Covenant Consultant

Aon Corporation; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Global wellbeing days

Smart working

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Aon is seeking a Covenant & Security Consultant in London or St Albans to advise on the covenant strength of sponsors and the impact of corporate activity on pension schemes.

The role offers hybrid working (50% remote) with a weekly team day in London; you will produce high-quality reports, interact with senior pension fund trustees and company executives, and help grow the covenant practice through internal and external networking.

Qualifications

• Experience in financial advisory for DB pensions or sponsors.
• Understanding of DB pension schemes and sponsor strength.
• Strong report writing and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Prepare high quality covenant analyses for pension schemes.
• Advise trustees on sponsor financial strength and corporate activity impact.
• Engage with senior executives (FD/CFO) and Aon teams.
• Support covenant practice growth through networking.

Skills

Consultancy experience

Professional qualification pathway

Pensions knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Education

ACA/ACCA

Job description

Covenant Team – Consultant

Do you want to work with senior leaders from a range of the UK’s leading companies and their pension schemes? Are you interested joining a growing team aiming to address the challenges facing UK defined benefit pension schemes today? If so, then the Aon covenant team is for you!

We are currently recruiting someone with consultancy experience and on a professional qualification pathway into the Pensions Covenant & Security Team in London or St Albans. The role will be primarily responsible for providing pension scheme trustees and sponsoring companies with credit and corporate finance advice on the financial strength (the “covenant”) of their sponsors, the impact and regulatory consequences of corporate activity, and the implications for the pension scheme’s strategy.

This is a hybrid role with the flexibility to work both virtually 50% of the time and from our London or St Albans office (with a requirement to attend a “team day” in London once a week, currently on Mondays).

What the day will look like

• Producing high quality written financial strength analysis reports and present the findings to key stakeholders;
• Providing pension scheme trustees with advice on the financial strength of their sponsors and assessing the impact of any corporate activity (e.g. impact of M&A, special dividends, etc. on pension funds) or scheme related activity (e.g. surplus release);
• Interacting with senior level pension fund trustees and company executives (normally at finance director or CFO level) and senior members of the Aon team both within the Covenant & Security team and more widely; and
• Supporting the team in growing the covenant practice through internal and external networking channels.

Covenant and Security Team

Aon’s Covenant and Security consulting team has seven members and has advised the trustees/employers of over 300 pension schemes whose assets vary in size from £10m to £6bn. We are seeking an Associate Consultant or Consultant who has an interest in credit advisory and corporate finance.

The Covenant and Security team advises DB pension schemes on the financial strength of their corporate sponsors (e.g. food retailers, car manufacturers and drug companies), on the impact that corporate events (e.g. restructuring, M&A, special dividends, etc) have on their ability to support their associated defined benefit pension schemes, and whether they can safely release surplus funds from their scheme.

The financial strength of a sponsor influences how much investment risk a pension scheme can absorb, the valuation of the pension scheme’s liabilities and its longer-term strategy for paying pensions. These schemes can often be meaningful (e.g. £ billions) and represent some of the UK’s largest institutional investors which explains why DB pensions dominate the financial press and why pensions covenant consulting is such a high-profile role. The Covenant team has growth plans and appointed a new leader in 2026, so this is a great opportunity to have a real impact whilst furthering your career.

Skills and experience that will lead to success

• Experience of working in a financial advisory environment such as restructuring, corporate finance, or transaction services would be positive or an in advisory capacity to DB pension scheme trustees or sponsors. Due to the nature of the role an understanding of both DB pension schemes and financial strength of companies is relevant. We anticipate the successful candidate will have relevant experience in one of these areas but not necessarily both – instead an interest, ability and willingness to learn is key.
• Sound understanding of corporate financial statements and likely to have an accountancy (e.g. ACA or ACCA) or CFA qualification. We are happy to speak to candidates on the actuarial qualification pathway but are unlikely to be able support completion of those qualifications in this role.
• Strong interpersonal, report writing and presentation skills
• Candidates that are highly organised, able to manage competing priorities, and with excellent communication skills
• An understanding of employer covenant matters and/or DB pensions would be useful, but not required as training would be provided

How we support our colleagues

In addition to our comprehensive benefits package, we encourage an inclusive workforce. Plus, our agile environment allows you to manage your wellbeing and work/life balance, ensuring you can be your best self at Aon. Furthermore, all colleagues enjoy two “Global Wellbeing Days” each year, encouraging you to take time to focus on yourself.We offer a variety of working style solutions, but we also recognise that flexibility goes beyond just the place of work... and we are all for it. We call this Smart Working!

Our continuous learning culture inspires and equips you to learn, share and grow, helping you achieve your fullest potential. As a result, at Aon, you are more connected, more relevant, and more valued.

We provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable law. Please contact us to request an accommodation on [e-mail]

Aon values an innovative, diverse workplace where all colleagues feel empowered to be their authentic selves. Aon is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

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