Admin / marketing assistance needed for a bunch of financial nerds

Job Description

Job Description

Benefits :

401(k)

401(k) matching

Health insurance

Opportunity for advancement

Training & development

Sozo Private Wealth is a holistic financial planning firm platformed at Northwestern Mutual. We count ourselves overwhelmingly blessed that our little firm continues to experience rapid growth in the families we are privileged to serve, and as such, we find ourselves in need of additional team members to help serve those clients!

Since we are a small firm, we view the hiring process as one of mutual selection.

We know anyone reading this is trying to find and get a job.

That applies pressure to say what you believe are the "right" answers to convince someone to hire you.

It may lead you to act in ways that are counter to your natural wiring and tendencies.

Please resist this urge.

Relationships are built on trust.

Trust comes from open, honest communication.

Please stop and consider your honest interpretation of the job description and the firm that follows.

If at any point you disagree with something we value, do not dismiss that.

It matters.

It matters a lot.

It matters because you are too valuable.

It matters because we live out these values and they inform everything we do.

You will spend too much of your life in your career to join a team that doesn't mesh with who you are at your core.

That place may not be at Sozo, and that is okay.

We do not expect everyone who joins us to stay forever because the firm may change, and so will our people.

However, the values upon which our firm is built are non-negotiable and unchanging.

They must be a fit from the start.

So, here is what we are all about :

Our firm mission is to "enable families to dream, define, and experience life on purpose."

When we engage with client families in the planning process, we do so by getting personal and intimate.

We ask a lot of questions about hopes, dreams, vision, and passions.

Those questions are fun, life-giving, and exciting.

We also ask the hard questions about death, disability, and disease.

Those are not comfortable topics, but they are so important.

As we understand a familys dreams and fears, we can offer advice that connects finances with a life on purpose.

Our firm vision is "leveraging our lives for the lives of others."

We have all been blessed with different talents, passions, and interests.

We believe our calling is to use those gifts in the service of others, be they clients, friends, family, or teammates.

If you have read this far, I take that to mean you are in agreement with the values and virtues expressed above.

So, here are the details of the type of person we are looking for and the responsibilities we would like them to take on :

Qualifications that do NOT matter a whole lot to us :

• Relevant major : All relevant learning and education will happen AFTER we hire you, so your college major does not matter. If you have one that is different and interesting, that might actually be a bonus.
• Industry experience : Most of our team has joined with zero prior industry experience so we are accustomed to providing on the job training.

Qualifications :

• Others focused : An orientation toward serving others is paramount for success in our firm.
• Committed to continuous self-improvement : Growth and change never cease and this job requires learning a LOT and it never stops. Certifications are required and earning designations is expected. The firm supports learning financially, though study is completed outside of work hours.
• High capacity for self-leadership : We do not micro-manage, so you must be able to get your stuff done without someone telling you to.
• Thrive in a fast-paced work environment : Our priorities shift almost constantly, so you must enjoy the variety that comes from shifting gears routinely.
• Intensely hard-working : Seriously we mean HARD work. Not physical labor, of course, but it is mentally exhausting at times and the quantity of work never goes down. Everyone on our team describes this job as the hardest they have ever worked before, and they love it.
• Detailed : Our number one firm rule is dont mess with the clients money, and that requires attention to detail. Sloppy work means client dollars may get mishandled and that is something we cannot afford.
• Interest in / passion for finance : Our world is all about finances. If you are not at least somewhat interested in financial topics, you will not enjoy what we do.
• Excel skills : We use Excel a lot, so experience and expertise is definitely helpful.

Our commitment to our team :

• Team comes first : We are behind our team 100%. If there is ever a conflict of interest between a client and a team member, the team comes first. No question.
• We like you : If you are on the team, it means we like you. We want to be with you and value you for younot just for the job that you do for the firm.
• Long-term : We hope our team stays with us for the entirety of their careers, so we are focused on providing opportunity for continued career growth over time.

