Pensions Advisory Assistant Manager (Actuarial)

Summary of role:

KPMG's Pensions is an exciting initiative to re-establish the pensions team, focusing on public service pensions advisory and growing revenue at pace. We are looking for a talented and experienced Assistant Manager to join our pensions actuarial team.

You will be responsible for delivering high-quality actuarial pensions advice in relation to defined benefit pension schemes in the private sector. This role involves working closely with senior team members and providing:

• Strategic journey planning, risk management aiming for self-sufficiency or buyout and endgame options including the use of surplus
• Strategic funding advice to sponsors and advice on compliance with DB funding code
• Pension due diligence on mergers and acquisitions
• Provision of member education and communication
• Advice on benefit change, benefit design, and implementation
• Advice on good governance and compliance
• Pensions accounting advice

You will maintain day-to-day relationships with clients and ensure delivery to agreed timescales. Additionally, you will supervise junior team members, providing coaching and developmental support to assist them in their engagements.

Description of role:

• Acting as key contact with clients and delivering engagements within agreed timelines
• Collating relevant pensions data and information from clients, raising queries, and reviewing responses
• Running checks to assess the reasonableness of actuarial assumptions and accounting results, using KPMG developed tools
• Drafting and initial reviewing of reporting, with sign-off at senior level
• Maintaining regular, open, and honest communication while working in the team
• Directing and overseeing the work of junior team members, including reviewing their work and providing coaching and mentoring support
• Helping to develop junior actuarial colleagues, including delivering technical training and improving consulting skills
• Strong financial management, timely billing, and debt collection
• Ability to identify out-of-scope work and bill accordingly
• Checking technical actuarial work in line with the actuarial standards and KPMG quality procedures

Role Dimensions:

Technical core competencies required for the role:

• Technical knowledge: Understands relevant technical actuarial, accounting, and financial reporting standards, pension regulations, and literature. Exhibits and stays current on appropriate industry and specialised knowledge, leveraging KPMG methodologies.
• Technology skills: Uses firm-approved tools and innovative technology solutions to increase quality, productivity, and data insights.
• Professional scepticism: Applies professional scepticism, objectivity, and independence to pensions actuarial and accounting work.
• Documentation: Completes documentation and audit trails demonstrating an unwavering focus on quality in line with the actuarial standards.

People & Culture:

• Embrace and embed our culture ambition of high challenge, high support grounded in Our Values.
• Operate with a curious and sceptical mindset ensuring that this is embedded in your everyday work.
• Actively lead and embed a coaching culture to get the best out of others in an environment where everyone feels empowered to speak up or challenge where appropriate.
• Be accountable, professional, and act in the public interest, working for the benefit of shareholders of audited entities and wider society.
• Be inclusive and embrace the opportunity to work with other teams across the firm in an integrated way. Have a sense of community, purpose, and fun.

The Person:

Experience and Knowledge Requirements:

• Experience of working in pensions actuarial at either an employee benefit consultancy or other Big 4 firm.
• Basic knowledge of defined benefit pension scheme valuations, roll forward methodologies, and actuarial techniques.
• Good technical understanding of pensions liability calculations.
• Understanding of the wider UK pensions landscape.
• Knowledge of pensions funding and accounting regime.
• Experience of leading and performance managing teams, coaching, and mentoring junior staff.
• Experience of working on high-quality, complex projects, including team oversight and stakeholder management.
• Experience of delivering benefit change, member options, and endgame journey planning.
• Experience of advising Trustees/corporates on scheme funding and knowledge of the regime governed by the Pensions Regulator.
• Experience of coaching and mentoring junior staff.
• IT literate with sound knowledge and experience of MS Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word).

Behavioural attributes and skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to communicate complex matters in a clear and compelling manner.
• Highly effective stakeholder management and relationship building skills; credible and confident with stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong organisational and time management skills; able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with conflicting priorities and deadlines.
• Self-driven and resilient; able to thrive in a high-pressure environment.
• Effective problem solver; makes pragmatic and logical decisions, drawing on own and others' technical expertise to provide high-quality solutions.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills; able to analyse and interpret complex technical statistical information, with a focus on quality, attention to detail, and accuracy in calculations.
• Effective team working skills; works collaboratively with others towards shared goals.
• IT literate with sound knowledge and experience of MS Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word).

Qualifications:

• Part qualified actuary having passed at least 5 of the FIA exams (or equivalent).

E - Essential, D - Desirable