IT Systems Specialist (Pensions-UPM)
Remote/Hybrid working with two days in Preston, Lancashire
Fully home-working contracts will be available for candidates living 50+ miles from our offices in Preston.

A glance at the role:

We have an exciting opportunity for a Pensions IT Systems Specialist to join us on a permanent basis as we continue to implement improvements that support our organisation.

The role holder will work with colleagues in our Applications function, using their extensive knowledge and experience to lead on the development of the current Pension System Application to implement improvements to ensure that it meets the requirements of a successful third-party pension administrator.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join our fast-paced, collaborative and customer-focused business. You will join a friendly, welcoming, and sociable work culture where there are many opportunities for continuous personal and professional development, and you will be supported to reach your full potential.

A bit about us:

Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) is a multi-award-winning organisation and one of the UK’s leading pension administration companies. We strive to deliver the best experience for over 2,100 employers and more than 700,000 members of Local Government, Police and Firefighter pension schemes, keeping them fully informed about their pensions whilst working closely with employers to continuously educate and support them.

What we can offer you:

- Competitive salary, DOE.
- 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays and 2 additional concessionary days and a half day for your Birthday, with the ability to ‘buy and sell’ leave.
- Access to an excellent pension scheme (Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contributions.
- Access to a Health or Dental Plan.
- Access to our Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme for when you might need some support.
- The opportunity to earn through our Employee Referral Scheme.
- Access to our bespoke Reward Discount Scheme – ‘Your Perk Site.’
- Opportunities to attend Wellbeing webinars and social events.
- Daily free fruit and snacks available to you in our office.
- Free car parking in Preston city centre.

What you’ll be doing:

- Working with the Pension Administration teams, reviewing current business processes used within UPM and using extensive experience and knowledge to identify and implement improvements and efficiency savings.
- Champion the development of automation (IPA processes) and bulk processing (BDI) capabilities within workflows for LGPS, Fire and Police schemes, engendering identifiable efficiency savings.
- Develop innovative solutions to migrate manual processes onto the Pension Administration System (UPM).
- Use extensive knowledge to develop and mentor the Systems Team covering areas such as automation, SQL, BDIs and understanding complex calculation issues.
- Keep up to date with the latest UPM developments and best practices.
- System/Training Documentation Version Controlled.
- Liaise with other schemes using UPM to share knowledge and suggest improvements to Civica.
- Representation on working groups.
- Representation on UPM internal group.

What we need from you:

- Extensive experience in the support and development of workflows in a pension administration system, ideally UPM.
- The ability to evaluate issues and challenge effectively to create and deliver solutions that improve processes and attitudes within a team environment, including logical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- The ability to take the lead on complex changes, providing a range of solutions.
- To encourage best practice within the team, taking ownership of issues and suggesting improvements to workflows.
- To support team members with less experience, nurturing their development.
- Display excellent verbal and written communication skills, be able to use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice to support LPPA objectives.
- Attention to detail and innovative thinking skills.
- Self-motivated, decisive, with the ability to adapt to change and competing demands.
- Ability to represent the LPPA at external meetings and working groups.
- Confident and comfortable in implementing and driving change in a team within a dynamic work environment to deliver results.
- Proven ability to work effectively on your own initiative whilst promoting positive behaviour and attitudes.
- Demonstrable ability to plan workloads, ensuring deadlines are met.
- Always committed to providing great customer service.
- Resilient and people-centric at all times.

Working with and upholding our values:

- Working together.
- Committed to excellence.
- Doing the right thing.
- Forward thinking.

Experienced Police & Fire Pensions Administrators (Hybrid or Remote)

Remote/Hybrid Working with 2 days in Preston, Lancashire
Fully Home working contracts will be considered for candidates living 50+ miles from our offices in Preston.
Competitive salary £27 – 35K DOE 37 hours a week


A glance at the role:

We have the opportunity for Experienced Pensions Administrators to join us on a full time, permanent basis.
You will have a background and solid experience in Police & Fire pensions casework.
Other organisations may call this Senior Pensions Administrator/ Pensions Officer or Lead Pension Administrator.
You will join a friendly, welcoming and sociable work culture where there are many opportunities for continuous personal and professional development where you will be supported to reach your full potential.

A bit about us:

Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) is one of the UK’s leading pension administration companies. We strive to deliver the best experience for over 2,100 employers and more than 700,000 members of Local Government, Police and Firefighter pension schemes, keeping them fully informed about their pensions whilst working closely with employers to continuously educate and support them.

What we can offer you:

- Competitive salary £27k – 35k DOE
- 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays and 2 additional concessionary days and ½ day for your Birthday, with the ability to ‘buy and sell leave.
- Access to an excellent pension scheme (Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contributions.
- Access to Health or Dental Plan
- Access to our Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme for when you might need some support.
- The opportunity to earn through our Employee Referral Scheme.
- Access to our bespoke Reward Discount Scheme – ‘Your Perk Site.’
- Opportunities to attend Wellbeing webinars and social events.
- Daily free fruit and snacks available to you in our office.
- Free Car Parking in Preston City Centre


What you’ll be doing:

• To process and check a range of general pensions casework, which could include, but not restricted to, benefits estimates, transfers, retirements, commutation of benefits and the combining of benefits, ensuring that service level targets and deadlines are met in respect of these areas
• To respond to member correspondence relating to the work undertaken within the team, again ensuring that service level targets and deadlines are met in these areas
• To develop an understanding of current pensions regulation and overriding legislation, maintaining up-to-date knowledge
• Liaise with customers and third parties obtaining information in respect of the work undertaken on the team
• Comply with LPPA’s Data Protection and Information Security policies and any relevant GDPR legislation


What we need from you:

• Practical working experience in a Police & Fire Pensions administration role, ideally a minimum of 2-3 years.
• Proven ability to undertake detailed mathematical calculations accurately. Please note, the interview process may include numerical assessments.
• Demonstrable ability to work accurately and to deadlines
• Previous work with internal database systems is desirable, & experience with processes relevant to payroll and pension administration, UPM experience would be beneficial
• Good capability using the Microsoft Office packages (e.g. Word and Excel)
• Strong communication skills with the confidence to work independently when required whilst also being an effective team player

Qualifications

• 5 GCSEs or equivalent including Maths and English at Grade C or above
• A recognised pension administration qualification (or working towards) would be desirable



Working with and upholding our values:

• Working together
• Committed to excellence
• Doing the right thing
• Forward thinking