Paraplanner Manager - What does it entail exactly?
Pietro
Member
Hi all,
I have seen jobs advertised for a Paraplanner Manager, I am interested in possibly progressing to a job role like this and was wondering if anybody does/did this job and could explain what the main responsibilities are please?
I have an inkling having looked at job descriptions but would like a bit more detail, thanks.
Comments
As the definition of a paraplanner differs from company to company, so will that of a paraplanner manager. You would need to look at the specific job description for each individual role.
Sorry, that's not much help!
Hi Pietro
I've been in the role in a couple of firms now and would say the responsibilities really do depend on the firm you work for. You can probably trust the job description as I have found the manager roles are far more clearly defined than some paraplanning job descriptions. It is usually a senior position and firms know exactly the tasks they need to be done and the type of person who can do them. I'd imagine most firms probably only need a manger once they reach a certain size and have run out of capacity, and they therefore understand what gaps need filing. That said, I also know of managers in much smaller firms who maybe manage a person or two but are probably far more involved in the overall running of the company.
From a personal perspective, the common tasks in my roles have been:
1) Line management of the paraplanning team. This has obviously included day to day staff management, 1:1s, annual appraisals, performance plans, probation sign offs etc. There has also been an element of mentoring/support for more junior staff looking to progress.
2) Quality control- checking reports, a bit of file checking, responsible for advice templates etc
3) Workflow management - one team was centralised so ensuring all of the work was allocated to the most appropriate person was important. The current team are part of the advice pods but there is still some reallocation of work depending on the capacity of each team member.
Thereafter it depends on what the company needs. I have still written a lot of reports, been a technical go to, written press articles and client communications, been part of various committees and Exco/management teams, involved in adviser T&C, and designed and written internal processes There has also been involvement in more operational tasks such as back office efficiency and analysing and improving our tech stack.
It can be a great role with loads of interesting work. Hope that helps?
Tom
Hi Tom,
Thank you very much indeed for so much detail, like you said it most probably varies a great deal from role to role.
For anyone still reading this thread, Andy’s & Tom’s comments above are pretty spot on and reflect my own experience. Just to add a few points…
It takes a special kind of skill to become a people manager. When I started out, I found it all quite scary. There is no manual to learn how to be a good manager, it’s very much trial & error, learning from your mistakes, every person is different and a good manager can adapt their management style to each individual. The more situations and difficult conversations you have, the more confident you become. You can have all the KPIs & processes in the world but what I’ve found really makes a difference is the ability to listen, have empathy, & understand what makes people tick