Director, Global Retirement, Savings & Financial Wellbeing

The Director, Global Retirement, Savings & Financial Wellbeing leads the strategy, governance, and oversight of the company’s global retirement, employee share plan and financial wellbeing programmes. The role has direct oversight of defined benefit (DB) pensions arrangements in the UK&E region. This role ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, optimizes funding and risk management strategies, and provides expert guidance on global pension accounting, HR committee reporting, and governance frameworks.

The role manages the company’s global Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOP), ensuring compliance with local regulations and alignment with company reward strategy. The role also oversees the development and delivery of financial wellbeing programmes across the regions.

Your role

• Strategic Leadership
  • Develop and execute the global pensions strategy aligned with business objectives and risk appetite.
  • Provide guidance on retirement plan design and optimization strategies across regions.
  • Provide expert input into bidding and commercial activities, assessing and advising on DB pension risk implications for new contracts and acquisitions.
  • Collaborate with bid teams, finance and legal to quantify pension liabilities and ensure risk is appropriately priced and mitigated in bids.
  • Act as the subject matter expert for UK&E DB schemes, including funding, investment strategy, and de-risking initiatives.
• Governance & Compliance
  • Ensure robust governance frameworks for all pension arrangements, including trustee and/or committee engagement and regulatory compliance.
  • Oversee preparation and delivery of reports to the HRC and Audit Committees of the Board on pensions and benefits risk, funding status, and accounting impacts.
  • Maintain compliance with UK pensions legislation and global regulatory requirements.
• Financial & Accounting Oversight
  • Lead global pension accounting processes, including IAS 19, in partnership with Finance and regional total rewards teams.
  • Monitor and manage pension-related balance sheet impacts, funding obligations, and cash flow forecasting.
• Risk Management
  • Drive risk mitigation strategies for DB schemes, including liability management exercises and investment oversight.
  • Monitor market trends, regulatory changes, and emerging risks impacting global pension arrangements.
• Employee Share Plans
  • Manage AtkinsRéalis global Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOP), ensuring compliance with local regulations and alignment with company reward strategy.
  • Oversee plan design, governance, and communication to employees across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Partner with Finance and Legal to ensure accurate accounting, tax compliance, and reporting for share plans.
• Financial Wellbeing
  • Partnering with the regional total reward leads and the global wellbeing lead, oversee the development and delivery of financial wellbeing programmes across the regions.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Partner with HR, Total Reward, Finance, and external advisors to deliver effective pension solutions.
  • Support Business leaders and project managers with pension risk associated with bidding activities.
  • Provide clear and concise updates to senior leadership and HR Committees, where this is required.

About you

• Qualified Actuary (FIA or equivalent) with extensive experience in pensions and employee benefits.
• Strong knowledge of UK DB pension schemes, funding strategy, and de-risking approaches.
• Expertise in global pension accounting standards (IAS 19, US GAAP) and governance frameworks.
• Proven ability to manage complex international retirement and share plan arrangements.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in a multinational environment with ideally exposure to HR committee reporting and risk management.

Rewards & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career. Enjoy competitive salaries, employee rewards and a brilliant range of benefits you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choices. Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise. And combine our hybrid working culture and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.

About AtkinsRéalis

We're AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.

Additional information

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. The vetting process is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) and may require candidates to provide proof of residency in the UK of 5 years or longer.

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be. So, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee resource groups to support all employees. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we are committed to offering an interview to all applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria. If you would like to be considered under this commitment, please let us know at the application stage.

At AtkinsRéalis, we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world-class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.