Assistant Pension Scheme Accountant / Analyst

Swydd-ddisgrifiad a phrif gyfrifoldebau manwl

Job purpose:

The post holder will assist the Pensions Finance Manager and Accountants within a small specialist team managing a wide range of 
financial and management accounting, budgeting and assurance duties relating to the NHS Pension and NHS Injury Benefit Schemes.
The post holder will provide key support in delivering the objectives of the team, and will require data analysis and interrogation skills,
have experience in the reconciliation of large amounts of data, and collation of financial information from a range of systems. The post 
holder will also be required to undertake a range of business process improvements and process automation to meet the demands of the 
everchanging landscape of the Schemes. There will also be some management responsibility for the financial support staff within the 
team.

The post holder will be required to deliver high quality customer service, communicating effectively with customers and 
stakeholders.

In this role, you are accountable for: 

Pension Scheme Accounting

1. Assisting in the preparation of the draft financial statements for the inclusion in the annual Pension Accounts, contributing 
to the overall planning strategy for the delivery of the draft accounts through to completion of the final audited account.
2. Maintaining working papers that support the Pension Accounts and provide sufficient supporting evidence to meet audit 
requirements.
3. Collection, collation, validation and analysis of all external data sources required to successfully complete the accounts.
4. Maintaining an archive of financial and statistical data for use in estimates and financial forecasting and modelling, 
including but not limited to Scheme liability, income and expenditure, member statistics and financial assumptions.
5. Assist in the preparation of data for use in annual budget setting for the pension scheme and injury benefit scheme and
monitor accordingly.
6. Assisting in the production of pension scheme related financial reports as required, including but not exclusively 
NHSBSA, Dept of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) and HM Treasury.

Pension Scheme Valuation and Reconciliation

7. Performing a range of quality assurance checks on the Scheme valuation data prior to submission to the Scheme Actuary.
8. Undertaking investigation on data queries raised by Pensions Service and GAD.
9. Liaising with Pensions Service and Employers to discuss member data to employer contribution cash variances and implementing the 
necessary rectification actions where required.
10. Undertaking various detailed analytical, validation and management checks on the financial ledgers, and any reports or statistics 
provided from Pensions Service systems. Escalate any issues to the Finance Manager/Accountants in the first instance. Areas may 
include but not be limited to; cashbook, trial balance and control accounts, yearend transactions and ledger closure, reports and 
statistics generated from the pensions processing system – Compendia.

Business Process Improvement

11. Acting as the lead on the development of new and enhanced reporting, reconciliation and financial assurance functionality, utilising 
but not limited to Oracle Business Intelligence, Integra and Compendia. 
12. Contributing to the design and creation of management and financial information processes, utilising specific Scheme, IT and 
financial systems knowledge providing greater insight and capability across the wide range of objectives of the team.

Stakeholder and Customer liaison

13. Liaising with internal and external auditors as and when required. Develop positive working relationships to facilitate 
effective and constructive audits.
14. Liaising with HM Treasury, Scheme Actuary, DHSC and NHS Employer organisations as and when required.
15. Working with a minimal amount of supervision, working autonomously to manage own work and make decisions in own work area 
and for the support team.
16. Effectively communicating with internal and external customers resolving technical and escalated queries by telephone, e-mail and 
correspondence. Customers being Pensions Service, NHS Employers and other external agencies and Departments.

General Duties

17. Providing management cover for the financial support staff in their direct managers absence, ensuring that all deliverables are met 
and that any issues that may arise are effectively resolved.
18. Maintaining an awareness of the NHS Pension Scheme and Injury Benefit Scheme and associated regulations, including forthcoming 
events and changes. 
19. Demonstrating a commitment to develop flexible matrix working such that the broad base of skills and experience of all staff are 
utilised to maximum benefit for the individual, team and organisation.
20. Identifying personal training needs and working with the Finance Manager/Accountants to establish personal objectives, and for 
those of direct reporting staff. Contributes to own appraisal.
21. Undertaking other such duties as may be required commensurate with grade, training and experience. Also on occasion participating 
in organisation wide work groups appropriate to the post holders expertise and experience.
22. Assisting in the analysis, monitoring and review of the control systems in place to ensure operational duties are being 
performed in accordance with the team timetable and activity plans.
23. Acting as an authorised signatory for a range of payment processes administered by the Financial Services Team.
24. Acting as a key contact for pension scheme financial issues.
25. Undertaking ad hoc projects and reviews as and when required by the Finance Manager and senior finance colleagues.
26. Supporting the testing of software upgrades and systems changes pertaining to the direct use and requirements of the
pensions finance team, in close liaison with the Finance Systems Team.