Director of Operations & Transformation, Accounting & Business Advisory at Savant Wealth Management in Multiple Locations - Rockford, IL 61107; St Charles IL - St Charles, IL 60174; Cedar Rapids IA - Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

Job description

• Overview
• Join a growing national tax organization as the leader responsible for driving operational excellence, process transformation, and scalable growth across our footprint. This is a highly visible leadership role for someone who thrives on improving how teams work, leading through change, and building the structure needed to support the next phase of growth.
• The Director of Operations & Transformation, Savant Accounting and Business Advisory (SABA) is a senior leadership role responsible for driving operational excellence, providing operational oversight of firm integration, and advancing the transformation agenda across Savant Accounting and Business Advisory (“Organization”). The Director oversees the day-to-day operations of the firm, provides operational oversight of the integration of acquired firms across people, process, and technology, and serves as a strategic thought partner to the Head of SABA. The Director leads a multi-disciplinary operations organization — including the Operations, Process & Enablement, and Client Administration functions — and works cross-functionally with Regional Directors, SABA leadership, the Partner Optimization Leader, the Due Diligence & Integration Manager, and other Savant departments.
• This position carries a broad mandate: keep day-to-day operations running reliably, oversee the operational integration of newly acquired firms across people, process, and technology, and drive the initiatives that support SABA’s national growth trajectory. The role reports to the Head of SABA and works alongside the Partner Optimization Leader on operational integration. It requires a strategically minded, execution-focused leader who excels at operations, change management, project execution, and people leadership, and who can build the repeatable systems and teams that support sustainable growth. Tax and accounting operational knowledge, practice-management and technology systems fluency, and strong project management discipline are all important to success in the role.

Responsibilities

• In this role, you can expect to focus in the following areas:
• Strategy & Transformation Leadership
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Head of SABA, helping to shape, prioritize, and sequence the firm’s strategic and operational agenda.
• Own and drive SABA’s transformation agenda, translating strategy into actionable plans with clear owners, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead firmwide project management, change management, and standard-operating-procedure development, driving initiatives through to completion.
• Provide clear, data-informed recommendations on structure, capacity, technology, and process to support firm growth, and establish accountability measures and reporting to track outcomes.
• Operations Leadership & Oversight
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of SABA, ensuring the firm runs reliably across capacity planning, tax-season readiness, billing, financial reporting, data management, and vendor management.
• Evaluate, select, and drive adoption of technology platforms across SABA, including workflow/practice management, CRM, timekeeping, and payroll tools, in partnership with the Operations Manager.
• Support the development and implementation of scalable operational processes across service lines.
• Serve as a liaison between the tax/accounting and wealth/advisory sides of the business and other Savant departments.
• Integration Oversight (Operational)
• Provide operational oversight of the integration of acquired firms across people, process, and technology, ensuring the Operations, Process & Enablement, and Client Administration functions onboard acquired teams onto SABA systems, processes, and standards.
• Work alongside the Partner Optimization Leader to align operational integration with partner- and firm-optimization objectives.
• Partner with the Due Diligence & Integration Manager — who maintains a dotted-line reporting relationship to this role — to ensure operational readiness and a smooth transition for each acquired firm.
• Ensure operational integration activities adhere to firmwide systems, process, and quality standards.
• Team & Performance Leadership
• Lead and develop a multi-disciplinary operations organization of 30+, including direct oversight of the Operations Manager, Senior Manager of Process & Enablement, and Client Administration Manager; responsibilities include hiring, assigning work, and recommending salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions, or terminations.
• Set and monitor clear performance expectations, metrics, and professional development plans across the operations organization.
• Develop staffing models, productivity benchmarks, and tools to track progress.
• Mentor junior leaders and build a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain open and effective communication, ensuring teams are informed, engaged, and aligned with firm updates and strategic changes.

Requirements

• The Director of Operations & Transformation position typically requires the following qualifications:
• Education
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, Accounting, Finance, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in operations, transformation, professional services, or consulting, including leading large-scale change or transformation initiatives and managing multi-disciplinary teams. Experience overseeing operations in a multi-office environment, and supporting the operational integration of acquired teams, is strongly preferred, along with practice-management and technology systems fluency. Experience within the tax, accounting, or financial-services industry is strongly preferred; candidates from adjacent professional-services environments with the ability to augment domain knowledge will also be considered.
• Proven success building scalable operations and leading transformation in a multi-office organization. Strong operations, change management, project management, and people leadership skills.
• Solid strategic thinker, problem solver, and decision maker with strong operational execution discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to lead transformation and change across a multi-office organization.
• Excellent leadership and team development capabilities across multiple functions.
• Strong transformation, change management, and project management experience across a multi-office organization.
• Skilled in systems implementation, process improvement, and performance measurement.
• Highly organized, adaptable, and proactive in navigating ambiguity and driving change.
• Strong aptitude for technology and AI-enabled operations.
• Effective communicator with executive, front-line, and cross-departmental audiences.
• Proven people leader, with strong coaching and mentoring skills.

Skills

Required

• Operations management
• Change management
• Project management
• People leadership
• Strategic thinking
• Process improvement
• Technology systems fluency
• Data-informed decision making
• Vendor management
• Financial reporting
• Capacity planning
• Billing

Preferred

• Systems implementation
• Performance measurement
• AI-enabled operations
• Coaching and mentoring

Benefits

• At Savant, we invest in our people—supporting both their well-being and long-term growth.
• We take a market-based approach to compensation. The expected base salary range for this role is $150,000 - $225,000 Actual compensation is determined on an individual basis and considers factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications, geographic location, and market conditions. This role may also be eligible for additional incentive compensation based on responsibilities and performance.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options
• Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, and disability coverage
• 401(k) with company match (Roth and Traditional options)
• Team-based incentive opportunities and recognition programs
• Generous paid time off, plus at least 10 paid holidays
• Annual “Savantiversary” day
• Summer Hours (shorter work weeks during the summer)
• Parental leave, personal leave, and other life-event support
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Wellness reimbursements (e.g., gym memberships)
• Flexible “Dress for Your Day” approach
• We’re happy to share more details about our benefits and total rewards during the hiring process.
• $150,000.00 - $225,000.00 Salary