Onboarding & Client Implementation Lead, Vice President - Wealth Custody & Clearing

Who we are looking for

Wealth Custody and Clearing is seeking an experienced Onboarding & Client Implementation Lead to own the successful onboarding of Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms, their advisors, investment consultants, and operational teams onto our introducing broker-dealer and custody platform. This role leads clients through the full onboarding journey, from initial intake and activation through transition into steady-state service.

Beyond successful onboarding, this role is expected to design and own a structured client acclimation and adoption experience. This includes developing prescriptive guidance and training that goes beyond asset transfer and technical setup, enabling clients to adopt critical operational workflows, leverage State Street's differentiated platform capabilities, and return to growth as quickly as possible.

This role supports a wide range of client operating models, including enterprise RIAs with centralized investment and servicing teams, multi-advisor practices, and advisor team-based organizations. The Onboarding Lead must be comfortable managing firm-wide implementations where accountability is distributed across leadership, investment consultants, operations teams, and service functions.

We are looking for an individual who combines strong operational expertise with a client-centric mindset and the confidence to lead complex, multi-workstream implementations. This role is not administrative in nature; it requires judgment, ownership, and proactive coordination across internal and external stakeholders to ensure firms are operationally ready, informed, and supported from day one.

The Onboarding Lead serves as the primary point of accountability during a client's earliest and most critical interactions with the platform. The ideal candidate understands that onboarding establishes trust, validates operating models, and sets service expectations that carry forward well beyond go-live.

This role reports to the Managing Director of Operations and works in close partnership with Client Service & Advisor Experience teams, with a strong dotted-line relationship to ensure a seamless transition into ongoing service and relationship management.

Why this role is important to us

Successful onboarding is only the starting point. As Wealth Custody and Clearing scales, differentiation will depend on how quickly clients become confident, self-sufficient, and productive on the platform. This role ensures firms move beyond technical implementation into early adoption and operational maturity through a structured acclimation approach that reduces friction, minimizes early-life service issues, and accelerates a return to growth.

The Onboarding & Client Implementation Lead ensures firms are not only onboarded, but operationally prepared-with the right products, workflows, servicing models, and support expectations in place. By bridging sales, operations, service, compliance, and technology, this role positions clients for long-term success and a smooth, intentional transition into steady-state servicing.

What you will be responsible for

• Own the end-to-end onboarding and implementation experience for RIA firms, their advisors, investment consultants, and operational teams, from kickoff through full activation and transition into steady-state service, serving as the primary point of accountability throughout.
• Design and own a structured client acclimation and adoption program that extends beyond onboarding and asset transfer, focused on early-life operational readiness, confidence building, and long-term success on the State Street platform.
• Develop and deliver prescriptive onboarding and acclimation engagements, including role-based training modules and guided workflows around critical operational processes and differentiated State Street platform capabilities.
• Partner with Service, Operations, and Relationship teams to ensure acclimation efforts reduce early-life service friction, shorten time-to-value, and enable clients to return to growth as quickly as possible following transition.
• Develop a deep understanding of each client firm's product offerings, operating model, and servicing requirements, and lead product parity and gap analysis to ensure day-one workflows, support coverage, and escalation paths meet defined service and operational standards.
• Guide clients through onboarding requirements including account setup, documentation, KYC/AML and CIP, tax reporting, system access, platform configuration, and asset transfers-translating complex operational, regulatory, and platform requirements into clear, practical guidance.
• Adapt onboarding and acclimation approaches to support enterprise and centralized RIA operating models, including firms with shared servicing or investment consultant teams.
• Partner closely with internal teams across Operations, Advisor Services, Trading, Cashiering, Asset Servicing, Compliance, Risk, Technology, and Product to coordinate onboarding activities, resolve issues, and drive timely activation.
• Proactively identify risks, gaps, and potential delays, taking ownership of resolution and maintaining clear, consistent communication with clients and internal partners.
• Capture onboarding and acclimation learnings, pain points, and recurring gaps to improve documentation, playbooks, implementation standards, and scalable operating models.
• Contribute to digitization, automation, and AI-enabled onboarding workflows to improve scalability and reduce client effort.
• Participate in cross-training and knowledge sharing across onboarding, service, and operations teams, and manage ad-hoc onboarding initiatives and complex client scenarios as required.

What we value

• Proven experience in client onboarding, implementation, or service delivery within wealth management, custody, or broker-dealer environments, with end-to-end ownership.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder engagements, including enterprise RIA operating models with centralized investment or shared servicing teams.
• Experience designing structured onboarding, implementation, or acclimation programs that drive early adoption, operational confidence, and long-term client success beyond initial implementation.
• Client- and firm-centric mindset with a strong appreciation for both the operational and emotional complexity inherent in onboarding and transition periods.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage confidently with firm leadership, investment consultants, advisors, and internal partners.
• Sound judgment and comfort operating within regulated environments, balancing client needs with risk and control considerations.
• Demonstrated ability to identify process gaps, drive continuous improvement, and scale best practices.
• Comfort working across technology platforms and operational systems, with interest in leveraging automation, data, and AI to improve onboarding and adoption outcomes.
• Highly organized, proactive, and resilient under pressure.

Education & Preferred Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree required.
• 3-5 years of relevant onboarding, implementation, or financial services operations experience.
• Experience supporting RIAs, enterprise advisory firms, high-net-worth clients, or custody platforms preferred.
• FINRA licenses (e.g., Series 7, Series 63/66) or ability to obtain within required timeframe.
• Experience coordinating asset transfers, account setup, and platform integrations preferred.

Salary Range:

The range quoted above applies to the role in the location specified. If the candidate would ultimately work outside of the location above, the applicable range could differ.

Employees are eligible to participate in State Street's comprehensive benefits program, which includes: our retirement savings plan (401K) with company match; insurance coverage including basic life, medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, and other optional additional coverages; paid-time off including vacation, sick leave, short term disability, and family care responsibilities; access to our Employee Assistance Program; incentive compensation including eligibility for annual performance-based awards (excluding certain sales roles subject to sales incentive plans); and, eligibility for certain tax advantaged savings plans.

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About State Street

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We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you'll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.

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