Senior Analyst, Plan Policy

myUPP; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pension plan provider in Ontario is seeking a Senior Analyst, Plan Policy, to support plan administration and compliance efforts within a collaborative team. The role is hybrid, allowing for flexibility in remote work. Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree and significant experience in pension and policy matters, demonstrating strong analytical and communication skills. Opportunities for professional growth and a commitment to wellness are emphasized.

Benefits

Work from abroad up to eight weeks/year

Extended mental health service coverage

Education Assistance program

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant pension and/or policy experience.
• Knowledge of current pension legislation/regulations.
• Ability to analyze complex issues and data.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of plan interpretations and administrative decisions.
• Offer solutions to complex inquiries and ensure compliance.
• Handle member escalations and appeals.

Skills

Pension plan administration

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in policy, law, actuarial, economics, or related

Job description

Our Company Background & Culture

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 41,000 members across five universities and fourteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities.

Together, we’re a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact. Our culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace.

As a pension plan, UPP approaches investing through a long-term lens to generate and safeguard value. Our commitment to investing responsibly accounts for material risks that impact our investment portfolio to generate sufficient risk-adjusted returns to meet the pension needs of our members.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

The Role

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Pension Services professional to join a team of high performing professionals to make a great impact. Reporting directly to the Manager, Plan Policy, the Senior Analyst, Plan Policy, will participate in a broad range of activities related to maturing the Plan Policy area and ongoing pension administration.

Within the first year, the incumbent will be involved in a variety of activities within Pension Services and provide oversight to the Universities, acting as Agents of the UPP for pension administration. There are a variety of workstreams and initiatives in progress, where this individual will support.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).

Specific Accountabilities

• Support the ongoing process of developing plan interpretations and assisting in making and drafting sound administrative decisions by, among other things, analyzing plan provisions, considering risks to the plan and applicable legislation requirements.
• Offer innovative solutions to complex inquiries, while ensuring compliance with plan and legislative rules
• Support the implementation of operational risk management within Pension Services
• Support the ongoing implementation of new participating employers through drafting of relevant plan amendments and the review of consent notices, as applicable.
• Review and recommend direction for ongoing plan design and plan amendments.
• Coordinate the revision or development of frameworks or policies specific to Pension Services prior to the expiry date or agreed timelines
• Support the implementation and ongoing operation of our pension administration system for compliance with plan and legislative rules.
• Handle complex member or potential beneficiary escalations and appeals through to resolution.
• Identify process, communication, and pension content gaps and make recommendations for improvements.
• Develop clear and well-written reports, and supporting documentation for presentations to UPP leadership, participating employers, and other audiences.
• Proactively identify and contribute to issue resolution in consultation with Pension Services leaders and key stakeholders.
• Build and maintain collaborative and constructive relationships with internal and external partners.
• Stay connected to the evolving pension landscape, including legislative / regulatory reforms, pension trends, news and activities in the Canadian Pension industry and the major Ontario pension plans and provide insights on any related impacts to UPP.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in policy, law, actuarial, economics, or related
• 5+ years of relevant pension and / or policy experience
• Knowledge of pension plan administration, plan design and current pension legislation / regulations
• Ability to analyze complex issues and related data, identify issues, synthesize relevant and available information and infer conclusions even in ambiguous situations.
• Demonstrated proficiency in qualitative and quantitative analysis methods and reporting / presentation approaches both written and visual.
• Proven ability to develop insightful and creative solutions, while ensuring that risks and cost to the Plan are analyzed and stakeholders’ views are considered.
• Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Attributes

• Self-motivated, flexible, and adaptable to changing priorities and new challenges.
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to organize, set priorities, work independently and complete multiple projects within established deadlines.
• Professional, client-focused approach to colleagues and assignments
• Detail oriented professional with high ethical standards
• Strong commitment to innovation and continuous improvement
• Ownership mindset
• Commitment to excellence

Life at UPP

Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including :

• Work from abroad up to eight weeks / year
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process, so if you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. It would be our honor to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate.

UPP respects your privacy. For information on how UPP handles the personal information you provide during the application process, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement.