Courses to master essential skills, and the opportunity for financial planning professionals to earn Continuing Education credits, and we are invited to speak regularly at financial advisor conferences across the US and around the world to present our analysis and insights.

Unlike traditional media sites, though, Kitces.com deliberately generates no revenue from advertising or sponsored content. Instead, we remain solely focused on creating value directly for our readers, strengthening the awareness of and integrity of the Kitces brand, and being compensated directly from our readers both on our site (for those who join our Members Section, hire us to speak and consult, or purchase Kitces Research), and through our co-owned financial services solutions for consumers (who may engage with our related financial advisory firms) as well as our business solutions for financial advisors themselves (for whom we have a number of businesses providing service and technology solutions for advisory firms).

Kitces.com is hiring a Director of People Operations to be responsible for all the inner workings of Kitces.com. This person will be accountable for everything from the systems and processes on which the company is organized and runs to the growth, development, health, and well-being of the team members themselves. As a current department of one, this role is for a hands-on executor handling everything from data and resource management to liaising with vendors and outside experts as well as for team training and hiring the right people into the right seats and the engagement of Kitces team members for the lifecycle of their tenure with Kitces.

At the same time, the Director of People Operations should be a people leader. It is anticipated that this department will grow, starting with a new seat being added in the next 8-18 months. This is an ideal role for someone who loves to build systems and structure, test them out by being the initial doer, and then ultimately hand off for others to maintain.

So, if you’re tired of employees being treated like a resource expense on the P&L and want to work in a place where people are our greatest asset, building workflows and designing systems is your happy place, and you love bringing these together through process alignment and team trainings, then this is the job for you!

Description/Responsibilities

This entirely virtually-based staff position will report to the Managing Director and will oversee the People Operations Team.

The Director of People Operations will have the following core areas of functional responsibility:

Hands On Accountabilities:

·        Be a visible leader within the organization, communicating Kitces’ identity, purpose, and values.

·        Manage all Team resources, including provisioning of hardware and software tools for the full cycle of a team member’s tenure at Kitces from onboarding to offboarding and tracking who has access to what at any given time

·        Responsible for all Team members being appropriately trained on basic Kitces software tools to the level their seat requires such as Slack, Asana, Airtable, etc…

·        Act as a systems architect, both for the People Operations department but as an internal SME for the company at large

·        Design and maintain all company data tracking (Excel) and collaborate on the building of data dashboards (Tableau)

·        Accountable for hiring the Right People for the Right Seats by running our robust hiring process

·        Liaison to the outsourced IT department to ensure all systems are functioning properly

·        Manage vendor and contractor relationships to ensure quality, alignment, and cost-effectiveness

·        Determine, track, and report on relevant data metrics regarding outcomes for People Operations initiatives and accountabilities

·        Owner of all company Core Processes such that they are documented and housed in an easily accessible repository

·        Lead, manage, and hold accountable the members of the People Operations team, such as weekly L10s (team meetings), 1:1s, quarterly check-ins, and annual performance reviews, with a particular focus on the training and development of team members as a part of our ‘Get Your Nerd On’ Core Value. (This may include full-time employees and contractors)

Oversight Accountabilities:

·        Oversight of People & Culture programs, ensuring Kitces culture is preserved and team is engaged

·        Accountable for the appropriate management of Human Resources issues and acting as liaison with outsourced HR

·        Accountable for ensuring all organizational policies are legally compliant and that the employee handbook is updated regularly

·        Accountable for the quarterly and annual performance reviews process, confirming that all team members are getting their promised time and feedback from their supervisors

Future Accountabilities:

• Partner with the Managing Director to design the structure of the People Operations Team, assigning out roles/responsibilities and then hiring the Right People in those seats

Key Candidate Traits

Company Qualifications

Candidates for Kitces opportunities should be self-motivated enough to work in a virtual environment (autonomous), have an extremely strong inclination for continuous learning (self-development), an immaculate attention to detail (organized and efficient), a service mindset (seeks to collaborate and to help and support others), and an ability to work in a changing environment (adaptability).

Key domains of required expertise include:

·        Leadership of high-performing teams, building a good team culture, and facilitating professional development growth journeys for team members

·        Project management of 4-6 month long projects that include a combination of internal and external stakeholders

·        Demonstrated ability to maintain and foster a culture of remote work and the intentional habits, rituals, and systems needed to sustain engagement, connection, and productivity

·        Experience guiding teams through change (new systems, new structures, growth phases) with clarity, communication planning, and stakeholder alignment

·        Skill in selecting, managing, and optimizing third-party vendors, tech systems, and outsourced partners in ways that improve quality, reduce cost, and streamline workflows

·        Proficient in Excel

·        Knowledgeable in Tableau or similar system

Experience with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operation System) is preferred but not required.

Candidates must be legally authorized and available to work within the United States. Kitces does not sponsor visas at this time.

Candidates must be able to work at a computer for up to 8 hours a day and travel to attend two in-person retreats per year (January / June).

Compensation/Benefits

·        Base salary $101,000 - $116,000/year (depending on experience)

·        Available annual bonus up to 12% of base salary (payable at as much as 3%/quarter), determined by meeting key Members Section and other business metrics

·        $1,000 for technology hardware/software or related office materials, which starts with a company-provided computer for your home workspace

·        $3,000 annual budget for additional training/skills education

·        $4,000 annual conference budget

·        Paid membership in a relevant membership association and for a relevant professional designation or certification

·        20 days of PTO (combined vacation and sick), 6 national holidays, and up to 2 floating holidays

·        Participation in company-subsidized health care plan (An employee-only HSA-eligible plan is covered 100% by the company)

·        Company contribution of $50/month to either an HSA or FSA account

·        Participation in company 401(k) plan

·        “No-meeting” Wednesdays

What it’s like working at Kitces.com

We are a team that lives by our values, our support of one another and our commitment to the community we serve. The successful candidate will share these Kitces Core Values:

• Do the Right Thing
• Advisors First
• Be the Trusted Source
• No A$$holes
• Get Your Nerd On

At Kitces.com we have all but eradicated internal email. All internal communication is done via Slack, or through Asana tasks.

When on Slack calls, video is expected as we believe hearing voices and seeing faces makes for stronger communication and connections. We lean on technology tools to get things done and protect our time. An example is our use of the delayed-send on Slack messages. While anyone might have a great idea pop up at any time, we are careful to make sure messages are only sent during regular business hours to respect the work/home boundaries of our work-from-home (or work-from-anywhere) team.

As a company we try to front load meetings to the beginning of the week so that the end of the week can be more focused on Deep Work to maximize our personal productivity.

• While, as a remote company, we tend to attract a lot of introverts, we also recognize the value in creating work relationships, so we have a social committee that creatively offers a multitude of ways for people to connect in the ways they feel most comfortable.