Senior Manager, Practice Operations & Performance
Focus Partners Australia & Escala PartnersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia · Posted 4 months agoDescription
Position Summary
The Senior Manager – Practice Management & Performance is accountable for the day‑to‑day operational performance, capacity management, and leadership of advice operations teams, ensuring the practice operates efficiently, consistently, and at scale. This role leads Team Leaders across Paraplanning and Client Services and an Operations Manager. The role translates business strategy, standards, and regulatory obligations into effective practice‑level delivery, enabling advisers to focus on client outcomes and growth. The role balances people leadership, commercial insight, and operational discipline to ensure the business is achieving its goals.
This role is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Primary Responsibilities
People Leadership & Team Performance
- Lead, coach and develop Operations Manager and Team Leads to drive accountability and consistent delivery of outcomes
- Build a culture of accountability, collaboration and client-centricity
- Set clear expectations for workflow discipline, service quality, and capacity management
- Support Ops Mgr and Team Leads to:
- Allocate work effectively
- Build capability and role clarity within their teams
- Address performance, quality, or capacity issues early
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and commercial awareness
Practice Operations & BAU Excellence
- Ensure advice operations run smoothly and consistently across the business
- Monitor BAU execution, identifying inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and operational risk
- Act as the escalation point for complex operational or resourcing issues
- Stabilise operations during periods of growth, adviser change, or increased demand
Adviser Productivity & Capacity Management
- Partner with advisers and leaders to improve utilisation and sustainable workloads
- Remove operational friction that impacts advisor productivity or client experience
- Oversee capacity planning across Paraplanning and Client Services teams
- Balance adviser demand with team capability and capacity
Operational Reporting & Commercial Insights
- Own operational and performance reporting, including:
- Workflow health and WIP
- Capacity and utilisation metrics
- Client, FUM, and revenue‑related operational indicators
- Translate reporting into clear insights and actionable recommendations for leaders
Operational Risk, Quality & Governance
- Ensure operational teams work within agreed compliance, AFSL, and governance frameworks
Technology & Systems Enablement
- Act as a senior operational owner of advice systems (e.g. Xplan and related platforms)
- Ensure tools are used consistently and effectively by operational teams
- Partner with Technology and Service Design to embed agreed changes into BAU
- Identify system or process issues impacting productivity or quality
Continuous Improvement & Change Execution
- Lead or support operational improvement initiatives impacting BAU performance
- Own implementation and adoption of agreed changes across teams
- Ensure improvements are practical, embedded, and sustained
Qualifications
- 8+ years leadership experience in financial advice operations, paraplanning, or client services
- Proven experience in implementing and embedding change initiatives
- Experience leading process alignment across the wider business in a way that supports teams and enhances the client experience
- Proven ability to lead others and indirectly manage larger operational teams
- Strong commercial and capacity‑planning mindset
- High confidence engaging with advisers and senior stakeholders
- Ability to balance people leadership with operational execution
- Strong people leadership capability, with the ability to coach, influence, and hold leaders accountable for outcomes
- Sound operational judgment, balancing efficiency, quality, and client experience in day‑to‑day decisions
- Commercial mindset, with a clear understanding of how operational performance supports adviser productivity and business results
- Confident capacity and workload management across competing priorities and adviser demand
- High level of data literacy, able to interpret information, identify trends or risks, and support sound decision‑making
- Disciplined and structured approach to BAU execution, with strong follow‑through
- Comfortable operating within governance and risk frameworks, reinforcing consistent and compliant ways of working
- Calm, resilient, and pragmatic leader, able to cut through complexity and drive practical outcomes
About Focus Partners Australia
Focus Partners Australia is part of Focus Financial Partners, a leading financial services firm based in the United States, comprised of wealth management, family office, and business management services. Focus Partners Australia offers integrated capabilities in investment and portfolio management, accounting, lending, insurance and related services from its offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Guided by a client-first ethos, we leverage the global expertise, platforms and capital strength of Focus Financial Partners to deliver holistic, fiduciary guidance across strategic planning, portfolio management, insurance, credit and tax. By fusing local insight with world-class resources, Focus Partners Australia helps its clients protect, grow, and transition their wealth at every life stage. Discover more about Focus Partners Australia at focuspa.com.au/ or LinkedIn.
