Manager - Financial Specialist Team - UK Pension

Role Summary

This role will be responsible for leading and optimizing endtoend financial specialist administration operations, including DB/Cashflow/Treasury processing, banking activities, vendor coordination for quick invoice settlement, Investment and Dis-investment, managing client fund servicing, and process governance. The role ensures highquality service delivery, operational efficiency, and strong control frameworks across all key processes.

This position requires a strong blend of operational leadership, analytical thinking, risk management, people management, and stakeholder engagement. This role will drive continuous improvement, support automation initiatives, oversee transitions of work, and strengthen team capabilities to deliver consistent, accurate outcomes for clients and members.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Ensure all operational procedures are followed when delivering services to members, trustees, and clients across all aspects of data and pension processing.
• Identify risks in pension scheme data quickly and assess their impact on project delivery and operations.
• Ensure all errors and omissions (E&O) and complaints are handled as per agreed procedures and within defined timescales, in collaboration with Managers and Professional Champions.
• Continuously review existing processes to identify improvement & transformational opportunities
• Work with senior managers to implement operational and process improvements.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to workload and organizational priorities.
• Manage cross location teams and travel when required

Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Take accountability for your contribution to team performance and regularly report progress to leadership.
• Ensure the quality and accuracy of your own work while upholding departmentwide quality standards.
• Perform pension calculations, data audits, and data corrections; review and validate pension data; and manage datarelated queries using Excel and process guides.
• Lead assigned projects, ensuring all milestones are met in line with project plans and quality expectations. Escalate risks to delivery leaders
• Develop, manage, and maintain riskbased project plans aligned to team strategy and client expectations.
• Lead team huddles to discuss work plans, project priorities, and resource needs.
• Provide oversight and guidance to the team to support delivery excellence

Financials Management

• Accurately record time spent on tasks in line with standard procedures.
• Drive assigned chargeable hours and productivity targets.
• Own and monitor project budgets and task-level financials for assigned clients.
• Escalate budget risks early, outlining root causes and recommending corrective actions.
• Delegate and review work to ensure that deadlines, budgets, and quality standards are consistently met.
• Manage the billing cycle for assigned clients, proactively mitigating risks that could lead to writeoffs or nonprofitable work.
• Prepare and/or peer review project engagement letters, nonreliance letters, and pricing for new projects or operational tasks.

Stakeholder & Client Management

• Agree requirements, timelines, and budgets with clients for assigned projects.
• Represent the team in project review meetings and kickoff discussions.
• Maintain flexible and effective communication methods to support client reporting and relationship management.
• Understand client priorities and ensure that each operational activity contributes to overall project success.
• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to achieve project and operational objectives.

Risk, Governance & Quality

• Identify, assess, and manage risks across operational activities, transitions, and transformation initiatives.
• Review, challenge, and enhance process documentation including PRMs, checklists, SPPs, and SOPs.
• Ensure robust control mechanisms, strong audit trails, and rigorous peer review practices.
• Support E&O analysis and rootcause investigations, driving proactive prevention rather than corrective fixes.
• Uphold exemplary standards of accuracy, quality, and compliance across all deliverables.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop team members to strengthen capability, confidence, and operational excellence.
• Foster a collaborative, highperformance culture across the operations function.
• Provide coaching, knowledge sharing, and structured support for team members ongoing career development.
• Encourage crossfunctional engagement to strengthen workflows, knowledge exchange, and operational cohesion.
• Role model Aptia values and operational leadership behaviours.

Experience & Qualification

• Graduate/ Postgraduate with over 15 years of relevant experience in UK Pension.
• Strong knowledge of Define Benefits & UK Pensions.
• Ability to manage complex workflows, multiple priorities, and timesensitive deliverables.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Experience with automation, operational excellence, or process improvement initiatives
• Experience in oversight of transitions, migrations, or operational transformation initiatives