Director Tech Strategy & Governance

Kestra Holdings offers industry-leading wealth management platforms for independent wealth management professionals nationwide. Kestra is dedicated to empowering independent financial professionals—including traditional and hybrid RIAs—to grow their businesses and deliver exceptional client service. We combine advanced business management technology with personalized consulting to provide unmatched scale, efficiency, and support. Our advisor-focused culture is built on innovation and advocacy, enabling advisors to offer comprehensive securities and investment advisory solutions to their clients.

Lead with Purpose. Partner with Impact.

Serve as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to the Chief Digital & Technology Officer (CDTO), helping drive discipline, focus, and impact across a large technology investment portfolio. This role provides strategic leverage by ensuring that governance, financial management, and execution tracking are rigorous, while also enabling the CDTO to focus on vision, strategy, and execution of transformative initiatives.

What you’ll Do:

• Act as the central governing body for technology capital investment program: define and maintain intake, prioritization, and approval processes.
• Ensure every initiative has a business case, KPIs, executive sponsor, and clear documentation.
• Provide strategic recommendations on trade-offs and resource allocation to maximize business impact.
• Lead the annual technology budget cycle in partnership with Finance.
• Consolidate Capex funding requests, track actuals vs. plan and manage variance reporting.
• Provide forward-looking analysis and scenario planning to guide investment decisions across run/grow/transform categories.
• Develop monthly scorecards for the CDTO, covering financials, program performance, risks, and KPIs.
• Build Board and Executive Committee presentations highlighting technology strategy, outcomes, and challenges.
• Incorporate external benchmarks, industry trends, and best practices to inform strategic decisions.
• Maintain the single source of truth for major initiatives, ensuring consistency in charters, timelines, and status reporting.
• Proactively identify risks, escalate issues, and facilitate resolution across teams.
• Drive alignment and accountability across senior technology and business leaders.
• Coordinate quarterly business reviews, scorecards, and renewals for key vendors.
• Assess vendor performance and alignment with strategic priorities and financial guardrails.
• Identify opportunities to optimize partnerships and accelerate performance.
• Orchestrate CDTO leadership meetings and offsites: agenda-setting, materials, decision capture, and follow-ups.
• Facilitate workshops to align strategic priorities and resolve cross-functional challenges.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CDTO, providing insights and recommendations that shape strategic direction.

What You Bring:

• 6+ years of related experience and in a leadership role with direct reports and/or Bachelor's degree in related field preferred.
• Pre-partner experience in a management consulting firm, ideally with exposure to technology and/or wealth management.
• Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to distill complex information into clear recommendations.
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical capabilities, with comfort managing large budgets.
• Exceptional executive communication skills, with proven ability to develop CEO/Board-ready deliverables.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Passion for digital transformation, technology innovation, and wealth management.
• Strong project leadership and change management experience.
• Experience managing third-party vendors, contracts, and enterprise tooling ecosystems.
• A forward-thinking, problem-solving mindset with the ability to anticipate client and team needs.
• Customer-first attitude and commitment to delivering exceptional service.
• Experience in financial services, insurance, or a similar client-facing role preferred.

Internal Application Policy:

Internal applicants must be in good standing and have a minimum of 1 year of service with Kestra. Internal applicants must also have a minimum of 1 year service in…