Head of Paraplanning

Company Overview:

BE SmartAdmin (BESAS)

is a growing Australian-based company offering administrative, paraplanning, and bookkeeping services. Our fully remote team of ten is located in the Philippines and supports a variety of industries, including financial planning, property, creative design, and mortgage lending.

At BESAS, we value
honesty, creativity, collaboration

, and
work-life balance

, fostering a positive culture focused on results and integrity.

Due to increasing adviser demand and the need for stronger leadership in our paraplanning division, we are seeking a
Head of Paraplanning / Senior Paraplanner

to take over day-to-day paraplanning team management from the Operations Manager. 

Role Overview:

The Head of Paraplanning / Senior Paraplanner will manage all paraplanning workflow while also preparing SOAs personally. You will lead, coordinate, and upskill our paraplanning team to ensure all advice documents meet adviser needs and AFSL compliance standards.

This is a hands-on leadership role — you will be expected to produce 1 SOA per day (4–5 hours), review SOAs prepared by three part-time paraplanners, and ensure all work is delivered within set turnaround times.

You will also be required to learn how to prepare UK Pension SOAs, as these represent approximately 25% of our total SOA requests. One of our paraplanners has been trained in this process by the Operations Manager since 2023, and you will need to learn it to ensure you can review UK Pension SOAs accurately and confidently.

Key Responsibilities

:

Personal SOA Production

• Prepare
  1 SOA per day

(approx. 4–5 hours) based on adviser instructions.
- Ensure personal SOAs meet AFSL compliance requirements and adviser-specific preferences.
- Learn and master
UK Pension SOA preparation

to support review and production responsibilities.

Paraplanning Team Leadership

• Take full ownership of paraplanning operations from the Operations Manager.
• Liaise directly with advisers (usually via email) for SOA requests.
• Manage adviser expectations, providing clear updates on timelines, scope, and required information.
• Review each SOA request and adviser strategy for completeness, accuracy, and feasibility before assigning to yourself or other paraplanners.
• If information is missing, follow up with the adviser before allocating the task.
• Manage the schedule and workload of the three part-time paraplanners, ensuring a
  3–5 business day turnaround

for SOAs.
- Provide guidance and upskilling to paraplanners on correct SOA clauses to include/exclude.
- Review and approve all SOAs prepared by part-time paraplanners before sending to advisers, ensuring adherence to AFSL-prescribed templates.
- Manage
AFSL compliance team expectations

, including responding to and implementing revision requests following compliance vetting.
- Provide constructive feedback to paraplanners to improve accuracy, compliance, and adviser satisfaction.
- Contribute to the
growth and development

of the paraplanning team through recruitment input, skills training, and process improvements.
- Identify paraplanner training opportunities
- Ensure that paraplanning deliveries are on the agreed KPIs

Quality Control & Adviser Liaison

• Coordinate with advisers and paraplanners for revisions as needed.
• Personally make final amendments when required to meet adviser deadlines.
• Be willing to conduct
  weekend SOA reviews

in special cases — e.g., payroll cut-off deadlines — to ensure billing is included in the period (e.g., if the cut-off is Sunday and the SOA is completed Friday).

Qualifications to perform the role:

• Minimum
  5 years' experience

as a paraplanner working in or for the Australian financial planning industry.
- Proven experience managing multiple paraplanners or a paraplanning workflow
- Strong knowledge of superannuation, personal insurance, retirement planning, and investment strategies.
- Demonstrated ability to work across
multiple advisers or practices

, balancing competing deadlines and adviser preferences.
- Familiarity with
Australian financial products

, legislation, and compliance requirements.
- Proficiency in
Xplan

(at least 3 years) is a MUST – specifically:

-SuperSolver/WealthSolver

-Risk Researcher

-XTOOLS+ Calm (retirement modelling)

• Proficiency is in other tools such as:

-ProductRex

-Omnium/OmniLife

-RetireMap

-Fin365

• Strong written and verbal English communication skills
• Ability to work autonomously while effectively leading and developing a team
• High proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to interpret technical information.
• Willing to learn and upskill on more challenging types of advice, such as LRBA and UK Pension.

Reporting:

• This position directly reports to the Operations Manager.

Home Office Requirements:

• Power and Internet

: Stable power supply and internet connection with a minimum bandwidth of
20 Mbps

.
- Equipment

: Working computer/laptop with at least
8GB RAM

and
Microsoft Office

installed.
- Environment

: Quiet home office setup suitable for client calls and team meetings.

Working Hours:

• Schedule

: 8 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday, Philippine Standard Time – with 1-hour
unpaid

lunch break included.
- Clockify

: Clockify is a time-tracking app that you are required to use without exception and track your full 8 hours of work (excluding lunch hours) in a granular fashion, specifying each task and time spent on each task.
- Work breaks

: Your 8-hour day excludes lunch breaks, which you need to set and agree with your direct supervisor to establish work expectations. You are entitled to short tea breaks of up to 15 minutes (not exceeding 2 times a day), but must always inform your direct supervisors before you go on one.

Remuneration:

Compensation and Benefits

• As a full-time paraplanner, you will be paid for a full 8-hour workday, even though the volume of work may vary from day to day.
• Your compensation will consist of two hourly rates, depending on the type of work performed:

-₱850/hour –
Premium rate

for billable work (e.g., SOA/ROA preparation, research, adviser

communication).

-₱400/hour –
Base rate

for non-billable time (e.g,. idle time, tea breaks, or periods without assigned

work).

• Non-billable hours are assessed based on your Clockify time entries and will be subject to review by your supervisor.
• Monthly salary range: ₱131,733 (based on 80% billable rate) to ₱147,333 (based on 100% billable hours).
• Independent contractor arrangement — inclusive of all government contributions and 13th month.
• As an independent offshore contractor, your total compensation is inclusive of:

a. Any 13th-month equivalent

b. SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG contributions

-You are responsible for making any voluntary contributions directly.

• Salary is paid in Philippine Pesos, and you will be required to open a Security Bank account for payroll purposes.

Leave and Performance Incentives

• After successfully completing your 6-month probationary period, your hourly rate may be reviewed for an increase based on performance.
• Upon reaching your
  1st work anniversary

, you will be entitled to
10 workdays of paid leave annually

.

-These leave credits will be
prorated

in your first year based on the remaining months of the

calendar year.

-Example: If your anniversary falls on 1 October 2024, you will be granted 3 leave days to use before

year-end.

• You will also receive a
  mandatory 10-day Christmas break

, the dates of which will be advised by the company (BESAS) in late November or early December each year.
- Performance bonuses

are discretionary and may be awarded based on your overall contributions and consistency in meeting quality and turnaround expectations.