Position Open: Operations Manager & Planning Associate

About CLS Financial

CLS Financial Advisors is a wealth management firm that believes in authentic relationships and a commitment to people. As a boutique financial planning and investment management firm in Portland, OR, we strive to be the primary trusted source of financial advice for our clients. We are fee-only fiduciaries and what gets us up in the morning is knowing that the care and expertise we bring to our work improves our clients’ lives. 

The Opportunity

We are looking for a highly capable, organized professional to join our team in an operations and client service role, with the potential to grow into a financial planning/advising role depending on your career interests and progress in the team. We are equally interested in someone who wants to grow into advising and someone who just loves operations and wants to become exceptionally good at it.

Initially, your primary responsibility will be making sure the operational side of the firm runs exceptionally well. You'll work closely with advisors and clients, help keep accounts and transactions moving, improve processes, and make sure details don't fall through the cracks.

Over time, this role could expand into financial planning and advising work. This could include preparing for client meetings, gathering and analyzing financial information, assisting with retirement projections, researching tax-planning opportunities, helping with investment analysis, and participating more directly in client relationships.

What You’ll Do

Operations & Client Service

  • Become an expert in the firm's technology and workflows

  • Help ensure clients receive timely, polished, and professional communication and service

  • Identify opportunities to improve firm systems and processes

  • Make sure outstanding items are tracked accurately and completed timely

  • Open and maintain client accounts and coordinate account-related paperwork

  • Work with custodians and other financial institutions to resolve issues

Financial Planning & Advisory — as you develop into the role

  • Assist advisors in preparing for client meetings

  • Research financial planning questions

  • Prepare client deliverables and meeting materials

  • Assist with tax planning and analysis

  • Enter and analyze information for retirement and financial planning projections

  • Gradually take on greater responsibility for client relationships and financial planning

You do not need to know how to do all of this when you start. We are looking for someone who is smart, curious, capable, and excited to learn.

The Person We’re Looking For

You might be a particularly good fit if you are someone who:

  • Takes ownership. When you see something that needs to be done, you take care of it rather than waiting to be told.

  • Enjoys processes and systems. You notice when a process could work better and are interested in making things more efficient and reliable.

  • Communicates professionally and clearly. You can write a polished email, speak comfortably with a client, and know when something needs a phone call rather than another email.

  • Treats client trust as a responsibility. You take confidentiality, data security, and regulatory compliance seriously and understand that protecting our clients is central to everything we do.

  • Is a natural helper. You like making other people's jobs easier and take satisfaction in solving problems for clients and teammates.

  • Is detail-oriented without losing sight of the big picture. Accuracy matters enormously in our business.

  • Is genuinely organized. You enjoy keeping track of details, deadlines, and moving pieces.

  • Is intellectually curious. You don't need to know the answer immediately, but you should enjoy figuring things out.

  • Learns quickly and independently. We are a small firm, so we need someone who can learn a new system, research a question, and make progress without needing constant direction.

  • Is comfortable with responsibility. We will trust you with meaningful work and expect you to take that responsibility seriously.

Why This Role Might Be a Great Fit

This is a particularly good opportunity for someone who wants more than a narrowly defined job. You will see how a small wealth-management firm actually works, work directly with experienced advisors, interact with clients, and learn how investment management, financial planning, and tax planning fit together.

If you're someone who has thought, "I'm capable of more than what I'm currently doing, and I'd like to learn," we'd like to meet you.

For someone interested in financial planning and advising, our goal would be to provide a clear path toward an associate advisor role, with increasing responsibility and compensation as skills and contribution grow.

For someone who prefers operations, there is also a meaningful long-term career path here. An outstanding operations professional can become an increasingly valuable part of the firm by taking ownership of systems, processes, client service, and firm operations.

Qualifications

Required

  • At least 2 years of professional work experience in an office, professional services, financial services, accounting, or similar environment

  • A Bachelor’s Degree

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills

  • Excellent organizational and follow-through skills, with a love for attention to detail

  • Comfort learning new technology and software

  • Ability to work independently while also collaborating closely with a small team

Especially valued

  • Experience in financial services, wealth management, accounting, or another professional-services environment

  • Progress toward a CFP® or CPA certification

  • Experience with custodial platforms (Schwab preferred), Envestnet/Tamarac, MoneyGuidePro, or other financial planning technology

  • Interest in pursuing tax planning knowledge

  • Experience working directly with clients

  • Demonstrated ability to take on increasing responsibility in previous roles

We are not requiring a CFP, CPA, finance degree, or prior wealth-management experience. If you are exceptionally capable, organized, curious, and good with people, we want to hear from you.

Compensation and Benefits  

  • We expect the starting salary to generally fall into one of two ranges depending on experience and demonstrated capability. The exact offer will depend on experience, skills, and the responsibilities the candidate is ready to take on:

    • $65,000–$80,000 + 10% target bonus for someone earlier in their professional career who is developing into the role

    • $80,000–$95,000 + 10% target bonus for someone with significant relevant experience

    In addition to compensation, the position has a retirement plan with a match, paid time off, and health insurance benefits.

    While this role is targeted at full-time, there is some flexibility if a part-time arrangement is preferred for the right candidate. We value work/life balance.

How to Apply

Please email a resume and a short letter to Sarah@clsadvisors.com explaining why this role interests you and what you think you would bring to a small, client-focused firm. We are much more interested in how you think, communicate, learn, and take ownership than someone with “the perfect résumé”. Applications will be looked at on a rolling basis through October 31st, 2026. We look forward to hearing from you!