Retirement Plan Specialist Jobs in North Carolina

Team Lead, Platinum Retirement Plan Account Management (HYBRID or REMOTE)

(260000BQ)
Primary Location: UNITED STATES-NC-Charlotte
Other Locations: UNITED STATES-Remote, UNITED STATES-NY-Syracuse
Organization: Equitable
Schedule: Full-time

About the Role

At Equitable, we help clients secure their financial well-being so they can pursue long and fulfilling lives—a mission we’ve honed since 1859.

Equitable is looking for a Team Lead, Platinum Retirement Plan Account Management (RPAM) to join our Group Retirement team. In this role, you will lead and develop the Retirement Plan Account Management function, providing strategic direction, operating discipline, and people leadership across a team responsible for retaining and growing plan sponsor and advisor relationships within Group Retirement. This role leads through others, shapes a scalable service model, and partners across business, operations, compliance, distribution, and vendor organizations to improve client outcomes, strengthen controls, and drive operational performance. The Team Lead RPAM serves as a senior escalation leader, talent steward, and change agent, aligning functional priorities to broader business objectives and ensuring the organization is positioned for growth, consistency, and service excellence.

The RPAM function supports plan sponsors and advisors across a broad range of service, administrative, and relationship needs, including plan amendments, compliance testing, plan assignments, and plan terminations. The Team Lead ensures the organization demonstrates deep understanding of client objectives, plan provisions, service expectations, and regulatory requirements, while operating through a scalable model that balances client experience, business outcomes, and risk management.

What You’ll Be Doing

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction and operating framework for the Platinum RPAM function, aligning service delivery, talent priorities, and performance expectations to business goals, client needs, and risk requirements.
• Lead and coach a high-performing team of Platinum RPAMs, driving accountability, strengthening execution, and elevating performance to deliver strong client, retention, and operational outcomes.
• Own workforce and capacity planning for the function, including organizational design, resource allocation, hiring strategy, and readiness planning to support growth and retention objectives.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex client, advisor, plan sponsor, and internal partner issues; drive timely resolution, root-cause analysis, and sustainable corrective actions.
• Shape relationship management strategies for key and complex plans; guide the organization in delivering consultative, solutions-oriented service that strengthens retention and advisor confidence.
• Establish governance routines for service performance, escalations, risk trends, and operational priorities; provide clear reporting, insights, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Lead cross-functional and enterprise initiatives that improve scalability, consistency, controls, and client experience across the retirement plan service model.
• Partner with business, operations, compliance, distribution, technology, and vendor leaders to influence service model enhancements, remove friction, and improve end-to-end outcomes.
• Ensure strong compliance with applicable IRS, DOL, FINRA, SEC, and state requirements; reinforce documentation standards, supervisory practices, and effective risk controls across the function.
• Own a prioritized improvement roadmap to increase efficiency, reduce risk, and improve client and stakeholder experience; define expected benefits and monitor adoption and results.
• Use data, trends, and stakeholder feedback to identify root causes, quantify impact, and inform decisions; implement sustainable improvements that reduce rework and strengthen execution.
• Champion standardization, simplification, and automation; scale best practices across teams and adjacent functions to build a resilient, repeatable operating model.
• Sponsor talent strategy across the function, including development planning, capability building, training readiness, and leadership growth aligned to future-state needs.
• Represent the function in executive forums, client and advisor meetings, and strategic discussions as needed, serving as a senior voice for service, talent, and operational excellence.

This position offers a flexible work schedule: it may be fully remote/hybrid. If you are located near one of our offices (e.g., Charlotte, NC; New York, NY; Syracuse, NY), a hybrid schedule with 2–3 days on-site per week is expected to foster collaboration and connection.

The base salary range for this position is $105,000 - $120,000. Actual base salaries vary based on skills, experience, and geographical location. In addition to base pay, Equitable provides compensation to reward performance with base salary increases, spot bonuses, and short-term incentive compensation opportunities. Eligibility for these programs depends on level and functional area of responsibility.

