Pensions Technical Specialist

Job Title: Pensions Technical Specialist

Location: Manchester OR Leeds

Salary: £50,000-£55,000

Workplace Type: Hybrid (3 days a week in the office)

Employment Type: Full-Time

WHO WE ARE:  

interactive investor is an award-winning investment platform that puts its customers in control of their financial future. 

We’ve been helping investors for over 25 years through market highs and lows offering high quality content and impartial insights.  We’re now the UK’s number one flat-fee investment platform, with assets under administration over £50 billion and over 400,000 customers. 

For a simple, flat monthly fee we provide a secure home for your pensions, ISAs and investments. We offer a wide choice of over 40,000 UK and international investment options, including shares, funds, trusts and ETFs.  

We also bring impartial, expert content from our award-winning financial journalists, highly engaged community of investors, and daily newsletters and insights. 

WHAT WE STAND FOR:  

It’s simple … we want our customers to feel confident and in control, for interactive investor to go from strength to strength, and for ii to be a workplace where we can all thrive. Our customer-driven approach and bold values sit at the heart of this. We are honest, straight-talking and transparent with our customers and our colleagues. We are decisive and take ownership of what we say and deliver. We are ambitious and passionate about what we believe is right for our customers, our teams, ourselves and interactive investor.  

PURPOSE OF ROLE: 

Our Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) proposition is a key strategic priority for Interactive Investor (ii) and as a result we are recruiting a Pension/SIPP Technical Specialist in order to support our ambitions.  

Reporting to the Pensions Technical Team Manager, this role will focus on ensuring that the ii operation and proposition is kept up to date with changes in regulation and responsible for many of our interactions with the FCA and HMRC. 

This role is responsible for the interpretation and application of pension rules and regulations on the ii SIPP offering. You will communicate key business messages across the company, whilst ensuring all procedures, controls, working practices and business knowledge are reviewed accordingly.   

The Pension Technical Specialist will be the first point of contact, and ensure we remain compliant with HMRC guidelines. 

KEY RESPONSIBLITIES: 

• Company-wide subject matter expert on pensions (including drawdown and transfers) 

• Oversight of operational processes from a technical perspective. 

• Responsible for analysis and impact assessment relating to all pension changes in regulations/legislation 

• Key escalation point for technical pension queries 

• Liaising with HMRC  

• Working with the Pensions Product team to shape the ii offering and ensuring a competitive edge  

• Building and maintaining strong and mutually respectful working relationships through excellent communication 

• Maintain a solid understanding of industry best practises and innovations, to be able to translate these into improvements within the operational teams. 

• Supporting the Pensions and Transfers Operation Manager in introducing changes to both procedures and working practices to help to deliver robust governance solutions. 

• Build and maintain up to date knowledge of Pension regulations and ensure that this is filtered across the team.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: 

• Proven experience in the pensions industry, particularly SIPP, from a technical background  

• Good communication skills are key – the ability to explain complex pension topics at all levels 

• A good knowledge of benefit calculations including transitional calculations 

• Experience in process improvement would be beneficial 

• Experience in pension transfers would be beneficial 

• Knowledge of HMRC processes, reporting and income tax  

• Knowledge of the Financial Services environment and regulatory landscape 

• Solid experience of working in a customer centric culture 

• Understanding of working in a platform-based environment 

• A willingness to contribute towards shared technical know-how within the department 

• Formal qualifications with the CII or PMI desirable but not essential 

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: 

• Clear communicator 

• Strong team player 

• Demonstrated passion and drive for delivering the best outcome 

• Moving with speed – delivering faster and better 

• Decisive and take ownership of outcomes 

• Not afraid to challenge and be open to challenges 

• Private Health Insurance
• Pension Plan
• Paid Time Off
• Work From Home
• Training & Development
• Performance Bonus