We are seeking an exceptional Head of Technical Services to join our growing financial planning business. This is a senior leadership position responsible for ensuring the highest standards of technical excellence, accuracy, and compliance across all financial planning recommendations provided to clients.
Working closely with our advisory, financial planning and compliance teams, you will act as the firm’s technical authority, providing expert guidance across pensions, investments, retirement planning, inheritance planning, taxation and wealth structuring.
The successful candidate will be responsible for reviewing, approving and signing off financial plans and recommendations, ensuring they are technically robust, compliant, and aligned with client objectives and regulatory requirements.
This role is ideally suited to an experienced financial planning professional, pension specialist, tax expert, or technical consultant who enjoys solving complex planning challenges and maintaining the highest standards of quality and professionalism.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Oversight & Financial Planning Quality
- Review, challenge, approve and sign off financial plans prepared by the advisory and financial planning teams.
- Ensure all client recommendations are technically accurate, suitable, and compliant with regulatory requirements.
- Act as the firm’s subject matter expert across pensions, investments, inheritance planning, protection and retirement strategies.
- Provide technical guidance on complex client cases and planning opportunities.
- Support advisors in developing sophisticated financial planning solutions for high-net-worth and affluent clients.
- Ensure planning recommendations reflect current legislation, Revenue requirements and industry best practice.
Pensions, Investments & Wealth Structuring
- Provide technical expertise across:
- Pension planning and retirement strategies
- ARFs and decumulation planning
- Master Trust Executive pensions and business owner solutions
- Investment structures and portfolio tax considerations
- Trusts and estate planning
- Inheritance and succession planning
- Protection planning strategies
- Wealth preservation and intergenerational planning
- Evaluate complex planning scenarios and provide clear technical recommendations.
Technical Governance & Compliance
- Ensure all advice documentation meets internal standards and regulatory obligations.
- Work closely with Compliance to maintain technical governance frameworks.
- Identify and mitigate technical risks within client recommendations.
- Support file reviews and quality assurance processes.
- Assist with regulatory and compliance audits as required.
Technical Leadership & Development
- Act as a mentor and technical resource for advisors, financial planners and support teams.
- Deliver technical training sessions and workshops.
- Create and maintain technical guidance documents and planning standards.
- Promote a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence across the business.
- Keep the business informed of legislative, taxation and regulatory developments.
Process Improvement & Innovation
- Contribute to the ongoing enhancement of financial planning processes and systems.
- Identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency and consistency within the advice process.
- Support the implementation of technology and planning tools that enhance technical delivery and client outcomes.
About You
You are a highly analytical and detail-oriented technical specialist with a passion for financial planning and delivering exceptional client outcomes.
You enjoy solving complex technical problems, interpreting legislation and ensuring advice is delivered to the highest possible standard.
You are meticulous in your approach, confident in challenging assumptions where necessary, and comfortable acting as the final technical sign-off point for client recommendations.
You combine deep technical expertise with strong commercial awareness and the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to advisors and colleagues.
Experience & Qualifications
Essential
- Significant experience within financial planning, pensions, wealth management, taxation, or technical advisory roles.
- Deep technical knowledge of Irish pensions, investments, protection and retirement planning.
- Strong understanding of inheritance tax, succession planning and wealth transfer strategies.
- Experience reviewing and approving financial planning recommendations.
- Excellent knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements within financial services.
- Exceptional attention to detail and analytical capability.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- QFA qualification.
Desirable
- CFP, RPA or equivalent professional qualification.
- Experience supporting high-net-worth and complex client planning cases.
- Experience within a financial planning practice, wealth management firm, pension consultancy or tax advisory environment.
- Leadership or team management experience.
Key Competencies
- Technical Excellence
- Financial Planning Expertise
- Pension & Retirement Planning
- Investment Structures
- Inheritance & Estate Planning
- Tax Planning Awareness
- Risk & Compliance Management
- Attention to Detail and Quality Assurance
- Critical Thinking
- Decision Making
- Coaching & Mentoring
What Success Looks Like
- All financial plans are reviewed and approved to the highest technical standard.
- Advisors have confidence in the quality and robustness of recommendations.
- Technical risk is minimised across the business.
- The organisation remains ahead of legislative and regulatory developments.
- A culture of technical excellence and continuous learning is embedded throughout the advisory team.
This is an outstanding opportunity for a technical specialist who wants to play a central role in shaping the quality, integrity and technical excellence of a leading financial planning business.
