Pensions Policy Lead (2 Year Fixed Term Contract)

Location(s): Edinburgh, Leeds, Halifax or Bristol

WORKING PATTERN: Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of our time at one of our office hubs.

About this opportunity

You’ll play a leading role in developing and delivering the Group’s agenda for colleague pension provision, translating strategic objectives into practical initiatives, governance activities and policy solutions that deliver positive outcomes for colleagues and the business.

Working closely with the Head of Pension Policy, you’ll lead complex pension projects, governance activity and policy development, manage pension risks (excluding funding) and help shape the evolution of the Group’s pension arrangements in response to business, regulatory and market developments.

You’ll bring deep technical expertise, strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to balance strategic thinking with practical delivery across a complex pension environment.

Day to day you will

Strategic change and project delivery

• Support the delivery of the Group’s pensions agenda through the development and implementation of pension policies, frameworks and initiatives.
• Analyse legislative, regulatory and market developments, assessing potential impacts and recommending appropriate actions.
• Identify emerging trends, risks and opportunities and contribute ideas and recommendations to help inform the evolution of Group pension policy and future strategic direction.
• Monitor developments across the pensions, technology and regulatory landscape, identifying opportunities to improve colleague outcomes, efficiency, governance and risk management.
• Coordinate complex pensions projects and change activities, managing risks, dependencies and stakeholders to deliver successful outcomes.
• Identify opportunities for simplification, harmonisation and continuous improvement across pension arrangements and supporting processes.
• Support pension-related activity arising from corporate transactions, acquisitions, restructuring activity and regulatory developments.

Governance and risk

• Support and coordinate governance activities across the Group’s pension arrangements, ensuring compliance with legislative, regulatory and internal requirements.
• Monitor pension risks and controls within area of responsibility, ensuring issues are identified, assessed and escalated where appropriate.
• Support the development of business cases, recommendations and implementation plans for pension-related change and improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to the ongoing review and enhancement of governance frameworks, processes and controls.
• Take a broad view of pension-related challenges and opportunities, considering colleague, business, operational, regulatory and market perspectives when developing recommendations and solutions.

Stakeholder management and communications

• Work collaboratively with the Group Pensions team, trustees, advisers, suppliers and business stakeholders to support delivery of pension objectives.
• Support the resolution of complex pension issues and stakeholder concerns, balancing member and business considerations.
• Develop pensions communications and briefing materials, ensuring technical accuracy and alignment with policy and business objectives.
• Use member, business and market insight to identify opportunities to improve colleague understanding, engagement and outcomes.

Team and capability development

• Share technical expertise and support capability building across the wider pensions team.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration and professional excellence.
• Provide coaching and support to colleagues on technical pensions matters where appropriate.

What you’ll need

Experience & capability

• Significant experience managing pension arrangements within a large corporate, trustee or consultancy environment.
• Proven experience delivering complex pension projects, change initiatives or strategic activities involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of UK pension legislation, governance requirements and market practice across DB and DC pension arrangements.
• Strong awareness of developments across the pensions industry and wider employee benefits landscape, with the ability to assess emerging trends and their potential impact.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams, building trusted relationships and contributing to collective goals and successful outcomes.
• Ability to analyse complex issues, identify key risks and opportunities, and develop practical, well-balanced recommendations.
• Demonstrable ability to see the bigger picture, balancing colleague, business, operational, regulatory and financial considerations when making decisions.
• Experience identifying opportunities for continuous improvement, innovation and more effective ways of working, including consideration of emerging technologies and AI-enabled solutions.

Leadership & influence

• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to influence outcomes through collaboration, technical expertise and sound judgement.
• Strong facilitation and problem-solving skills, with the confidence to constructively challenge where appropriate.
• Ability to operate strategically while maintaining a strong focus on delivery and execution.

It would be beneficial if you also have

• Experience of mergers, acquisitions, disposals or benefit harmonisation projects.
• Experience within financial services or another highly regulated environment.
• Experience of Crown Dependency and/or international pension arrangements.

About working for us

Our focus is to ensure we’re inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture. We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it's why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups.

We’re disability confident. So if you’d like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual performance-related bonus
• Share schemes including free shares
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• 30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

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