Operational Readiness Manager

• The role requires the ability to effectively collaborate and influence third-party administrators and senior PIC operational managers to effectively deliver new client projects onto the PIC book of business and into PIC’s agreed operating model. It also requires buy-in from the same people to implement improvements to systems, processes, and technology, as appropriate.
• To apply knowledge, experience and oversight on the implementation of new schemes and how this impacts our policyholders, to deliver effective onboarding to our TPA’s and assure good customer outcomes through controlled operational readiness, clear handover and effective go-live support.
• Support new business deal pitches with strong implementation knowledge and experience of scheme onboarding, and operational readiness requirements.
• To deliver strong business outcomes relating to capital, profitability, the Company brand and market reputation whilst achieving positive outcomes to our policyholders on a consistent basis.
• To provide oversight and challenge across operational readiness activity, ensuring key risks, dependencies, readiness gaps, mitigations and Day 1/Day 2 actions are understood, owned and governed.
• Our Company values are expected to be reflected in the delivery and performance of every role.

Specific accountabilities assigned to the role of Operational Readiness Manager within Customer Operations:

• Represent PIC on decisions relating to the delivery of client projects to the requisite standard and in line with PIC’s operating model and operational readiness requirements.
• Support the Head of Pension Operations in providing a high level of service to clients and policyholders at all times.
• Manage with PIC transition manager and outsourced administration teams to deliver successful onboarding for PIC and Scheme Trustees, including clear ownership of readiness items, risks, mitigations and operational handover activity.
• Lead the operational readiness workstream ensuring effective oversight and governance of decisions, and challenge as required. Managing implementation delivery against the target operating models and escalating issues as required where go-live readiness, customer outcomes, service delivery or BAU transition may be impacted.
• Providing comprehensive MI and reporting on TPA implementation quality, operational readiness status, key risks, Day 1 / Day 2 activity, service readiness and post-go-live actions, evidencing value add of implementation team.
• Identify and implement internal process and service efficiencies to improve consistency, scalability and control across PIC’s administration model.

• Develop more junior members of the PIC team to help them expand their role and increased responsibility.

• Manage the various project work streams to on-boarding new schemes into the PIC operating model ensuring all scheme benefits are fully understood and specified, and that incoming data is fit for purpose for both administration and actuarial valuation, and ensuring the parallel payroll and pension increase runs have been fully tested and signed off or subject to clear agreed mitigations where any activity remains outstanding at go-live.
• Manage the team to deliver detailed analysis to ensure data is fit for purpose and satisfies all PIC requirements including data reconciliation and data verification work, and shadowing payroll and pension increase testing.
• Responsible for ensuring operational readiness requirements are communicated and implemented with Outsourced Admin Team and Customer Experience Team to ensure successful onboarding for PIC and Scheme Trustees, including calculation automation, website release, communications, and ensuring all process and documentation requirements are ready for go live including handover documents, scheme overview, WIP, training, contact model, reporting and post-go-live support arrangements.
• Collaborate with PIC internal actuaries to make sure valuation data requirements are fully understood and documented, including resolving data issues as required to achieve this.
• Lead calls/meetings with outsourced administrator to achieve desired time frames and outcomes, including readiness checkpoints,…