OVERVIEW
The Service Lead (SL) owns the end-to-end health of an assigned client portfolio — financial performance, delivery quality, and relationship strength. The SL is the senior escalation point for client and team issues their staff/engagement in-charges (ICs) cannot resolve on their own, and owns the standards and protocols for client-facing systems (communication channels, deliverable formats, escalation rules) so that client experience is consistent regardless of which IC is on the account.
This role is ideal for someone who can combine technical accounting review, client relationship management, and people leadership — while helping build a team that is accountable, values-based, and committed to meaningful client work.
NON-NEGOTIABLES
The ideal candidate possesses the following:
- Purpose-driven. Genuinely motivated to help others through their work, recognizing the impact their role can make.
- Grounded and hands-on. Displays humility and a strong work ethic - willing to roll up their sleeves and take on tasks, no matter how small, to help the team move forward.
- Accountable and results-oriented. Works independently with a high standard for quality and follows through on commitments.
- Adaptable and dependable. Embraces new responsibilities, tasks, or changes in schedule with a positive attitude and sense of ownership.
- Trustworthy and discreet. Can be relied upon to uphold confidentiality and protect both client and team interests.
- Growth-minded. Eager to learn and continuously improve, actively seeking ways to better support the team and the work.
- Collaborative mentor. Willing to share knowledge and support the development of less experienced team members.
- Process-aligned, improvement-driven. Respects existing processes and policies, while also constructively raising concerns or ideas for improvement when needed.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy, Finance, or related field; CPA preferred
Experience: At least 6 years in accounting/finance services, including 2+ years in a client relationship or team supervisory capacity
Skills:
- Strong command of accounting principles, financial statements, and regulatory requirements
- Demonstrated client relationship management — can navigate scope conversations, pricing pushback, and service-level expectations
- People management experience: workload allocation, performance feedback, coaching
- Proficiency with NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero and Google Workspace
- Excellent written and verbal communication with both clients and internal teams
SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Client Portfolio and Escalation Management
- Serve as the senior escalation point for Engagement In-Charges on judgment calls, technical accounting or tax questions, client concerns, and unresolved issues.
- Log, manage, and resolve client or IC escalations, and escalate to the Head of Operations when needed.
- Proactively flag any deliverable, commitment, or client timeline at risk before the deadline lapses.
- Conduct regular client check-ins to align expectations, review concerns, and strengthen client relationships.
- Monitor portfolio health, including realization rate, billing accuracy, time ledger, scope creep, service quality, and client risks.
Review and Quality Assurance
- Review client-facing deliverables before release, including transactions, payroll, government contributions, tax filings, Financial Reporting Packages, and other reports.
- Ensure figures tie out, deliverables meet NTMI standards, and client-facing outputs are accurate, complete, and presentation-ready.
- Flag and correct errors at the source to reduce recurring issues and improve team output quality.
- Lead client-facing reporting for accounts handled by developing ICs until they are ready to report independently.
IC Coaching and Team Leadership
- Conduct regular IC check-ins to review workload distribution, deliverable status, quality flags, and support needed.
- Log specific performance observations and use them to provide timely, constructive coaching.
- Prepare monthly IC coaching summaries by identifying patterns, development needs, and recurring performance concerns.
- Coach ICs directly on performance or behavioral concerns, escalating only when issues are unresolved or recurring.
- Participate in weekly team meetings to report scorecards, priorities, issues, IC capacity concerns, and client risk items.
Process Improvement and Engagement Support
- Own and maintain the Summary of Issues and Recommendations log for assigned clients.
- Ensure client issues are communicated, assigned resolution deadlines, and resolved within agreed timelines.
- Lead at least one engagement-level process improvement per quarter within the assigned portfolio.
- Provide scope and pricing input for new or expanded engagements.
- Support onboarding and offboarding by providing technical inputs such as Chart of Accounts and Financial Management Framework, and signing off on portfolio client transitions.
Apply: Send your CV to [Confidential Information]
Subject line:
Application - Service Lead
