INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Pensions Officer

Salary: C3 £32,061 - £33,699

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Leeds City Council, Civic Hall, Leeds – Hybrid working available

Join the Business Support Centre – Pension Services

Are you an enthusiastic individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment? We are looking for someone just like you to join the Council’s Pension Team. An exciting opportunity has arisen for the right candidate with all-round pensions and payroll experience. The role will involve working in the Pension team which is responsible for ensuring the Council meets its obligations in the efficient and accurate administration of the Local Government, Teachers, NHS, and NEST Pension Schemes.  The Team is also responsible for the Council’s salary sacrifice schemes

This is a challenging time for the Pension Services team with the implementation of the Councils new payroll and finance systems and the Council’s voluntary leavers scheme.  Therefore, your enthusiasm and commitment are essential to the success of the Team.  You will be working in a busy environment and must be motivated and able to work under pressure, in a confident, confidential and accurate manner.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About the Role:

• The BSC is part of the Shared Services function within Leeds City Council. The BSC provides employment, finance and other administration support activities to a wide range of teams and services across the council and over 240 schools, academies, colleges, universities and other external partners. The BSC also includes the council’s corporate mail, print and records management facility. 
• The work on the Pension Team is fast paced and answers over 200 phone calls and around 800 emails a month on pension/service/salary sacrifice related matters from across the Council, schools, academies, partner organisations and ex-employees. 
• The Team is also responsible for processing applications for the Council’s salary sacrifice schemes – around 550 a month.
• The Team provides financial information to the relevant pension schemes for estimates and retirements, around 200 per month. 
• The Team is also responsible for creating and submitting the statutory pension returns for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund, NHS, Teachers Pension Scheme.

Key Responsibilities:

• As Pensions Officer you will be responsible for the administration of the Local Government, Teachers, NHS and NEST Pension Schemes delivering an efficient and accurate service to both employees and the pension scheme administrators. You will be integral to the team as you will work closely and effectively with all levels of the business to ensure we provide a high quality service to our customers. 

• Providing help and guidance as required to team members, senior managers, elected members, current and former employees and other third parties; including reference to Financial Regulations and procedures.
• Participating in external and internal meetings as required and carry out actions as directed.
• Work in partnership as appropriate with staff within and outside the Council, which will include dealing with queries from external bodies.
• Prepare and deliver staff training for team members and other colleagues where needed.

What We Offer:

• Challenging and varied work with opportunities for personal development.
• Training and support in providing great customer service with a focus on pension scheme legislation.
• A great team ethos and a supportive work environment.

Requirements:

• Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate. 

• Be motivated and able to work under pressure, in a confident, confidential, professional and accurate manner.

• Able to use computer packages, to store, retrieve and analyse data and produce relevant management information for communication with both internal and external customers.
• Able to prioritise work to ensure that deadlines are met.
• Able to comprehend and apply work instructions.
• Working with high levels of accuracy with a good attention to detail.
• Able to manage staff appropriately within the policies and procedures agreed by the Council e.g. managing attendance, appraisal schemes identifying and progressing training and development interventions
• To communicate clearly and effectively, to liaise with other sections, departments and suppliers.

How to apply

Complete the online application form.

Read our guidancefor further advice on completing your application.

Contact Information: For further information about the vacancy, please contact Carol Parker (0113 3786517) or Sarah Morris (0113 3782205).

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people. 

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose:

As Pensions Officer you will be responsible for the administration of the Local Government, Teachers, NHS and NEST Pension Schemes delivering an efficient and accurate service to both employees and the pension scheme administrators. You will be integral to the team as you will work closely and effectively with all levels of the business to ensure we provide a high quality service to our customers. 

This is a challenging time for the Pension Services team with the implementation of the Councils new payroll and finance systems and the Council’s voluntary leavers scheme.  Therefore, your enthusiasm and commitment is essential to the success of the Team.  You will be working in a busy environment and must be motivated and able to work under pressure, in a confident, confidential and accurate manner.

Key elements of the role include:

• Deputise in the absence of senior staff on tasks appropriate to the grade.
• Maintenance of pension records for members of the Local Government, Teachers’, NHS, and NEST Pension Schemes using on-line secure access to these Organisations software.
• Provide pension estimates in accordance with pension scheme legislation.
• Notify the respective pension scheme of retirements and ensure correct pension benefits are paid.
• Communicate both written and verbal with employees, former employee’s, Pension Funds, other Local Authorities and Insurance Companies on any aspect of pension scheme administration.
• Face to face meetings with employees and/or their representatives to discuss pension options sometimes in sensitive situations.
• Dealing with requests from former employees for early release of pension benefits on health grounds and Tier 3 ill health retirement reviews.
• Submit monthly data to the respective pension scheme after liaising with other payroll areas to ensure the data balances to the pension contributions deducted.
• Reconciliation of early retirement costs to invoices and ensuring payment to the respective Pension Fund within the agreed payment terms.
• Ensuring that the Authority complies with the Automatic Enrolment legislation and responsible for updating payroll records in accordance with the statutory requirements.
• Keeping up to date with the relevant pension scheme legislation and attending regional meetings/seminars as appropriate.

Key responsibilities for a C3:

• Experience of supervising and developing staff to ensure work is prioritised and carried out effectively and efficiently to ensure deadlines are met to high standards.
• Experience of managing your own workload and meeting targets whilst maintaining quality as part of a team.
• Present a variety of information in a clear and concise way both through written reports and verbally with high attention to detail.
• Knowledge and experience of adhering to legislative business, financial, audit and operational requirements of the service, and the impact on its day-to-day work.
• Experience of dealing with sensitive and confidential information.
• A commitment to the continuous improvement of quality standards, business procedures and processes through continuous review and development.
• Provide suggestions to management for the improvements of processes and services.
• Attend service relevant meetings and take minutes when required.
• Resolve customer queries, including those of a complex nature.
• Knowledge and experience of adhering to procedures and legislation relating to confidential information and financial regulations.
• Work flexibly and move within service areas – working at different locations depending on service demand
• Willing to abide by the Council’s Equal Opportunities and Health and Safety Policies.
• Willing to actively participate in training and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge, skills and continuous professional development.

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive, and the service may require the job holder to undertake duties commensurate with the level of the role. The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities:  Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements.

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview or Certificate.

• Experience of communicating clearly and effectively with a wide range of people and being able to develop strong working relationships.
• Work with, and within, multiple teams of staff and contribute to its development with suggestions for new ways of working.
• A commitment to personal development and to keep informed of legislative and policy changes.
• Experience of working on your own and using your initiative to adhere to timescales and deadlines.
• Experience of providing excellent customer services and dealing with queries from a range of people.
• Experience of the applications, systems and IT programmes utilised by the service and being able to accurately record and retrieve information.

#INT  #LI-DNI

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