Pensions Project Consultant - De-Risking; RST

About XPS Group

XPS Group is a prominent and growing UK consultancy and administration firm within the pensions and insurance sectors. As a FTSE 250 company with over 2000 employees, we leverage expertise alongside advanced technology to serve over 1,400 pension schemes and their sponsors. Our goal is to foster a workplace where diverse talents thrive.

Employment Type:

Permanent, Full Time

Grade:
Consultant

Remote:
Yes

Reference: REQ
003611

Remote working opportunities with occasional office visits to an XPS office for team building – location and frequency to be discussed at interview.

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.

• GMP Rectification & Equalisation
• Buy‑In/Buy‑Out related De‑Risking
• Data cleansing
• Ad hoc projects such as scheme closures, benefit rectifications and liability reduction exercises

• Performing the role of Scheme Lead, maintaining responsibility for all data‑related items in a De‑Risking (Buy‑In/Buy‑Out) project.
• Attending meetings with relevant stakeholders to discuss and plan tasks, taking a leading role to ensure effective and efficient guidance.
• Delivering tasks in line with agreed deadlines and communicating with all relevant stakeholders.
• Managing resources assigned to task completion, planning, developing and providing feedback to the resource within the team.
• Planning, reviewing and authorising tasks alongside assigned resources.

• Acting as the main point of contact for the De‑Risking team to ensure team interests are represented during project‑management meetings.
• Reviewing and querying Benefit Specifications provided for a De‑Risking project alongside scheme data.
• Extracting, interpreting, analysing and processing data from several sources (i.e. administration systems, calculated benefits, GMPE results, etc.).
• Undertaking bulk manual calculations such as CSP calculations, benefit rectification and benefit audits.
• Setting up and leading “Kick‑off” calls with all relevant parties to discuss the reason for the task, the process to be followed and any expected issues with potential resolutions.
• Monitoring the overall process of the De‑Risking project from a scope and budget perspective, ensuring stakeholders are contacted prior to any scope change or additional cost.
• Leading the planning process for tasks, reviewing work undertaken and authorising that the completed task is fit for purpose.
• Providing ad‑hoc/on‑the‑job training to assigned resources as required.
• Ensuring all projects/tasks are completed in an auditable manner, providing feedback to resources where best practice has not been followed.
• Providing regular updates to the team manager and relevant stakeholders during scheduled meetings and on an ad‑hoc basis.
• Occasional travel may be required; the job holder may from time to time be required to undertake other activities of a similar nature that fall within their capabilities.

• Client/Project Management experience from project conception to implementation.
• Thorough understanding of DB pensions with significant manual calculation experience.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills.
• Strong stakeholder‑management skills.
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills to all levels.
• Ability to multi‑task and respond to changing priorities.
• Able to take ownership and responsibility for own work.
• IT proficiency in MS Office with a strong ability in Excel.
• Ability to create and manage documentation.
• Able to work as part of a multi‑disciplined team.
• Flexible approach to work pressures.
• Good problem‑solving skills.
• A high degree of accuracy and attention to detail in documentation.
• Strong belief in adhering to deadlines and quality service.
• Effective interpersonal skills, ability to communicate and build long‑term working relationships at all levels, both internal and external to the organisation.
• Able to recognise the need for a customer‑focused approach to delivery both in terms of quality and exceeding customer expectations.
• Forming successful…