Team Leader - Pensions Administration in Belfast

About Us

Spence and Partners (part of 3173 Group) is a UK firm of pensions experts, focusing on consultancy, actuarial, administration, and the development of specialist IT solutions. Spence specialises in advising on and managing defined contribution and final salary pension schemes in the United Kingdom and Ireland and acts as a provider of administration to employers, trustees, pension plan members, and professional advisers. We are a leading provider of pensions data audit and pensions benefit audit services for pension scheme trustees and have significant expertise in remedial pension scheme data work often in the run-up to Buy‑Out or during a Pension Protection Fund Assessment Period.

We are looking for a highly experienced pensions administration professional to lead a team servicing a portfolio of clients in our Pensions Administration business. This is a role where your technical expertise, leadership skills, people-management skills, and commercial awareness come together. At Spence, we’re continuing to grow, and you’ll play an important part in that journey. You’ll be joining a collaborative and supportive team where your knowledge is valued, your impact is recognised, and your contribution helps shape the future of our pensions services.

About You

Are you ready to take the lead on some of the most complex and rewarding challenges in pensions administration? As a Team Leader in Pensions Administration, you will have an exciting opportunity to lead our team providing Pensions Administration for a portfolio of clients including schemes of up to around 10,000 members. You will be ultimately responsible for a team of 10-20 administrators and for the service delivery to your portfolio of schemes, ensuring the schemes are managed with precision, compliance, and outstanding client service.

You will have extensive experience (at least 10 years) in Defined Benefit (DB) pensions administration, with proven expertise in complex and technical cases. DC administration experience is advantageous but not essential. You will have in-depth knowledge of UK pensions legislation, regulation, and codes of practice. You have successful experience of managing key operations individuals in a Pensions Administration business, managing change, goal setting for the key leaders in the business, and in leading performance management across the business.

You have a strong desire to help our Company profitably grow and flourish and to take a leading role in how services are delivered, supporting new business activity and how our proposition will evolve and adapt to market and technological trends. You have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You have the relevant gravitas and leadership skills to act as a role model and mentor to guide and support both junior and senior colleagues. You will have excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple schemes. You exhibit the highest standard of professionalism and ethical behaviour, and are pragmatic and adaptable.

You are capable of negotiating and influencing decision making at a strategic/complex level by putting forward a persuasive, reasoned argument for why a particular course of action should be taken or avoided. You have strong inter-personal skills and are capable of building strong relationships and proactively engaging with members of the Leadership Team, key individuals within the firm, and the pensions industry. You are pro-active and have the ability to work on your own initiative and are a collaborative team player who will work well with the wider team. You will have extensive experience in managing and supporting internal and external audits of your team’s adherence to process and procedures (e.g. AAF 01/20, ISAE3402, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 22301).

Responsibilities & Criteria

• Accountability for the service delivery by your team to your portfolio of clients.
• Active contribution to the overall leadership of the Pensions Administration business as a member of the Spence Pensions Delivery Operations Board.
• Accountability for improving gross margin responsibility across your portfolio of clients, including input to pricing and efficient structure of service delivery teams.
• Line management responsibility for relevant key members of your team.
• Positively contribute to Spence Pensions Delivery Operations Board meetings.
• Board level accountability for recruitment and retention of staff within your team.
• Work constructively and collaboratively with other colleagues for the best interests of the business and wider group as required.
• Accountability for adherence to existing processes and procedures across your team.
• Developing enhanced processes and procedures in relation to service delivery.
• Developing our processes and procedures for capturing and acting on client and member feedback.
• Onboarding new schemes into your team’s portfolio, including testing and sign-off of calculation procedures.
• Actively contributing to new business efforts (tender preparation/prospect meetings/site visits).

Circumstances

Location: UK (Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester preferable)

Applying with a disability or long-term health condition? As part of our belief that we benefit from the differences among us, we are committed to increasing the representation of disabled colleagues and want to remove any barriers or challenges that get in the way of candidates with a disability or long-term health condition from applying to work with us. As part of this commitment, we guarantee to automatically interview anyone with a disability who meets the minimum criteria. If there is support or an adjustment that we can provide to enable you to be at your best during the recruitment and selection process, we encourage you to advise us in good time so that we may make suitable arrangements. We understand that being open with us may feel uncomfortable, so please only share with us the information that you are comfortable sharing, and rest assured that we will use this only to provide you with the right support. Any information you give us will be treated completely confidentially.

To discuss this further please call 028 9041 2000 and ask to speak to a member of the People & Culture Team.

Due to the changing nature of our business, the role profile will inevitably change. We therefore recognise that from time to time, you will be required to undertake other activities of a similar nature that fall within your capabilities, as directed by the board.