Job description : The actual job we need help with at this point is primarily administratively focused, though we would also need whoever steps into this role to engage with our firm's marketing events and efforts as well.

When I say "administratively focused", I mean the following :

• Quarterbacking email inboxes for the firm and individual advisors

Reviewing messages, triaging for urgency, and responding directly or redirecting them to the relevant team members for handling.

• Bonus points for unsubscribing and setting up email rules to minimize the junk we get...
• We believe that the only way for someone to do this effectively will require learning about the various areas of our business (wealth management, risk protection, and financial planning) to really understand the requests coming in and to discern the appropriate people to handle those requests.

This is not a mindless task.

• The volume will be fairly high.
• Speed will be key for success, though we expect anyone to take time to learn and work up to that.
• Learning about our business will require study outside the office and testing.
• Scheduling client meetings

We need help getting client meetings scheduled.

• This involves calling, texting, and emailing clients.
• Most of the work is in follow-through and ensuring no one and nothing slips through the cracks.
• We have an online scheduler tool that we would like to continue training our clients to use since we know that makes this a better experience and easier for everyone involved, but even when we send that out, someone must follow-through and ensure the clients actually used the link to book their meeting.
• Coordinating client events

Our firm has 10-20 client events per year, with most being small gatherings of fewer than 30 people. 2-3 events will be 30+ people, and another 3-5 will be virtual events. We will probably expand these numbers over time.

• Coordination requires researching venues online or with site visits, comparing cost between options, making recommendations to leadership, making reservations, coordinating client invitations (drafting language, pulling client lists from our CRM tool, sending, tracking RSVPs), arranging event details from catering to decor,
• While not a requirement, the ultimate success in this role would also add on spending time with advisors within our team to help identify opportunities for events that would connect with their target markets, and then getting their buy-in and participation in the process of identifying the clients to invite, and then following-up with the advisors to ensure they do their job of sending invitations, as needed.
• Running the firm's social media accounts

We do not do much on social media, but we do need to maintain an active presence.

• We are able to post articles that are generated by our platform partner, Northwestern Mutual.
• In addition, we like to post updates from the lives of our team members, our firm, and sometimes from our clients.
• Handling the miscellaneous

The rest of the role is to pickup the random things that do not fit into someone else's job description.

• A few things that would fit this would be :

Helping with onboarding paperwork and other processes for new hires

• Assisting with obtaining compliance approval for marketing documents
• Various unsung "office management" things like keeping up with office coffee machine / fridge / etc., stocking office supplies, curating our team's snacks

Much of the work is not glamorous, but it is important and meaningful.

We sell life insurance, so our team routinely works with widows and orphans to help them get a handle on their finances and realize tremendous growth in the midst of grief from their loss. We are there for them every step of the way and are often one of their most impactful relationships in that time in their life.

We also do financial planning, so our firm impacts families by helping them to turn their livelihood into a meaningful retirement wherein they are able to turn the dollars they saved their whole life into experiences that allow them to pour into relationships that matter to them.

While the administrative / marketing role is not necessarily directly involved in those conversations and planning work, it is all in support of that purpose.

Whoever pursues this position should be a natural supporter and wired to help others while remaining well outside of the limelight.

But that is not to say that they should be timid...

We appreciate good-natured sass, and we see that as a strength. We have some strong personalities, both in our clients and on our team, so having the confidence and strength to pushback and to say the things that need to be said is a strength.

In dealing with hotels, restaurants, etc., it is helpful if you have the gumption to ask for deals and discounts and to push for what we want, even if it falls slightly outside of their normal offering.

We have countless stories of why the work we do matters, and everyone on our team experiences this conviction and impact in some way.

We do not save lives, but we do save lifestyles.

We are an in office culture and we like it that way because of the camaraderie within the team.

We become better because we see each other every day.

We are a firm of families. We want the families represented by each teammate to flourish.

If you are still here and didnt just scroll all the way to the bottom, you might be a good fit and we should definitely talk!