Support Professional Trustee - Pensions

MCS Group are delighted to be working with a leading pensions firm who are seeking to recruit a Senior Pensions Trustee candidate for their already successful Belfast based team.

The Client & Role

As a leading firm of Professional Trustees, we have an excellent opportunity for a Support Professional Trustee. This individual will perform a consulting role, supporting our experienced Professional Trusteeship team in delivering effective trusteeship and consulting services.

This role will be attractive to a pensions professional who has the ability to enhance and support the continued development of our successful trusteeship business and wants to embark on, or further develop, a career as a professional pension trustee. You will be supporting experienced Trustees to deliver the excellent trusteeship services for which the company is known, and to support the further development of our portfolio of appointments. Initially, the role will focus on supporting our team in the provision of our services in relation to the effective governance of the pension schemes for which they are trustee, including scheme secretariat services.

My client are looking for a self-motivated individual who is eager to work hard and make an impact. With key industry and technical knowledge, this individual should understand and be able to demonstrate the importance of building and maintaining relationships with clients, whilst working with colleagues to build a network of industry contacts. The successful candidate should have the capability to work independently and work collaboratively with colleagues across a multi-site business, to ensure the timely and high quality delivery to our clients. You will have the drive and ambition to meet targets for chargeable hours, the expectations of colleagues and clients and to seek to continually improve and expand the companies offering.

Key Responsibilities:

• Scheme Business Plan tasks and actions are progressed and statutory timeframes are met
• Scheme/Trustee Meetings are planned in advance and agenda’s and meeting packs are produced and distributed to all attendees
• Draft minutes and agreed actions of a Scheme/Trustee Meeting are distributed for review within 5 working days of the meeting.
• Regular monitoring of meeting actions to ensure completion.
• Regular review of Scheme Budgets and ensuring invoices are reviewed to ensure within budgets agreed and settlement of them within agreed terms
• Arranging regular internal team meetings to discuss and agree ongoing actions.
• Dealing with individual member queries sent through by administrator and ensuring prompt responses.

Essential Criteria

• 3-5 years' experience as a pension professional, with a solid industry background gained in either pension administration/ Scheme Secretariat / Pensions Manager and/or pension consultancy practices.
• A good understanding of the requirements to co-ordinate Trustee meetings, produce draft minutes and Matters Arising.
• Able to liaise with and manage the Trustee's advisers to ensure key deliverables.
• Able to oversee and update key scheme compliance and governance documentation, ensuring that all deadlines are met.
• An understanding of pension trusteeship, with significant knowledge of developing / current pension industry issues.
• Able to demonstrate good technical understanding of pension legislation, regulations and other aspects of pensions law and practice, including scheme governance, management and compliance. A thorough knowledge of both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes is required.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to articulate technical points into layman’s’ terms.
• Excellent project and budget management skills.
• Evidence/portfolio of client management responsibilities and strong relationship/client management skills.
• An individual who can demonstrate the broad spectrum of our competencies.

Desirable Criteria

• Working towards or successfully completed a relevant Professional Qualification (such as APMI or FPMI)
• Knowledge and experience of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and PPF guidance, processes and procedures, along with knowledge and understanding of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and TPR’s role and powers.
• Good understanding of the process of winding up a pension scheme.

The Offer

• Competitive salary DOE - c£55k
• Participation in Discretionary Bonus Scheme
• A set of core benefits including pension plan
• 25 days holiday per year
• + further benefit plan

The working week is Monday to Friday (37.50) with 1 hour off for lunch. Flexible working arrangements for this role will be considered and can be discussed at interview.

All conversations will be treated in the strictest of confidence. I am keen to have an initial discussion with anyone who feels this could potentially be of interest.

Please contact Matthew Woods, Specialist Consultant at MCS Groupor send an up to date CV via the link provided to speak further about this opportunity.