Administration Manager

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Location: Reading

Grade: Senior Consultant

Employment Type: Permanent, Full Time Hybrid

About XPS Group

XPS Pensions Group is no ordinary company. We’ve earned numerous awards and accolades, making us an industry leader in Pensions Consultancy. As the largest pure pensions consultancy in the UK, we are a team of approximately 2000 employees spread across 15 locations nationwide. Listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market, we pride ourselves on our ability to think and act differently, offering expert advice to over 1600 pension schemes and administering pensions for over 1,000,000 members.

About the Team

Our teams of pension administrators provide services to a wide range of trust-based company pension schemes, including defined benefit, defined contribution, career average revalued earnings, and hybrid schemes. Our range of pensions administration services include: scheme administration, communication, scam identification, payroll services, pension scheme accounting, de-risking projects, technical consultancy. Our administrative approach is scheme-based; one team is responsible for every aspect of each client's service, enabling us to build the best possible relationships and provide the clarity of focus each scheme deserves. Ultimately, pension schemes are there for their members; we place just as much emphasis on delivering excellent customer service as we do on technical proficiency and quality control.

Key Responsibilities

• You will be involved in a wide range of pensions administration, management and consultancy tasks.
• As administration manager you will have prime accountability for the service delivery in terms of quality, profit and sustainability for an assigned XPS Administration client portfolio as well as the day-to-day line management of the designated team.
• Assisting or where appropriate leading the provision of pensions administration services for the assigned XPS Administration client portfolio.
• Overseeing day-to-day management of client relationships with trustees and corporate clients, and participation in trustee and client meetings where applicable.
• Taking a proactive stance to gain an extensive knowledge of assigned client portfolio to ensure client confidence, credibility and trust.
• Reacting to clients' needs in a positive manner but maintaining the commercial interests of the business.
• Active participation in XPS Administration's marketing initiatives, new business activities, attending new business pitches and company events.
• Seeking opportunities to generate additional income from existing client portfolio.
• Providing expert advice solutions to pensions queries and pensions consultative advice; keeping abreast of technical and legislative developments within the pensions industry.
• Overseeing the project management of annual and ad-hoc projects such as renewals, benefit statements, pension increases, scheme returns, and trustees' reports and accounts.
• Ensuring projects are fully monitored and completed in line with customer and legislation requirements.
• Involvement in the scrutinising of client work of other less experienced pensions administration team members.
• Signing out of ad-hoc and standard letters in response to customer queries.
• Taking responsibility for all aspects of admin billing, in conjunction with Operations Manager and/or Client Manager.
• Ensuring all recorded admin time is billed or accrued by the monthly deadline, all chargeable work is correctly recorded on the time recording system and billed as soon as possible, and all bills are issued and payment received on time.
• Disseminating information to team members on service delivery objectives and targets for assigned client portfolio.
• Presenting of technical matters at team meetings.
• Leading non-client activities, conducting internal audits, being alert to potential improvements in pensions administration processes, quality improvement and implementing changes.
• Ensuring Governance tracking measures (for example central spreadsheets, error logs etc) are updated promptly.
• Assuming responsibility for total workflow management for the designated team, including workload allocation, prioritisation and ensuring delivery in line with client expectations, legal timescales and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Holding regular workflow meetings with senior team members to manage progress and resolve any issues.
• Identifying team objectives or other necessary changes in line with business needs and actively implementing appropriate course of action.
• Positively contributing to regular management meetings, implementing any recommendations or decisions made in terms of working practices, resourcing, efficiencies and dissemination of communications to more junior staff.
• Formal staff management responsibilities including areas such as; conducting appraisals, setting individual and team objectives, handling HR, performance management issues and recruitment related activities as and where required.
• Formal responsibilities for mentoring, training, coaching and developing of pensions administration team members.
• Ensuring adherence to company policies and working procedures.
• Forging strong working relationships with other departments/teams both internal and external to the Company in order to provide a total service to our clients.
• Ensuring the accurate updating on the time recording system for both chargeable and non-chargeable activities, enabling team and self to meet required utilisation and recovery targets, and providing encouragement to team to meet targets and objectives.
• Reporting to senior management by exception.

Your Profile

• Able to demonstrate an expert knowledge of pensions administration activities and apply this knowledge to any scheme.
• Previous pensions administration experience of Defined Benefit schemes including leavers, retirements, deaths, transfers, monthly processing and investment, benefit statements, scheme renewal and pension increases.
• This role is likely to appeal to individuals with significant experience although not exclusive as all applications will be considered on an individual basis.
• Thorough knowledge of pensions legislation framework and demonstrable ability to remain informed of changes to the framework.
• Previous supervisory, leadership and management experience including performance monitoring, appraisals, recruitment etc.
• Third party pensions administration experience preferred, although strong all-round experience within an in-house pensions department, which is not purely process driven will be considered.
• Previous presentational experience is desirable to assist with client pitches, trustee meetings and account development activities.
• Able to demonstrate a numerical aptitude evidenced by work related experience or academic achievements.
• Previous project management experience would be required to perform pension administration project-based work.
• IT proficient, in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook.