TITLE: Senior Pensions Transformation Manager
LOCATION(S): Bristol / Edinburgh / Halifax / Leeds
HOURS: SECONDMENT UNTIL END OF 2026
WORKING PATTERN: Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of your time, at one of our office sites.
Are you passionate about shaping the future of pensions operations and delivering strategic change at scale? Do you have an inquisitive mindset? Are you prepared to challenge the status quo?
Reporting to the Head of Pensions Operations, the role is accountable for driving material, end‑to‑end change across our systems, processes, governance and suppliers, ensuring improvements are prioritised, controlled and embedded into BAU. This includes simplifying and automating where appropriate, strengthening operational resilience, and delivering measurable efficiency and improved member outcomes.
This role is ideal for a highly motivated leader who thrives in complex environments, enjoys shaping outcomes, and is ready to play a pivotal role in the continued evolution of our change initiatives, and continuous improvement of pension administration processes. Working closely with the Head of Pensions Operations and our suppliers, you'll help develop the future of Member Services in a dynamic and evolving pensions landscape.
Day to day, you will be responsible for the following:
Strategic transformation & operating model
Deliver the transformation roadmap for pensions operations, ensuring all change initiatives (systems, data, processes, governance, digital engagement) align with long term business and trustee strategy.
Assess the current operating model and design enhanced future state models covering people, process, systems, controls, and service delivery. Lead the planning and implementation of operating model reforms.
Identify and prioritise opportunities for simplification, automation, and digitisation utilising AI tools and streamlined calculation methodologies.
Bring an external, market leading perspective, using industry insight, benchmarking and innovation to continuously challenge the status quo.
Leadership of change delivery
Provide strategic leadership over pensions change activity, supported by colleagues responsible for project delivery.
Ensure operational change is prioritised effectively, risks are understood and managed, and benefits are realised.
Drive readiness planning, adoption and embedding of change across Member Services and suppliers.
Supplier & stakeholder influence
Manage relationships with Trustees, internal stakeholders and third-party pension administrators, presenting clear, evidence-based recommendations, constructively challenging and influencing outcomes.
Ensure suppliers introduce and adopt modern, technology enabled administration solutions that improve efficiency, resilience and member experience.
Governance, risk & capability
Own the transformation agenda within the appropriate risk and control framework, ensuring regulatory and legislative requirements are met.
Develop team capability, creating a sustainable pipeline of delivery and change talent.
Seek continuous improvement, efficiency and control across pensions operations.
What you'll need:
Experience & capability
Proven experience leading large scale operational, digital or transformation programmes within pensions, financial services or a closely related regulated environment.
Demonstrable evidence of shaping operating models, not just delivering projects.
Strong experience influencing and challenging suppliers, Trustees and senior stakeholders.
External market awareness, including pensions administration technology, innovation and digital member engagement.
Experience operating at senior levels, including exposure to Trustee Boards, ExCo level or equivalent governance forums.
Leadership & influence
Strong leadership capability, with experience building and leading high performing teams through change.
Excellent negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to operate strategically while remaining close enough to delivery to ensure successful outcomes.
Technical knowledge
Professionally qualified in pensions (or equivalent), with deep knowledge of UK pensions legislation and regulatory requirements.
Expert understanding of occupational DB and DC trust based pension scheme operations and governance, with the ability to design and implement robust, compliant processes.
About working for us
We're building a sustainable business and a workplace where people love to work. We need colleagues who are excited to push boundaries and make change happen. Together, we can grow with purpose.
Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture.
We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it's why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups. We're disability confident, so if you'd like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.
We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:
A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance
Share schemes including free shares
Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top
A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies
If you're excited by the thought of becoming part of our team, get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.