Onboarding Lead: PMS, AIF & GIFT City

Job Summary

We are seeking an Onboarding Lead to manage the end-to-end account opening lifecycle for Portfolio Management Services (PMS), Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), and GIFT City (International Financial Services Centre - IFSC) products. This role involves leading a team of onboarding professionals to ensure accounts are opened accurately and comply with SEBI, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) regulations. The Onboarding Lead will drive automation and process improvements to make onboarding faster, more accurate, and scalable.

Responsibilities

• Onboarding Operations & Team Leadership

  • Lead and manage a team of 10+ onboarding and service executives, including task allocation, performance tracking, coaching, and succession planning.
  • Own turnaround time (TAT), accuracy, and quality metrics for PMS, AIF, and GIFT City account openings.
  • Serve as the escalation point for complex, high-value, or non-standard onboarding cases (e.g., Non-Resident Indians (NRI), corporate, trust, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), foreign investors).
  • Coordinate with Sales, Relationship Management, Compliance, Legal, Fund Accounting, Custodians, Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs), and Technology teams.

• KYC & Regulatory Compliance

  • Ensure onboarding complies with Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)/Common Reporting Standard (CRS), Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO), and risk profiling norms under SEBI PMS and AIF regulations, PMLA, and IFSCA guidelines for GIFT City entities.
  • Oversee KYC/CKYC/KRA processes, client due diligence (CDD/Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)), Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) and sanctions screening, and periodic KYC refresh.
  • Review and approve exceptions and deviations, ensuring proper audit trails.
  • Support internal audits, regulatory inspections, and custodian/RTA reviews, ensuring timely closure of audit observations.

• Process Design & Improvement

  • Map and redesign onboarding workflows end-to-end to eliminate bottlenecks, rework, and manual hand-offs.
  • Define and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Management Information Systems (MIS) such as TAT, rejection rates, first-time-right percentage, and backlog aging.
  • Conduct root-cause analysis on errors and implement corrective and preventive actions.

• System Automation & Digital Onboarding

  • Define business requirements and lead automation initiatives including digital onboarding journeys, electronic signatures (e-sign)/electronic KYC (e-KYC), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and workflow tools, document management, and Application Programming Interface (API) integrations with KRA/CKYC, custodians, and back-office systems.
  • Collaborate with Technology teams on User Acceptance Testing (UAT), deployment, and adoption; utilize Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and low-code tools where appropriate.
  • Maintain a continuous improvement roadmap for onboarding technology.

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Drafting & Governance

  • Draft, maintain, and version-control SOPs, checklists, process flows, and control matrices for PMS, AIF, and GIFT City onboarding.
  • Update documentation promptly to reflect regulatory changes and ensure audit readiness.
  • Train the team on SOPs and conduct periodic knowledge assessments.

• Client Service & Stakeholder Management

  • Ensure a smooth onboarding experience for High Net Worth Individuals (HNI), Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI), family offices, and institutional investors.
  • Manage post-onboarding servicing including account modifications, KYC updates, nominee changes, and capital call/redemption documentation support.
  • Handle client and distributor queries and complaints within defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Qualifications

• Education: Graduate in Commerce, Finance, Management, or related field; MBA/PGDM preferred.
• Experience: 5-10 years in onboarding and client servicing within wealth management, asset management, PMS/AIF, broking, or similar regulated financial services.
• Leadership: Minimum 3 years managing a team of 10 or more.
• Domain Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of PMS and AIF KYC and compliance requirements including SEBI PMS/AIF Regulations, PMLA, FATCA/CRS, CKYC, KRA; familiarity with GIFT City/IFSC onboarding norms and cross-border investor documentation.
• Technical Skills: Hands-on experience in system automation, workflow development, process design and re-engineering, and SOP drafting.
• Core Competencies:
  • Experience with CRM, workflow, and onboarding platforms.
  • Exposure to RPA or low-code tools.
  • Strong ownership and attention to detail.
  • Analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Clear written and verbal communication, especially for SOPs and stakeholder updates.
  • Ability to influence and collaborate across Sales, Compliance, and Technology teams.
  • People development skills and a people-first leadership style.
  • Experience handling regulatory audits.

Experience

• 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in onboarding and client servicing within regulated financial services.
• At least 3 years of team management experience leading 10 or more employees.

Environment

• Job Location: Mumbai
• Work setting involves coordination across multiple internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Likely office-based with collaboration across departments such as Sales, Compliance, Legal, and Technology.

Key Performance Indicators

• Onboarding turnaround time (TAT) and first-time-right rate.
• Zero or minimal regulatory and audit observations.
• Number of processes automated and reduction in manual effort.
• SOP coverage and adoption by the team.
• Team productivity, attrition, and engagement.
• Client and internal stakeholder satisfaction.