Job Description: Director / Principal Consultant – Broker-Dealer Clearing Strategy
Location: New York
Department: Capital Markets Advisory Practice
Reports To: Managing Partner / Head of Capital Markets
Employment Type: Full-Time, Senior Consulting Leadership
Role Summary
WSN Consulting is seeking a highly experienced capital markets professional to lead client engagements within our Financial Markets Advisory practice. This role focuses heavily on guiding introducing broker-dealers through the complex operational, regulatory, and technological transition to becoming self-clearing institutions.
As a Director/Principal, you will act as the trusted advisor to client C-suites (CEOs, COOs, and FinOps). You will architect their Target Operating Models (TOM), lead core system vendor selections, and program-manage the end-to-end transformation. Beyond client delivery, you will play a critical role in practice development, originating new business, and mentoring a team of specialized consultants.
Key Responsibilities
Client Delivery & Transformation Leadership
- Self-Clearing Advisory: Lead multi-phase consulting engagements for broker-dealers transitioning to self-clearing, managing project governance, client stakeholders, and our internal consulting teams.
- Target Operating Model (TOM) Design: Assess clients' current state and architect future-state workflows across trade processing, clearance, settlement, custody, corporate actions, and margin.
- Vendor Selection (RFP): Guide clients through the evaluation and selection of back-office clearing technologies (e.G., Broadridge, FIS Phase3) and lead the subsequent systems integration strategy.
- Clearing House Integration: Advise clients on application requirements, testing, and direct membership integration with the DTCC, NSCC, DTC, and OCC.
Regulatory & Risk Advisory
- Regulatory Expansion: Provide strategic guidance to client Legal and Compliance teams during the drafting and submission of FINRA Continuing Membership Applications (CMA) under Rule 1017.
- Risk Framework Development: Help clients design and document intraday/overnight margin risk policies, counterparty risk controls, and automated collateral management frameworks.
Practice Development & Business Generation
- Go-to-Market Strategy: Develop service offerings and thought leadership (whitepapers, webinars) specifically targeting mid-tier broker-dealers evaluating the ROI of self-clearing.
- Business Development: Pitch to prospective clients, scope complex transformation projects, and draft detailed Statements of Work (SOWs).
- Team Leadership: Manage consultant utilization on your projects, provide SME mentorship, and assist clients in designing their own future organizational charts for their new back-office teams.
Required Qualifications
- Experience: 12+ years of experience, blending senior broker-dealer back-office operations with management consulting or external client-facing advisory roles.
- Specific Transition Experience: Must have actively managed or advised on at least one successful broker-dealer transition from fully disclosed to self-clearing.
- Consulting Acumen: Proven ability to manage billable hours, lead executive steering committees, and translate complex operational requirements into clear client deliverables (process maps, gap analyses, executive presentations).
Preferred Qualifications
- Business Development Track Record: Demonstrated ability to cultivate client relationships, originate new consulting revenue, and expand existing accounts.
- Technology Fluency: Strong technical acumen regarding capital markets data architecture, API integrations, and the impact of automation on back-office headcount.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or a related field;
MBA preferred.