Technical Specialist - Pensions

Title: Technical Specialist - Pensions

Location: Hybrid, 3 days a week in Manchester or Leeds

Salary: From £50,000

WHO WE ARE:

interactive investor is an award-winning investment platform that puts its customers in control of their financial future.

We’ve been helping investors for over 30 years through market highs and lows offering high quality content and impartial insights. We’re now the UK’s number one flat-fee investment platform, with assets under administration at £85 billion and over 500,000 customers.

For a simple, flat monthly fee we provide a secure home for your pensions, ISAs and investments. We offer a wide choice of over 40,000 UK and international investment options, including shares, funds, trusts and ETFs.

We also bring impartial, expert content from our award-winning financial journalists, highly engaged community of investors, and daily newsletters and insights.

WHAT WE STAND FOR:

It’s simple … we want our customers to feel confident and in control, for interactive investor to go from strength to strength, and for ii to be a workplace where we can all thrive. Our customer-driven approach and bold values sit at the heart of this. We are honest, straight-talking and transparent with our customers and our colleagues. We are decisive and take ownership of what we say and deliver. We are ambitious and passionate about what we believe is right for our customers, our teams, ourselves and interactive investor.

PURPOSE OF ROLE:

Our Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) proposition is a key strategic priority for Interactive Investor (ii) and as a result we are recruiting a Technical Specialist - Pensions in order to support our ambitions.

Reporting to the Technical Team Manager - Pensions, this role will focus on ensuring that the ii operation and proposition is kept up to date with changes in regulation and responsible for many of our interactions with the FCA and HMRC.

This role is responsible for the interpretation and application of pension rules and regulations on the ii SIPP offering. You will communicate key business messages across the company, whilst ensuring all procedures, controls, working practices and business knowledge are reviewed accordingly.

You will also support the training and development of our Trainee Technical Specialists – Pensions, with opportunities to coach and mentor them to help shape their growth.

Requirements

KEY RESPONSIBLITIES:

• Company-wide subject matter expert on pensions (including drawdown and transfers)

• Oversight of operational processes from a technical perspective.

• Responsible for analysis and impact assessment relating to all pension changes in legislation and regulations

• Key escalation point for technical pension queries

• Point of contact liaising with HMRC when required

• Working with the Pensions Product team to shape the ii offering and ensuring a competitive edge

• Building and maintaining strong and mutually respectful working relationships through excellent communication

• Maintain a solid understanding of industry best practices and innovations, to be able to translate these into improvements within the operational teams

• Supporting the Pensions and Transfers Operation Managers in introducing changes to both procedures and working practices to help to deliver robust governance solutions

• Coaching and support of Trainee Technical Specialists - Pensions

• Build and maintain up to date knowledge of pension legislation and regulations and ensure that this is filtered across the team and wider business

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Proven experience in the pensions industry, particularly SIPP, from a technical background

• Good communication skills are key – the ability to explain complex pension topics at all levels

• A good knowledge of benefit calculations including transitional calculations

• Experience in process improvement would be beneficial

• Experience in pension transfers would be beneficial

• Experience in coaching or mentoring colleagues would be beneficial

• Knowledge of HMRC processes, reporting and income tax

• Knowledge of the Financial Services environment and regulatory landscape

• Solid experience of working in a customer centric culture

• Understanding of working in a platform-based environment

• A willingness to contribute towards shared technical know-how within the department

• Formal qualifications with the CII or PMI desirable but not essential

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Clear communicator

• Strong team player

• Demonstrated passion and drive for delivering the best outcome

• Moving with speed – delivering faster and better

• Decisive and take ownership of outcomes

• Not afraid to challenge and be open to challenges

Benefits

• Group Personal Pension Plan – 8% employer contribution and 4% employee contribution
• Life Assurance and Group Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance – Provided by Bupa
• 25 Days Annual Leave, plus bank holidays
• Staff Discounts on our investment products
• Personal & Well-being Fund – Supporting your physical and mental wellness
• Retail Discounts – Savings at a wide range of high street and online retailers
• Voluntary Flexible Benefits – Tailor your benefits to suit your lifestyle

Please Note: We will do our utmost efforts to respond to all applicants. However, due to the high volume of applications we're currently receiving, if you haven't been contacted within 30 days of application, please consider unsuccessful.

interactive investor operates in accordance with the UK Equality Act 2010. We welcome applications from individuals of all ages, disabilities, gender identities, marital status, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and making reasonable adjustments where needed to support disabled applicants. We actively prevent all forms of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation—whether direct, indirect, associative, or perceptive.