Senior Relationship Manager

Travel: ~30% of time; required for multi-day client engagements and family meetings

Compensation: Compensation for this role is competitive and commensurate with experience, skills, and demonstrated ability. The expected base salary range for this

position is $225k to $275k with placement within the range determined by:

• Relevant experience and level of responsibility managed
• Depth of expertise in family enterprise, governance, or consulting
• Demonstrated client leadership and facilitation capability
• Track record of managing complex engagements and stakeholders

In addition to base salary, this role is eligible for performance-based bonuses tied to individual contribution and firm results.

About Bench Consulting

At Bench Consulting, we help enterprising families navigate some of the most consequential moments in their personal and professional lives - generational transitions, governance challenges, leadership changes, succession planning, and the interpersonal family dynamics that can either unify or divide a family across generations and branches. Working at the intersection of family, ownership, and enterprise, we bring clarity to complex decisions, structure to sensitive dynamics, and practical support for owners, family members, enterprise leaders, and board directors. The result of our work is aligned ownership, family and enterprise role clarity, stronger decision-making, smoother transitions, and the confidence to grow enterprise value while preserving family unity for the long term.

While every client is different, our work often includes working on: shareholder agreement creation and/or amendment; owner’s constitution; family employment/participation plans; rising generation curriculum design, deployment, and coaching; family meeting facilitation and communication planning; board of directors design and implementation; operating model analysis and organizational design; decision rights; leadership development and succession planning.

The Senior Relationship Manager is at the center of this work.

This role is for someone who thrives in complexity and earns trust quickly. Someone who can sit comfortably with sensitive family dynamics, translate ambiguity into action, and ensure that every client experience reflects care, intentionality, rigor, and discretion. The Senior Relationship Manager will be the client’s first call—the steady presence who understands both the people and the system and who knows when to challenge, support, lean in on a task or bring in the right expertise.

The Role

The Senior Relationship Manager serves as the day-to-day leader of client engagements, guiding families and enterprise leaders through complex governance, succession, ownership, and relationship challenges. This role combines project leadership, facilitation, and trusted advisory work. The Senior Relationship Manager is responsible for delivering high-quality outcomes, managing client relationships, and leading internal teams while contributing to the long-term growth and continuity of client relationships.

What You’ll Do

Serve as the primary client lead:

You’ll be the main point of contact and trusted confidante for families, including on

sensitive issues such as family conflict, succession readiness, shareholder tensions, and

leadership challenges. You’ll have to maintain neutrality and professionalism in

emotionally complex or sensitive situations, while also providing the empathic support

needed for the moment.

Run the relationship:

You’ll participate in scoping conversations, proposal kickoffs, multi-day family sessions

(including co-facilitating in-person engagements), and ongoing cadence calls. You’ll work with clients as family and enterprise needs change and adjust Bench’s scope and objectives to serve the client’s needs.

Facilitate meetings:

You’ll facilitate family meetings, leadership sessions, board and council meetings, and working groups comprised of family members and outside advisors. You’ll need to guide dialogue around nuanced, often emotionally charged topics such as succession planning, family conflict, the future of the enterprise, decision-making models, and role expectations while maintaining objectivity.

Translate needs into action:

Often, you’ll have to listen for what is said - and unsaid - then convert complex, ambiguous situations into clear workstreams and next steps.

Drive governance work:

You’ll be the client’s point of contact related to the creation and coordination, or performance improvement of family and corporate governance.

Coordinate estate planning needs:

While you won’t be expected to draft estate plans, you’ll support families in clarifying their current and future estate planning objectives and coordinate the work necessary to implement sound strategies that take into consideration the family’s needs and enterprise expectations or obligations.

Orchestrate expertise:

To succeed in the role, you will have to coordinate with Bench subject matter experts and outside advisors at the right time, ensuring seamless collaboration across governance, legal, financial, and behavioral domains.

Synthesize and coach:

As the point of contact for clients, you’ll need to capture themes, insights, and action items and help clients reflect on behaviors, roles, and accountability in service of their personal growth, their family’s harmony, and their enterprise’s long-term success.

Deliver a white-glove experience:

Success in this role requires an individual to anticipate client needs, share thoughtful resources, and create moments of unexpected value that deepen trust and impact.

Support responsible growth:

Additionally, you’ll be asked to identify meaningful ways to expand the relationship only when it serves the client’s long-term interests.

Uphold discretion and quality:

Equally important, given the clients you’ll be serving, you’ll be asked to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality and professional ethics.

Qualifications

Experience

• 15+ years of experience in family office, private banking, wealth management, or another complex advisory environment

• Experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders

• Demonstrated experience facilitating group discussions and leadership meetings

• Demonstrated ability to navigate multi-stakeholder, emotionally nuanced situations with calm authority and high EQ

• Possess strong executive presence paired with genuine warmth - able to engage confidently with senior leaders while earning trust across generations

• Comfortable operating at the intersection of family dynamics, corporate governance, and estate planning

• Candidates should also have a strong, working knowledge of estate planning strategies and/or corporate governance tools and their associated implications

Skills and Capabilities

• Strong executive presence and professional judgment

• High emotional intelligence and the ability and willingness to navigate sensitive interpersonal dynamics

• Excellent facilitation and communication skills

• Ability to diagnose underlying issues across family, ownership, and business systems

• Strong project management and organizational skills

• Ability to balance structure with flexibility in dynamic client environments

• Excel at written synthesis, facilitation, and disciplined follow-through

• Working knowledge of estate planning strategies and/or…

• Working knowledge of corporate governance (e.g. shareholder agreement strategies, board design and operations) and family governance (e.g. family councils, family constitutions, etc.)

Personal Attributes

• Motivated by meaningful client impact rather than quotas or transactional growth

• High degree of discretion and sound judgment

• Neutrality and the ability to hold multiple perspectives

• Calm and steady presence in emotionally charged, highly nuanced situations

• Commitment to client impact and long-term relationships

• A passion for personal growth and development

Success in This Role

A successful Senior Relationship Manager:

• Is viewed by clients as a trusted advisor for both their family and their enterprise

• Delivers engagements that lead to clear decisions, alignment, and forward progress

• Builds strong relationships with family members and enterprise leaders

• Develops team members and strengthens Bench’s capability

• Contributes to expanding and sustaining long-term client relationships

Life at Bench

While our work is demanding and often high stakes, we take balance seriously. We are a team of partners, parents, spouses, and friends. There will be moments when the work requires intensity and flexibility, but we believe deeply in protecting personal time, honoring family commitments, and building a sustainable pace. We aim to be highly effective during the day so we can be present where it matters most outside of work.

If this role resonates, we'd love to hear from you. Along with your resume, please share a brief response to the following four questions. You can reach out directly to Laura Elliott at lelliott@benchconsulting.com.

1. Tell us about a time you navigated a complex human dynamic — conflict, misalignment, or a sensitive relationship. What did you do, and what did you learn?
2. What do you think most advisors get wrong when working with families or closely held businesses?
3. What's a piece of work you're proud of, and why?
4. What draws you to Bench?