Pensions Advisory Assistant Manager
KPMG
- Manchester
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Strategic journey planning, risk management aiming for self-sufficiency or buy out and endgame options including 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
- Acting as key contact with clients and delivering engagements within agreed timelines
- Collating relevant pensions data and information from clients and raising queries and reviewing responses.
- Running checks to assess 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 whilst 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 the junior actuarial colleagues, including delivering technical training, improving technical knowledge, and developing 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, in line with KPMG quality procedures.
- 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, and leverages 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 and in line with the actuarial standards.
- Embrace and embed our culture ambition of high challenge, high support which is 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 in the team 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 within Audit and across the firm in an integrated way. Have a sense of community, purpose and fun.
- Experience of working in pensions actuarial at either an employee benefit consultancy or other Big 4 firm. (E)
- Basic knowledge of defined benefit pension scheme valuations, roll forward methodologies and actuarial techniques. (E)
- Good technical understanding of pensions liability calculations. (E)
- Understanding of the wider UK pensions landscape (E)
- Knowledge of pensions funding and accounting regime (E)
- Experience of leading and performance managing teams, coaching and mentoring junior staff. (E)
- Experience of working on high quality, complex projects, including team oversight and stakeholder management. (E)
- Experience of delivering benefit change, member options and end game journey planning. (E)
- Experience of advising Trustees/corporates on scheme funding and knowledge of the regime governed by the Pensions Regulator, including the DB scheme funding code and Single code of Practice. (E)
- Experience of coaching and mentoring junior staff. (D)
- IT literate with sound knowledge and experience of MS Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint and Word). (E)
- 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 details 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).
- Part qualified actuary having passed at least 5 of the FIA exams (or equivalent). (D)