Job Description
Job title: Pensions Administrator
Location: London
Salary: £40,428
Flexible working: due to the sensitive nature of the work, this is an office-based role with
little to no opportunities for home working. We recognise the importance of a good work-
life balance and offer part-time and compressed hours, with flexibility around start and
finish times.
About us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to
harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing
and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ
to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and
guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves
safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and
encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.
The role
As a Pensions Administrator, you’ll be part of the team overseeing pensions for colleagues
across MI5 and MI6. You’ll answer enquiries, provide guidance and work with current and
past MI5 and MI6 staff to keep them updated on pension matters. And you’ll do it all as part
of a welcoming, supportive workplace that’s committed to helping you fulfil your potential.
You’ll bring an existing knowledge of HR, pensions or payroll to the team and take
responsibility for a variety of tasks. You might be completing all processes related to
pensions including calculations, updating records and filing personal information
compliantly. With your attention to detail, you’ll be trusted with sensitive information and
work efficiently whilst adhering to legal obligations.
You’ll establish your place in a growing department and regularly collaborate with teams
across Policy, Payroll and HR. And you’ll get the chance to take on individual project work to
help with your own development. Please note that whilst there are no line management
responsibilities in this role, you will act as a mentor to junior staff. Whether you’re providing
advice and guidance or meeting deadlines, you’ll provide a reliable service across MI5 and
MI6 that ensures pensions are secure and properly managed.
About you
You’ll have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role or pension-specific sector
(such as HR or payroll). This will be supported by a minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4/C or
above in mathematics and English language (or an equivalent Level 2 qualification), and
proficiency with IT. And of course, you’ll be comfortable working with numbers and have
confident maths and calculation skills.
Organised and able to balance multiple tasks at once, you’ll also be customer-focused,
collaborative and an effective communicator. You’ll be taking queries by phone or email and
will be required to answer colleague questions with clarity. Plus, you’ll have experience
handling complaints and difficult conversations. Importantly, you’ll have a passion for
pensions and be excited about the chance to contribute to MI5 and MI6’s work.
Training and development
When you join, you’ll be assigned a dedicated buddy to help you settle in and get on-the-job
training from our pension specialists. Plus, you’ll have access to internal training courses
available from any of the UK’s Intelligence Services, as well as access to internal
communities, support networks, and mentors.
And if you’re interested, you’ll also get the option to gain a CIPD or similar pension
accreditation (subject to places). We’ll provide you with study leave and funding to do it,
along with plenty of internal support to help your learning.
You’ll be expected to stay within Pensions for your first 4 years, after which time, you’ll be
able to apply for roles across the organisation.
Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £40,428, plus other benefits including:
25 days’ annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an
additional 10.5 days’ public and privilege holidays
opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
a dedicated development budget
an interest-free season ticket loan
an excellent pension scheme
a cycle to work scheme
facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
paid parental and adoption leave
Equal opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly
diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of
the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual
orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We
therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups
that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority
background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/diversity
We’re Disability Confident
MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions'
Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently
about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled
people. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate
number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this
position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (This is known as the
Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of
application process) are:
1. a minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4/C in mathematics and English language (or an
equivalent O-Level, BTEC or Level 2 qualification)
2. you must be able to demonstrate that you can work collaboratively
3. you will be required to meet the minimum pass mark for the questions which
explore your motivation to work for the organisation and this particular role
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to
enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we
can offer.
What to expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of
each stage, in order:
1. application sift, looking at your motivation and skills for the role and the
organisation. There will also be a competency question
2. an interview, examining your responses to different situations typical to the role
3. if successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment and then proceed to
the vetting stage
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next.
Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise
you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before you apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can
read our full eligibility criteria on our website.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s
something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more
about the vetting process on our website.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take
any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant
stage.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your
contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate.
Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or
surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your
application with us more securely.
The role is based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please
consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. An
interest-free loan is available to assist with relocating into privately rented accommodation
to take up the offer of employment.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based
overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from
outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not
discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role
from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received.
Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid
disappointment.