Career Opportunities

Financial Planning Curriculum DesigNerd (NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS)

Kitces.com is hiring a Financial Planning Curriculum DesigNerd who will be responsible for creating the structure & curriculum of Kitces courses. The Curriculum DesigNerd’s role encompasses the entire curriculum development process, including defining course topics, establishing scope, outlining crucial course components, aligning learning objectives, and ultimately providing comprehensive blueprints to the Instructional DesigNerd. Curating and collaborating closely with instructors, subject matter experts (SMEs), and advisors, the Curriculum DesigNerd plays a pivotal role in crafting top-notch, skills-driven educational content tailored for Financial Advicers.  

The Curriculum DesigNerd will conduct thorough job task analysis, identifying gaps in knowledge and skills among Financial Advisors in a particular course topic domain. The Curriculum DesigNerd will also excel in crafting real-world case studies, utilizing their expertise to distill intricate financial concepts into relatable advisor-client scenarios. Their skill in writing assessment questions will ensure learners’ comprehension and retention of critical information. 

The Curriculum DesigNerd does not need to be a subject matter expert in everything but must have a knack for translating the expertise of other subject matter experts and parsing in-depth, complex content into easily understandable educational material. They will take intricate financial concepts and transform them into accessible content, ensuring financial advicers can grasp and apply the knowledge effectively. This ability to simplify complex concepts while maintaining educational rigor is a hallmark of the Curriculum DesigNerd’s expertise. 

If you have a passion for education and training Financial Advicers and want to broaden your reach beyond a small team or classroom to Kitces’ 15,000+ Members and 55,000+ Readers, are excited to be at the center of curating and working with industry experts, and love to ‘nerd out’ on designing programs that advisors can come away from having learned relevant skills, then this is the job for you! 

Description/Responsibilities 

This full-time, entirely virtually based staff position will report to the Director of Advisor Learning & Development as a member of the Education Team.  

Core responsibilities include following: 

• Lead the vision of the preparation and development phases for 2-3 courses annually. 
• Work with leadership and team members, to define course topics, title, ideal customer profile, scope, and length. 
• Curate potential SME’s, Instructors, and Course Reviewers for each course and provide recommendations to Director of Advisor Learning & Development. 
• Management of external partners (SME’s, Instructors, and Course Reviewers), establishing relationships, implementing agreements, and ensuring timely production/review of content 
• Create course learning objectives, curriculum outlines, and instructor PowerPoint presentations. 
• Conduct job task analysis sessions with financial advisors to understand practical, on-the-job application of the course curriculum.  
• Facilitate a process of iterative curriculum reviews with both internal and external partners, focusing on the clarity and delivery of the information. 
• Write course content, informational summaries, case studies (including personas), assessment questions & responses, and other learning material content such as workbooks and handouts while maintaining previously defined scope and timeline. 
• Facilitate the acquisition, design, and development of advisor job aids and resources, which could include planning documents or tools such as spreadsheet calculators.  
• Provide insight to the Instructional DesigNerd to determine learning interactions best suited to deliver the content in a manner that teaches learners to practically apply skills in real world, on-the-job settings.   
• Conduct reviews of instructor-led videos. Identify and document required video edits needed to deliver effective message. 
• Create and deliver a final course blueprint to the Instructional Designer.  
• Partner with Director of Advisor Learning & Development and Engagement Team to outline a course launch plan & timeline. 
• Maintain source documentation for courses (ex: the Word docs of all questions). 
• Facilitate course content reviews and update the information in the source docs. 
• Be point of contact to Members Services to answer questions on any Member inquiries related to content questions 

Secondary Responsibilities: 

• Cross-train with other team members as needed to cover PTO 

In addition to the above responsibilities, we encourage our team members to identify other growth opportunities for the platform and lead in their implementation while learning new and beneficial skills. In other words, you will own certain assigned accountabilities, but we also want you to work on projects and opportunities that YOU identify as relevant to the platform and career, and that you are passionate about. We at the Kitces team are building something together!    

Key Candidate Traits 

The Curriculum DesigNerd should be able to speak the language of the practicing financial advisor. The successful candidate must also have strong writing skills, specifically, the ability to frame and communicate technical financial concepts in a manner that optimizes learning. Experience and knowledge in adult learning and instructional design are a bonus, but not required. Finally, the Curriculum DesigNerd must have strong consultative skills in order to interview and extract information from our course development partners.  

The ideal candidate should be self-motivated enough to work in a virtual environment with limited supervision (autonomous), have an extremely strong inclination for continuous learning (self-development), an immaculate attention to detail (organized and efficient), a service mindset (seeks to collaborate and to help and support others in service to the financial advicer community), and an ability to work in a changing fast-growing environment (adaptability).  

The candidate should also be highly adept at both written and verbal communication to educate, both within our virtual team, and to our financial advisor audience, and be capable of meeting specific content production deadlines.  

Notably, the Kitces platform itself is also growing and evolving. As a result, we are looking for people who seek to be challenged to learn, grow, try new things, and will bring fresh perspectives to the team.  

Requirements 

Strong financial knowledge, a CFP certification, some client-facing experience, and a strong inclination towards education and learning are required.  

Considerable client-facing financial planning experience and/or advanced financial degrees are desirable. 

Candidates must be legally authorized and available to work primarily within the United States. 

