Future Benefits Manager

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL; Weybridge; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

An established local authority is seeking a Future Benefits Manager to lead their Benefits Administration Team. This dynamic role involves overseeing the calculation of early leaver benefits and ensuring compliance with regulations. You will inspire a team while fostering a culture of customer focus and continuous improvement. The position offers a hybrid working model, allowing for collaboration in the office and remote work. Join a forward-thinking team dedicated to delivering exceptional service to over 135,000 members of the pension fund, while enjoying generous benefits and a supportive work environment.

Benefits

26 days' holiday

Buy up to 10 days of additional leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Local government pension

Lifestyle discounts

2 paid volunteering days

Learning and development resources

Paternity, adoption, and dependents leave

Qualifications

• Experience in LGPS or relevant pensions experience.
• Proven ability in process improvement and customer service.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team in delivering pensions administration.
• Monitor performance against KPIs and manage case volumes.

Skills

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) experience

Process improvement

Customer service focus

Performance management

Stakeholder management

Job description

This role has a starting salary of £45,680 per annum based on a 36 hour working week (pay award Pending from April 2025).

Are you passionate about delivering exceptional customer experience and leading a dynamic team? Surrey Pension Team is looking for a dedicated Future Benefits Manager to join us!

We are excited to be hiring a new Future Benefits Manager to lead one of our Benefits Administration Teams. Surrey Pension Team is based in Dakota, Weybridge and we promote a hybrid approach to working. As a team we split our time between working from home and collaborating together in the office two days per week.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service.
• Buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme supporting health and wellbeing
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

About the Role

The Surrey Pension Fund is part of the national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Surrey County Council is responsible for managing the fund and is known as the 'administering authority'. We have over 350 employers participating in the fund including the county council, district and borough councils, universities, colleges, academies, and private companies providing public services. The fund has over 135,000 current, deferred and pensioner members with assets in excess of £6 billion. The Surrey Pension Team have started a new chapter with a refreshed vision and mission and ambitious plans for the future.

• Our vision is to provide our customers with a better tomorrow
• Our mission is to responsibly deliver a first-class customer experience every step of the way

As the Future Benefits Manager you will become a key part of our management team and help us deliver our vision and mission; with responsibility for ensuring early leaver benefits are calculated accurately, in a timely way, and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. In this post, you will be the subject matter expert on early leaver benefits for Surrey Pension Team, and work closely with the Immediate Benefits Manager, Technical Manager, and other mangers to deliver an exceptional experience for our all members.

This role will line manage a team of professional staff, at a range of grades, and be responsible for their performance, training, and development; modelling the Surrey Pension Team behaviours and values while observing Surrey County Council policies and procedures. You will be the initial point of contact for team queries and support the wider team in delivering the pensions administration service.

This is a highly varied and interesting role, and on a day-to-day basis you will be involved in:

• Monitoring performance against KPIs and managing case volumes
• Motivating, supporting, and driving the team to meet their goals
• Assessing available resources and moving staff to prioritise work
• Delivering casework to agreed service levels
• Working on special projects
• Applying your sound knowledge of the LGPS, or relevant pensions experience, to guide administrators in the successful resolution of casework
• Taking the lead in identifying opportunities and issues in pensions administration and implementing improvements

You will put our member experience at the heart of your practice, ensuring a culture of customer focus and continuous improvement is instilled throughout the team. Surrey Pension Team is a friendly and welcoming place where we work hard to meet our mission and vision, and this role is a fantastic opportunity to help us deliver, while working at a high level, an ambitious and member focused LGPS fund.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• Experience of the LGPS, or other relevant pensions experience
• Experience of process improvement
• Focus on customer service and member experience
• Ability to manage own and others performance, addressing underperformance and supporting a high performing team
• Able to deal with multiple stakeholders and competing deadlines

As part of your application you will be asked to submit a CV and answer the following questions:

• Please tell us about, and provide examples of, your experience of the Local Government Pension Scheme, or your other experience of pensions, and tell us how you feel it is relevant to this role?
• Please describe a time where you have improved a process and how this led to better outcomes for both the customer and your organisation?
• Please tell us what excellent customer service means to you, and how you would focus on the member experience in this role?
• Please tell us about a time where you have monitored your own, and others' performance, and how you dealt with underperformance?
• Please tell us about a situation where you have dealt with multiple demands on your time, from different stakeholders, and how you have used influencing and negotiating skills to reach a consensus?

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 01.06.2025 with interviews planned for week commencing the 09.06.2025.

This will be a single stage interview, with a short presentation, based on material provided in the job pack. Please prepare a 5-minute presentation, using PowerPoint, on the subject of "Surrey Pension Fund Vision and Mission". In the presentation please cover:

• How the Surrey Pension Vision and Mission resonates with you
• How you see yourself contributing to the success of this
• How will you use it to inspire and motivate your team to deliver the best possible experience for our members