Senior Pension Consultant

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 23,000 employees spanning over 56 countries. People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Our expert team works with clients of all sizes to provide employee benefits & wellbeing services, including health, protection, wellbeing, retirement, flexible benefits and international benefits. We’ve won many industry awards in recognition of our work with clients and pride ourselves in putting our clients’ needs at the centre of our working practices and helping them solve their ever-changing people challenges. We’re part of the Howden Group, a leading international insurance group with employee ownership at its heart and a culture of putting our People First, ensuring we are one of the best homes for talent in the industry.

Job purpose summary

At Howden, we want to hire, develop, engage and reward the best consultants in the industry. To that end, we believe that the consultant’s role is to act as their clients’ trusted partner, building the relationship at all levels, understanding their business, people and providing them with guidance, insight and ideas to help them deliver against their benefits and wellbeing challenges and objectives. The primary responsibility of the role is to act as a key relationship and development contact between prospects, key clients, and workplace savings providers to ensure compliant, efficiently run workplace pension schemes and well-informed membership. Through a clearly communicated proposition, secure new fee income clients and provide appropriate solutions to existing clients.

This role requires the right individual to be able to build client relationships at the highest levels within HR, ensure delivery of our services, prove the value of our partnership to them and expand our role and revenue with them. In addition to being a Pensions expert, the individual also needs to be commercially minded, protecting and retaining their business, whilst also seeking new opportunities across the benefits spectrum. Our consultants are supported by account managers within the Pensions Team, who focus on service and administration of client accounts, freeing consultants to meet with clients and focus on the quality of their consulting and advice and growth of their accounts.

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Your role is to consult with clients on their Pension needs and member engagement requirements. Client responsibilities will include:

• Maintain a personal portfolio of clients for whom you deliver consulting and broking services. For this role, the portfolio value will be approximately £300K to £320K per annum;
• Develop strong relationships with those clients, to ensure their satisfaction and continued business;
• Consult with those clients, on their business, people and benefits challenges and opportunities, developing a deep understanding of their business and needs;
• Ensuring that all services agreed in the scope of services are delivered within agreed timeframes;
• Create and identify opportunities to grow our role with those clients and generate more revenue. This includes opportunities outside of pensions, including flex, healthcare, wellbeing, international and general insurance, working with other members of the HEBW team;
• Work with the wider HEBW team to ensure all other services are effectively delivered to those clients.

Other responsibilities:

• Maintain an expert knowledge of the Pensions market and products, to be able to provide the highest levels of guidance and insights;
• Support the new business team from time-to-time with pitches and proposals, in your capacity as a Pensions expert, to support the winning of new clients into HEBW;
• Develop strong working relationships with the HEBW protection, flex, healthcare, wellbeing and international teams, to ensure client opportunities are being uncovered, developed and closed;
• Work with the wider business to develop and strengthen our health and wellbeing proposition, such that they look to us as a leading employee benefits consultancy, able to service their needs;
• Work with the pension providers to ensure their delivery to our client base.

Due to the changing nature of the business, the jobholder may from time to time be required to undertake other activities of a similar nature that fall within their capabilities.

Skills, abilities & personal qualities

• Interpersonal skills – the ability to create trust and confidence with clients and the wider HEBW business;
• Communication skills – the ability to negotiate, influence and demonstrate empathy as required;
• Creativity – consult with clients and construct effective solutions reflecting their needs;
• Commerciality – work in a way that creates financial opportunities for the business and protects revenue;
• Professionalism – able to consistently deliver to the highest standards and expectations of our clients;
• Self-development – continue to learn and grow, as required by the different responsibilities of the role;
• Organisation & Time management - highly effective at managing a busy schedule of work;
• Analytical Skills - highly effective at questioning clients and analysing data and info to determine actions;
• IT Skills – strong application skills, especially the Microsoft Office suite of products;
• Qualifications – Diploma in Financial Planning or working towards.

At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new;
• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges;
• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond.

Reasonable adjustments

We’re committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours or hybrid working. If you’re excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.