Compensation/Benefits 

Base salary $70,000- $90,000/year (depending on experience) 

Available bonus up to 12% of base salary, payable at up to 3%/quarter, for meeting Members Section net growth targets 

$2,500 budget for additional training/skills education 

$1,000 budget for home office materials 

$2,500 conference budget 

Paid membership in a relevant membership association and for a relevant professional designation or certification  

15 days of paid time off for combined vacation + sick, plus 6 national holidays 

Participation in company 401(k) plan 

Participation in company health insurance plan, including dental and vision coverage 

“No meeting” Wednesdays 

What it’s like working at Kitces.com 

We are a team that lives by our values, our support of one another and our commitment to the community we serve. The successful candidate will share these Kitces Core Values: 

• Do the Right Thing 
• Advisors First 
• Be the Trusted Source 
• Deposit More Than We Withdraw 
• No A$$holes 
• Get Your Nerd On 

At Kitces.com we have all but eradicated internal email. All internal communication is done via Slack, or through Asana tasks.  

When on Slack calls, video is expected as we believe hearing voices and seeing faces makes for stronger communication and connections. We lean on technology tools to get things done and protect our time. An example is our use of the delayed-send on Slack messages. While anyone might have a great idea pop up at any time, we are careful to make sure messages are only sent during regular business hours to respect the work/home boundaries of our work-from-home (or work-from-anywhere) team.  

As a company we try to front load meetings to the beginning of the week so that the end of the week can be more focused on Deep Work to maximize our personal productivity. 

While, as a remote company, we tend to attract a lot of introverts, we also recognize the value in creating work relationships, so we have a social committee that creatively offers a multitude of ways for people to connect in the ways they feel most comfortable. 

To Apply: 

Interested candidates for the Curriculum DesigNerd should complete the initial application form. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

Associate Financial Planning Nerd

** No longer accepting submissions **

Kitces.com is hiring an Associate Financial Planning Nerd who will be responsible for writing and supporting the creation of original Nerd’s Eye View articles (and doing the associated research and analysis) on topics of interest to the financial advicer community, supporting our financial planning Resources with timely updates, supporting on the development of our speaker presentations, and providing other support as needed to the Advisor Education team in the creation of our Members Section content.

So if the idea of being able to just ‘nerd out’ on financial planning, tax strategies, and research all day long excites you, you enjoy continuously learning and sharing that learning journey with others (and figuring out the best way to teach and communicate those concepts), are excited to support industry-leading thought leaders and developing your own expertise in service to the financial advicer community, and want to join the most trusted source of quality and relevant information in the financial planning industry (as well as a team that actually lives by the values they talk about)… then this is the job for you!

Description/Responsibilities
This full-time, entirely virtually based staff position (work from anywhere, no relocation required!) will report to the Managing Editor as a member of the Editorial Team, and work directly to support Chief Financial Planning Nerd Michael Kitces.

Core responsibilities include following:

Annual Content Creation Responsibilities:
– Creation of 12 full-length articles for Nerd’s Eye View (1 every month) throughout the calendar year, including all related research and analysis, following the Kitces 3x3x3 content framework
– Support the blog creation process as need, including the development of relevant blog graphics to present key information, and supporting spreadsheet models where necessary to analyze key topics or issues
– Support the process of collecting and posting updated information for Kitces Resources
– Provide backup support to Senior Technical editor and Senior Financial Planning Nerd

Curation Responsibilities:
– Monitor industry trade and other publications for potential articles for Weekend Reading recap or social media sharing
– Support identification of prospective topics or Guest authors for Nerd’s Eye View blog posts
– Assist in reviewing Guest Post submissions to determine if appropriate to accept into the editing process

Other Responsibilities/Opportunities:
– Support in the creation of new or updated PowerPoint slide presentations based on existing articles and other site content

Future Opportunities:
– Serve as a paid Kitces Speaker for webinars or in-person conference events
– Provide consulting services as a part of Kitces Consulting

In addition to the above responsibilities, we encourage our team members to identify other growth opportunities for the platform and lead in their implementation while learning new and beneficial skills. In other words, you will own certain assigned accountabilities, but we also want you to work on projects and opportunities that YOU identify as relevant to the platform and career, and that you are passionate about. We at the Kitces team are building something together!

Key Candidate Traits
The ideal candidate should be self-motivated enough to work in a virtual environment with limited supervision (autonomous), have an extremely strong inclination for continuous learning (self-development), an immaculate attention to detail (organized and efficient), a service mindset (seeks to collaborate and to help and support others in service to the financial advicer community), and an ability to work in a changing fast-growing environment (adaptability). We are a team that lives by our values, our support of one another, and our commitment to the community we serve. The successful candidate will share these values.

Core Values
• Do the Right Thing
• Advisors First
• Be the Trusted Source
• Deposit More Than We Withdraw
• No A$$holes
• Get Your Nerd On

The candidate should also be highly adept at both written and verbal communication to educate, both within our virtual team, and to our financial advisor audience, and be capable to meeting specific content production deadlines.

Notably, the Kitces platform itself is also growing and evolving. As a result, we are looking for people who seek to be challenged to learn, grow, try new things, and will bring fresh perspectives to the team.

Candidates must be U.S. Citizens, and work within a reasonable time zone to the Eastern United States.

The successful candidate will have completed their CFP certification, and a Master’s degree or other advanced designations are desirable. Direct planning experience with clients is a positive, but not required.

Compensation/Benefits
– Base salary $50,000 – $70,000/year (depending on experience)
– Available bonus up to 12% of base salary (payable at up to 3%/quarter), determined by meeting key Members Section metrics
– $5,000 budget for additional financial planning education (i.e., post-CFP designations/certifications) or other training/skills education
– $2,000 budget for technology hardware/software or related office materials
– $3,000 conference budget
– Paid membership in Financial Planning Association, NAPFA, and/or other relevant membership associations
– 15 days of paid time off for combined vacation + sick, plus 6 national holidays
– Participation in company 401(k) plan
– Participation in company health insurance plan

To Apply:
Interested candidates for the Associate Financial Planning Nerd should complete the application form. Questions can be directed to [email protected].