Similar jobs
Position Overview: The Practice Manager is responsible for the leadership, performance, consistency and scalability of the Client Service and Paraplanning functions across Focus Partners Australia. This role ensures oper…
Position Overview: The Paraplanner plays a critical role in partnering with Financial Advisers to develop and deliver high-quality, compliant financial advice. Working closely with advisers throughout the advice process,…
Position Summary The Supervisor is a senior technical and delivery-focused role with high client interaction. The role is responsible for reviewing work, providing technical guidance, supporting workflow management, and…
Position Summary The Senior Accountant is an experienced technical role responsible for preparing and reviewing accounting and taxation work, supporting client engagements, and contributing to tax planning and advisory o…
Position Overview: The Technology Delivery Lead is responsible for taking Focus Partners Australia's (FPA) technology and business projects from plan to landed outcome. This is an autonomous hands-on delivery role. This…
Position Summary The Middle Office Operations Analyst will take ownership of ongoing administrative and operational processes to support our client experience. This role supports front-line investment teams by improving…
Position Summary The Bookkeeper is responsible for delivering accurate, timely, and compliant bookkeeping services to a portfolio of clients of the accounting practice. The role supports clients by maintaining high-quali…
Position Summary The Senior Manager – Practice Management & Performance is accountable for the day‑to‑day operational performance, capacity management, and leadership of advice operations teams, ensuring the practice…
At AlixPartners, we solve the most complex and critical challenges by moving quickly from analysis to action when it really matters; creating value that has a lasting impact on companies, their people, and the communitie…
At AlixPartners, we solve the most complex and critical challenges by moving quickly from analysis to action when it really matters; creating value that has a lasting impact on companies, their people, and the communitie…
At AlixPartners we solve the most complex and critical challenges by moving quickly from analysis to action when it really matters; creating value that has a lasting impact on companies, their people and the communities…
Who we are Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading…
The Opportunity Brunswick Group is seeking an experienced Executive to join our growing Sydney office. This role is ideal for an ambitious professional with experience in capital markets, investment banking, corporate fi…
WHO WE ARE Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading…
Est. 80,000 GBP
Operational Excellence Lead – Wealth Operations Location: London | Practice Area: Wealth & Asset Management | Type: Permanent Transform wealth operations through Lean thinking, Agile delivery, and AI-enabled efficien…
The Opportunity You will play a leading role in the continued growth of Brunswick's Public Affairs offering in Australia, helping clients navigate complex policy, regulatory, political and reputational challenges in an i…
Partner with leaders navigating complexity and change, helping them build the capability, culture and leadership needed to thrive. This role is for people who want to shape how organisations lead their people and improve…
Est. 80,000 GBP
About Man Group Man Group is a global alternative investment management firm focused on pursuing outperformance for sophisticated clients via our Systematic, Discretionary and Solutions offerings. Powered by talent and a…
Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading liquidity p…
Est. 65,000 GBP
Business Analyst – Wealth & Asset Management Location: London | Practice Area: Wealth & Asset Management | Type: Permanent Enable wealth platform and operations transformation through structured analysis and tech…
Est. 120,000 GBP
Principal Consultant – Finance Transformation Location: London (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Empower finance leadership through strategic transformation The R…
Est. 120,000 USD
Allworth Financial (www.allworthfinancial.com) is an independent investment financial advisory firm that specializes in retirement planning, investment advising, and 401(k) management with a direct approach to financial…
Est. 60,000 GBP
Management Consultant – Finance Transformation (All Levels) Location: Edinburgh & Glasgow (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Drive transformation in the heart…
Est. 60,000 GBP
AI Business Analyst -Wealth & Asset Management Location: London (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Wealth & Asset Management | Type: Permanent Help shape the future of wealth and asset management through client-led transf…
Who we are Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading…
Est. 120,000 GBP
Managing Principal / Director – Cyber & Operational Resilience Location: London (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Lead large-scale cyber and operational resil…
Est. 100,000 USD
Position Summary The Integration Advisor plays a critical role in guiding new Focus Partners Wealth offices through the integration and advisor training process, serving as a primary relationship lead and trusted resourc…
Est. 120,000 GBP
Principal Consultant – Cyber & Operational Resilience Location: London (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Strengthen cyber resilience and safeguard critical op…
Est. 120,000 GBP
Financial Risk Transformation Principal Consultant (Senior Manager) Location: London (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Lead complex risk transformation across fin…
Est. 65,000 GBP
Non-Financial Risk (Enterprise Risk) Consultant – All Levels Location: Glasgow & Edinburgh (Hybrid) | Practice Area: Finance, Risk, Regulatory & Financial Crime | Type: Permanent Drive impactful change across ent…