Senior Pensions Consultant

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 358820**Salary**:

- £61,212 - £73,513-
- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- Public Service Pensions Team (PSPS)**Type of role**:

- Administration / Corporate Support
- Analytical**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU / Edinburgh Government Hub Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh EH8 8FTAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) is a non-ministerial department. Our mission is to improve the stewardship of public sector finances by supporting effective decision-making and robust financial reporting through analysis, modelling and advice.

One of the teams within GAD is the Public Service Pension Schemes team. We work with a wide range of public service clients and provide high quality consultancy services that serve some of the largest pension schemes in the country.

**Job description**:
- How to ensure that benefits payable to members are accurate.
- How to implement and communicate revised benefits for scheme members resulting from legal judgements.
- How to improve the quality and completeness of membership data.
- How to prepare for the launch of pensions dashboards, a significant step change in the way pension scheme members and administrators interact with each other.

As a Senior Pensions Consultant you will be responsible for providing high quality advice to Government Departments, or other GAD clients, relating to the administration of member benefits. You will be a key member of the Public Service Pensions team, working to support a wide range of Government policies.

This role will involve significant levels of interaction with pension scheme administrators, sponsoring departments and colleagues throughout GAD. There may also be opportunities for secondments to other Government departments. As such, strong communication and collaboration skills are required.

**Person specification**:

- 1. To provide high quality pensions advice to the sponsors and administrators of Public Service Pension Schemes.
- 2. To pro-actively monitor current issues affecting pensions administration, seeking to identify areas where GAD can provide support with administration challenges.
- 3. To develop new relationships with existing or potential clients.
- 4. To develop technical client content relating to pensions administration and scheme governance.
- 5. To take the lead in working with colleagues across GAD teams to ensure administration support is appropriately scoped, resourced and delivered in an efficient and timely manner, with a focus on providing value for money for our clients.
- 6. To regularly update Public Services Pension Scheme colleagues, wider teams throughout GAD and senior stakeholders on pensions administration issues and progress.
- 7. To lead in the learning and development of other pensions administration colleagues.
- 8. Agile working within other GAD teams from time to time during key periods.
- 9. To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of pensions, particularly public service pensions, and distill this information for clients and colleagues.**Behaviours**:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Changing and Improving

**Technical skills**:
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

- Proven knowledge of defined benefit occupational pension schemes, including administrative functions and scheme governance (Essential)
- Knowledge of public service pension provision (Desirable)
- Pensions qualification (PMI or similar) (Desirable)

**Benefits**:

- Alongside your salary of £61,212, Government Actuary's Department contributes £16,527 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.- As well as competitive salaries, we offer a substantial package of benefits:
- Extensive talent, career and personal development
- 25 days annual leave per year, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service. In addition we offer 9 days public and privilege days leave per year (pro rata for part time staff)
- Generous defined benefit Civil Service pension scheme
- Family-friendly policies such as help with caring responsibilities, special leave, generous paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Access to employee assistance programme and occupational health
- Community volunteering programme, the opportunity to join a trade union, and discounted membership of local and national sports and social groups
- A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
- Salary advances for travel costs, including annua