Senior Bereavement Associate

The Vanguard Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanguard in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Bereavement Associate to join the Complex Case Team. You will own complex bereavement cases, work with clients and internal partners to deliver timely support, and contribute to process improvements across SIPPs, ISA/JISA and General Investment Accounts.

The role emphasizes compassionate client care, specialist guidance, and training colleagues while operating in a hybrid office-based setup.

Qualifications

• Significant experience within client services, including bereavement cases.
• Strong knowledge of estate administration and bereavement processes, supporting vulnerable clients.
• Experience managing complex client enquiries and delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to navigate challenging conversations with empathy.
• The confidence to collaborate with stakeholders across multiple teams and influence positive outcomes.
• A proactive approach to identifying improvements and driving process enhancements.
• Knowledge of pension related products including SIPPS.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of complex bereavement cases and manage your own caseload.
• Ensure timely, clear, and regulatory-compliant communication with clients.
• Share bereavement expertise by delivering training and guidance to colleagues.
• Identify trends and recommend automation opportunities to enhance the client experience.

Skills

Bereavement experience

Estate administration

Client services

Communication skills

Empathy

Stakeholder collaboration

Process improvement

SIPPs knowledge

Job description

Are you a compassionate and well-organised professional seeking an opportunity to make a meaningful impact? As a Senior Bereavement Associate, you’ll be part of our Complex Case Team providing expert support to clients during sensitive times. You’ll work closely with internal partners to ensure seamless, compassionate experience for bereaved clients, across our product range of SIPPs, ISA/JISA and General Investment Accounts, while contributing to process improvements and shaping best practices across the UK Personal Investor Service.

What You'll Do

As a trusted specialist, you'll take ownership of complex client cases, working closely with clients and internal partners to deliver timely, accurate, and compassionate support.

Client Care & Case Management

• Take ownership of complex bereavement cases and manage your own caseload.
• Ensure timely, clear, and regulatory-compliant communication with clients.
• Support Vulnerable clients and actively work to identify and implement solutions that promote positive outcomes.

Expert Guidance & Training

• Share your bereavement expertise by delivering training and guidance to colleagues.
• Contribute to working groups on inheritance tax changes and recommend the required process improvements to support our overall Bereavement Service.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify trends and recommend automation opportunities to enhance the client experience.
• Participate in special projects as needed.

What it takes:

• Significant experience within client services, including proven experience handling bereavement cases.
• Strong knowledge of estate administration, bereavement processes, and supporting vulnerable clients.
• Experience managing complex client enquiries and delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to navigate challenging conversations with empathy.
• The confidence to collaborate with stakeholders across multiple teams and influence positive outcomes.
• A proactive approach to identifying improvements and driving process enhancements.
• Knowledge of pension related products including SIPPS.

Special Factors

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday).

Why Vanguard?

Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients. This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments. It's what we stand for: value to investors.

Inclusion Statement

Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.”We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values.When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience. Vanguard, one of the world's leading investment management companies, serves individual investors, institutions, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and financial professionals. We have a diverse and talented crew with a culture that promotes teamwork, along with an unwavering focus on serving our clients' best interests.