Pension Officer Opportunities

**Pension Officer**:
We have an exciting opportunity to join our Pension Benefits Administration Team in this well-respected, award winning organisation managing a £10 billion pension fund. You will be responsible for a varied workload, providing information to scheme membersand employers in the pension fund as well as calculating the range of scheme benefits available. We are actively developing ways to use new technology to improve the services we provide to our members.

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join our team. We are a growing public sector organisation with a team of around 100 staff who run the workplace pension scheme on behalf of a large number of employing organisations, includingLocal Authorities and other public bodies, educational institutions and a number of charitable organisations.

**Who we are**:
We are both a local authority and a pension fund and we’re unique within the Local Government Pension Scheme as the only democratically accountable single purpose pension organisation in the UK.As a local government body, we have a public sector ethos andplace a great deal of importance on our organisational Values and Behaviours - which are all about being honest and accountable, professional, progressive and empowering.

We have a culture that encourages work-life balance as we offer flexible working hours and hybrid office / home working. Our newly refurbished Barnsley office provides a state-of-the-art working environment; and with on-site parking and located within 10minutes’ walk of both the train and bus stations, it makes us easily accessible. At SYPA we are big on your professional development, you’ll have a learning and development plan, we’ll support you to keep your CPD updated, and we’ll pay for your professionalsubscription to a recognised body.

**What you’ll be doing**:
You will join our team of 32 Pension Officers who carry out all aspects of pension administration from our members. This will include processing different types of requests from our members and employers which will include general enquiries, transfers, deferments,monthly data files and retirement calculations. You will join a supportive team who will assist in developing your knowledge so you can move up our progression scheme.

There will also be opportunities to get involved in projects either within the team on areas such as system developments and improvement, or across the organisation for example in our Equality and Diversity group or Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committeeamong others.

You are not required to have experience in pensions, you just need to enjoy working with figures, have excellent IT skills and have a basic level of educational achievement equivalent to Level 2. You will also need to commit to the pursuit of an internallyrecognised standard of achievement to move through our career progression scheme. You will be fully supported.

We are also keen to hear from applicants who do have some previous pensions experience where there is the potential to be appointed above the starting salary shown.

**What you'll be able to offer**:

- Great communication skills and the ability to work with others to achieve objectives and provide excellent customer service.
- Proven experience of working in a team in a busy office environment.
- Strong attention to detail to ensure accurate inputting, processing and reporting of data.
- Previous pension (especially LGPS) experience would definitely be an advantage. With such a varied role and responsibilities, we won’t expect you to be an expert in all these areas from day one; you’ll be provided with a well-planned induction and trainingprogramme to get you up to speed. So, we’ll need you to be highly motivated, keen to learn and with a genuine interest in this type of work.

**What's in it for you**:

- We have a **generous annual leave policy** that offers between 27 days and 35 days annual leave depending on length of service, plus all statutory bank holidays and you are able to accrue and take up to 13 extra days leave per year by utilisingFlexitime.
- We have several work-life balance policies including a **Flexible Working Hours policy** (Flexitime) which allows you to work your contracted hours to suit both you and the team that you are working in, as well as offering **hybrid working** enabling you to work from home for up to 3 days per week.
- You’ll automatically be enrolled into the **LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme**) which provides **a salary-related pension**, to which the employer contributes.
- If the role requires it, we will pay for your **professional membership** of a recognised accountancy body.
- We offer a range of **wellbeing initiatives** including regular webinars on health & wellbeing, fresh fruit, tea, coffee and employer provided flu vaccination vouchers each year. We also organise regular social and charity events.
- We also offer a **24/7 confidential helpline**, access to workplace counselling and Occupational Health.
- Access to a range of benefits and discounts through the **Wider Wallet scheme**.
- A starting**Salary of£20,812 and rising up to £28,371**per annum (four step progression scheme)
- Centrally located modern office for public transport links and staff on-site parking available.