For eligible employees, Equitable provides a full range of benefits. This includes medical, dental, vision, a 401(k) plan, and paid time off. For detailed descriptions of these benefits, please reference the link below.

Equitable Pay and Benefits: Equitable Total Rewards Program

What You Will Bring

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in the retirement plan industry, including direct experience partnering with third-party recordkeepers on plan administration, service delivery, issue resolution, and operational coordination for complex retirement plans.
• Must complete and pass the QKA certification within 12 months of hire (funded by EQH).
• Strong knowledge of retirement plan administration, relationship management, and client service practices supporting complex plans and high-value relationships.
• Proven experience leading leaders and/or senior individual contributors, with demonstrated success building high-performing teams, strengthening accountability, and developing leadership capability.
• Demonstrated ability to set strategy, translate business priorities into execution, and manage broad functional performance through clear governance and measurable outcomes.
• Experience with organizational design, workforce planning, and capacity management in support of business growth, service quality, and operational efficiency.
• Proven success influencing across cross-functional stakeholders, including business, operations, compliance, distribution, technology, and vendor partners.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with executive presence and the ability to present recommendations, insights, and decisions to senior leaders.
• Strong analytical and business acumen, including experience using metrics, trends, and financial or operational data to inform priorities and decisions.
• Ability to lead large-scale change, simplify processes, and shape a scalable operating model supported by technology, controls, and continuous improvement.

Preferred Qualifications

• FINRA Series 6 and 63 registrations may be required depending on assignment and will be supported through established onboarding and licensing timelines (or ability to obtain within established timeframe, where permitted by policy).
• ASPPA Retirement Plan Fundamentals coursework.
• Experience leading large-scale continuous improvement, transformation, or operational excellence initiatives in a client service or retirement plan environment.
• Demonstrated success shaping service models, governance routines, or organizational structures to improve scalability and consistency.
• Experience supporting distribution partners, advisors, and cross-functional stakeholders in driving retention, growth, and service strategy.
• Advanced knowledge of IRS/DOL regulatory requirements, supervisory controls, and risk management practices in a retirement plan environment.

Skills

Client Relationship Management: Knowledge of client relationship; ability to address issues critical issues to meet client needs and maintain engaged, partnering relationship with business partners and clients.

Continuous Learning: Understanding of the rationale behind the necessity to continually learn and grow and the ability to seek performance feedback and identify approaches to improve own performance and that of others.

Customer Support: Trends and Directions: Knowledge of the marketplace and new developments in customer support; ability to predict trends related to the Customer Call Center or Support function.

Listening: Knowledge of effective listening issues and techniques; ability to gather, clarify, and apply information transmitted verbally, while exhibiting a genuine interest toward the speaker.

Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.

Relationship Building: Knowledge of the importance of creating positive relationships within the team and ability to develop trusting relationships by valuing others' concerns and contributions.

Staff and Career Development: Knowledge of available internal and external learning resources and ability to address learning, training, and career development needs of individuals, teams or organization.

About Equitable

At Equitable, we’re a team committed to helping our clients secure their financial well-being so that they can pursue long and fulfilling lives.

We turn challenges into opportunities by thinking, working, and leading differently – where everyone is a leader. We encourage every employee to leverage their unique talents to become a force for good at Equitable and in their local communities.

We are continuously investing in our people by offering growth, internal mobility, comprehensive compensation and benefits to support overall well-being, flexibility, and a culture of collaboration and teamwork.

We are looking for talented, dedicated, purposeful people who want to make an impact. Join Equitable and pursue a career with purpose. Click Careers at Equitable to learn more.

Equitable is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to our employees, applicants and candidates based on individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, mental or physical disabilities, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information or any other class protected by federal, state and local laws.

NOTE: Equitable participates in the E-Verify program.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process or to perform the essential job functions of this position, please contact Human Resources at (212) 314-2211 or email us at TalentAcquisition@equitable.com.