Pensions & Benefits Specalist - part-time & hybrid

We are looking for an experienced professional who will have end to end responsibility for managing and administering our UK pension & Benefits portfolio, whilst providing support to the UK Pension Trustee Board, who manage and govern our Defined Benefit & Defined Contribution pension plans.

This is a part time fixed term role as we are starting our journey in transitioning our pension arrangements to Master Trust; initially 12 months duration, with opportunity to extend depending on progress with the transition.

The role requires technical pension & Benefits knowledge and experience, enabling the individual to support the Company, Trustees and Employees in all aspects ranging from strategy and policy through to routine but important administration.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for managing the UK pension & Benefits portfolio (including healthcare, life insurance, disability) and supplier relationships and administration processes; including budgeting and supplier invoicing, annual renewals and periodic market reviews.
• Leading the implementation of any changes to our pension & Benefits offering as a result of market reviews &/or legislative changes, developing and supporting continuous improvement initiatives.
• Research, analyse and resolve employee queries and issues in collaboration with internal stakeholders, pension & Benefits suppliers, pension trustees and external advisers as appropriate.
• Collaborate with Payroll and Finance teams to ensure pension auto-enrolment compliance, timely payment of monthly pension contributions, and provide support for annual audit and year end accounting processes.
• Responsible for employee communications and keeping the pension & Benefits information on the employee HR portal up to date.

PENSION TRUSTEE SUPPORT

• Act as Secretary to the UK Pension Trustee Board; assisting the Trustees and in particular the Chairman to carry out their duties and responsibilities in a timely and proper manner.
• Preparation and development of the Trustee’s business plan, preparing meeting packs and taking actions from the Trustee meetings (currently every other month).
• Liaise with the Company’s representatives and the pension plan’s Administrator, investment managers, Actuary and advisers.
• Maintain the governance and risk structure in place for each section of the pension plan: closed Defined Benefit, closed Retirement Capital Plan, open Defined Contribution.
• Review draft contracts and performance standards with service providers to be put before the Trustee Board for approval and ensure that the periodic review of the performance of service providers is on the Trustee’s business plan.
• Managing processes such as the annual PPF Levy, triennial valuation, audits, regulator returns and new Trustee inductions.
• Managing complaints under the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure.
• Ensure any potentially significant adverse events relating to the pension plan are reported to the relevant authority in accordance with legislative requirements.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Strong technical knowledge / expertise relating to UK pension & Benefits provision, including understanding of design and financing.
• Experience of pension & Benefits administration and project management.
• Strong relationship management skills, able to liaise proactively and effectively with internal stakeholders, pension & Benefits suppliers, pension trustees and external advisers; establishing credibility and ability to influence.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex pensions and benefits matters to non-specialists.
• A proactive and enthusiastic team player with high level of self-motivation, able to work unsupervised and meet deadlines.