Financial Planning Consultant - Trainee Financial Adviser

Skipton Building Society; Skipton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK building society seeks a Financial Planning Consultant to deliver high-quality customer service and manage initial meetings. You will engage with customers, gather essential information, and support branch teams within a collaborative environment. The ideal candidate should have strong communication skills, be diploma qualified in financial services, and possess a self-motivated attitude. This role offers competitive compensation and the potential for hybrid working.

Benefits

Annual discretionary bonus scheme

25 days standard annual leave plus bank holidays

Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10%)

Salary sacrifice scheme for hybrid & electric car

Holiday trading scheme

Qualifications

• Experience supporting customers or advisers in a previous role.
• Ability to engage with customers to understand financial objectives.
• Capacity to work independently in fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and manage customer information for meetings with advisers.
• Ensure smooth customer journeys by providing advisers with relevant information.
• Support branch teams and financial advisers in delivering customer meetings.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Strong commercial focus

Self-motivated

Education

Regulated Diploma in Financial Advice

Fully Diploma qualified in financial services

Job description

Overview

Prepare customers for their first meeting with the Financial Adviser, ensuring all information is gathered and entered onto our customer relationship management system that is relevant to the advice, and provide the adviser with all the soft facts to enable a smooth customer journey. Engage with customers during the meeting to help them understand their objectives, goals for their money, and motivations for seeking financial advice.

Hours

Permanent, 35 hours per week.

Closing Date

Wednesday, 10 December 2025.

Task Overview

As a Financial Planning Consultant, you will develop relationships with our customers, ensuring they receive the highest levels of service and provide them with a high‑quality initial point of contact through a fact‑finding meeting. You will support the customer journey, working with branch teams and financial advice colleagues to partially deliver first meetings with new customers, including conversations on pensions around Surrey/Berkshire.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and manage customer information for initial meetings with advisers.
• Ensure smooth customer journeys by providing advisers with relevant soft facts.
• Engage with customers to understand their financial objectives and motivations.
• Support branch teams and financial advisers in a fast‑paced, high‑volume environment.
• Maintain strict quality and compliance standards and organisational skills.
• Adapt to new systems, processes and technology with ease.
• Contribute to team success by sharing best practice and supporting colleagues.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting customers or advisers in a previous role.
• Fully Diploma qualified, or nearly qualified, in financial services.
• Regulated Diploma in Financial Advice (or part completed) preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, both face‑to‑face and via video link.
• Strong commercial focus and risk‑management awareness.
• Self‑motivated with capacity to work independently.

Who We Are

We are the fourth biggest building society in the UK. We are a mutual organisation, owned by our members, not shareholders.

Environment & Culture

Skipton values work/life balance and is proud to support hybrid and flexible working where possible. The newly refurbished head office offers a vibrant and collaborative working space. Skipton is a great place to work, and you'll be one of us, bringing new ideas on how we keep customers at the heart of what we do.

Benefits

• Annual discretionary bonus scheme.
• 25 days standard annual leave + bank holidays + rising 1 day per year of service to a maximum of 30 days.
• Holiday trading scheme allowing you to buy and sell additional annual leave days.
• Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10% per annum).
• Colleague mortgage (conditions apply).
• Salary sacrifice scheme for hybrid & electric car.
• Hybrid and flexible working where possible.

What Will You Be Doing?

Working with branch teams and financial advice colleagues to partially deliver first meetings with new customers; conversations on pensions around Surrey/Berkshire. Initially, the role will be working from home, but ultimately when you progress to a Financial Adviser role, you will be required to cover some face‑to‑face meetings within our branches.

Salary

Circa £35,000 per annum, dependent on experience and qualifications.