Ensign Pensions Officer position

We have a new Pensions Officer position, based at our Gatwick offices.

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter to our team at recruitment@ensignpensions.com

Ensign is a small team of exceptional pensions professionals providing executive services to the trustees of industry-wide pension schemes for mariners.

With mainstream DB administrative experience and DC experience an advantage, you will act as Pensions Officer. You will support the Ensign Pensions team and Trustees through monitoring the services provided by the outsourced administrators, involvement in complex cases and member complaints, and liaison with providers to ensure that members and the Trustees receive the best possible service.

The position is ideal for administrators / senior administrators who want to make a career move into something a little different, with added opportunities to be involved in projects within the wider Ensign team and some Trustee secretarial work.

We are looking for a self-starter who is able to act independently, and possesses excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills.

At Ensign, you will be joining a small team of exceptional pension professionals. Our working environment is very collegiate, so you must be an outstanding team player. You will need to possess excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills. Your knowledge and experience will need to sit comfortably with our commitment to best practice and great service. Professional qualifications or progress towards them are desirable, although the company will support the right candidate through a programme of study and learning.

Key responsibilities:

• Regularly reviewing and monitoring the administrators’ performance, ensuring that the performance is in line with the agreed SLAs
• Ensuring all necessary information for effective administration is provided to the TPA in a timely manner
• Ensuring that all requirements of clients’ Rules and those of legislation are met by the TPA, seeking technical advice from the legal advisers as required
• Handling any member queries that require Trustee response or cannot be answered directly by the administrator, escalating further in line with Trustee policy
• Coordinating the submission of cases requiring the exercise of Trustee discretion
• Acting as the point of contact for member complaints (and IDRP cases) and maintaining a register of all complaints, recommendations and solutions
• Provision of expert knowledge of clients’ Rules and current legislation relating to both members and employers
• Provision of management information relating to referred member cases, project work and delivery of services by third parties

Technical skills and experience required:

• Extensive knowledge and experience of defined benefit pension scheme administration, and preferably defined contribution scheme administration, and governance.
• Effective communication skills with confidence to address all levels of management up to Board level.
• Ability to establish good liaison skills with third party advisers to maintain and develop relationships as required. Ability to monitor performance of administrators and advisers, challenging as appropriate.
• Team player who can focus on team objectives as well as personal workload.
• Excellent organisation skills with ability to manage own deadlines, prioritise workload and work to tight deadlines, ensuring tasks are delivered as planned.
• Attentive to detail with ability to apply analytical and decision-making skills to individual situations.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience of Word and Excel.