Chief Investment Officer

RELX Group; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 200,000 +; Full time

Job summary

A leading investment firm in the UK is seeking a Pensions Investment Officer role to manage investment data and audit duties. You will support both internal and external stakeholders, providing crucial insights and managing year-end audit work. The ideal candidate has significant experience in investment and audit work, analytical skills, and is proficient with Microsoft Office. Competitive benefits include generous holidays, health screenings, and access to various employee support programs.

Benefits

Generous holiday allowance

Private medical benefits

Wellbeing programmes

Life Assurance

Access to competitive pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Access to learning resources

Qualifications

• Experience with Sarbanes-Oxley reporting requirements.
• Essential investment and year-end audit experience.
• Ability to monitor performance of investment managers.

Responsibilities

• Manage year-end audit work requirements.
• Analyse data and prepare instructions for managers.
• Monitor service levels of third-party custody systems.

Skills

Investment experience

Analytical skills

Project management

Data analysis

Interpersonal skills

Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

Qualified IFA

Master’s degree in relevant subject

Tools

Third-party custody systems

Job description

About the Team

The in-house Relx Pensions Investment Office is a small team consisting of the Chief Investment Officer (who primarily oversees the external investment managers), the Trustee Secretary (who oversees the governance of the pension scheme) and the Senior Pension Fund Accountant. All three liaise with auditors on an ongoing basis.

About the Role

The in‑house Pensions Investment Officer role is vital in supplying authorised instructions and data to several stakeholders, both internal and external. The expectation is that the role will be split evenly between investment‑related work and audit work, but there will be scope to tailor the role to some extent depending on particular areas of interest. Bringing forward ideas as to how existing processes can be improved and streamlined will be encouraged. You will be expected to build credibility quickly and become the ‘go‑to’ person for all investment and associated audit data pertaining to REPS, including, inter alia, review and scrutiny of the SOC1 control reports.

Responsibilities

• Manage year‑end audit work reporting requirements for the corporate audit and the Pensions SORP in the production of Management Information and Annual Report of the Trustee and Financial Statements.
• Analyse data and prepare instructions to the managers for a range of investment classes; liaise with managers and raise investment‑related posting queries to the custodian.
• Manage third‑party custody systems and monitor their service levels in accordance with a service level agreement.
• Data gathering, reading through lengthy documents, summarising the key points and analysing the results.
• Supply pertinent information to auditors regarding the efficacy of the control environment and understanding of user‑entity internal controls over financial reporting.
• Monitor, in conjunction with investment consultants, the performance of the investment managers in relation to their service level agreements.

Qualifications

• Experience of investment and year‑end audit work is essential, particularly with Sarbanes‑Oxley reporting requirements for the corporate audit and the Pensions SORP.
• Pensions investment experience is essential for analysing data and preparing instructions to managers for a range of investment classes.
• Excellent analytical and project‑management skills: data gathering, reading lengthy documents, summarising key points and analysing results, plus experience of supplying pertinent information to auditors about the control environment and understanding of SOC1 reports.
• Experience using third‑party custody systems and monitoring their service levels against a service level agreement.
• Experience monitoring the performance of investment managers in relation to their service level agreements, in conjunction with investment consultants.
• Competent user of Microsoft Office, especially Word and Excel, for analysing and presenting large and complicated data sets.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and written English, with a keen eye for detail and strong proofreading abilities.
• Self‑motivated, excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritise tasks in a small team environment.
• Qualifications: Qualified IFA or Master’s degree in a relevant subject; a background in pensions audit or consulting is preferable.

Benefits

• Generous holiday allowance with the option to buy additional days.
• Health screening, eye care vouchers and private medical benefits.
• Wellbeing programmes.
• Life Assurance.
• Access to a competitive contributory pension scheme.
• Save as You Earn share option scheme.
• Travel season ticket loan.
• Electric vehicle scheme.
• Optional dental insurance.
• Maternity, paternity and shared parental leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Access to emergency care for both the elderly and children.
• RECARES days, giving you time to support the charities and causes that matter to you.
• Access to employee resource groups with dedicated time to volunteer.
• Access to extensive learning and development resources.
• Access to employee discounts scheme via Perks at Work.