Senior Manager, Employer Covenant Advisor

Isio; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant development opportunities

Flexible working arrangements

Team building and social events

Job summary

A leading advisory firm in Manchester is seeking a Senior Manager, Employer Covenant Advisor to support the growth of its covenant advisory business. The candidate will build a portfolio of clients, manage teams, and address complex pension-related transactions. Ideal applicants will be qualified accountants with relevant advisory experience and a track record in client relationship management. This role offers flexible hybrid working options and development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountants with employer covenant advisory experience.
• Significant post-qualified experience in advisory roles.
• Track record of establishing trusted relationships with clients.
• Initiative in business development and market initiatives.
• Proven ability to establish trusted client and intermediary relationships.

Responsibilities

• Building and managing a portfolio of pension trustee advisory clients.
• Managing small teams for client projects.
• Advising on solutions to mitigate changes in employer covenant.
• Advise on solutions to mitigate changes to employer covenant security.
• Advise corporate sponsors in negotiations with trustees on covenant and financial support options.
• Lead external marketing and product development to support Isio's growth.

Skills

Employer covenant advisory experience

Transaction/restructuring advisory experience

Report writing

Financial analysis

Project management

AI and data analysis tools

Commercial awareness

Relationship building

Education

Qualified ACA/CA/ACCA accountant

Job description

Senior Manager, Employer Covenant Advisor

Join to apply for the Senior Manager, Employer Covenant Advisor role at Isio.

We’re growing and want you to be a part of our journey.

Pensions employer covenant advisory is a challenging and fast growing area. Isio’s Covenant Solutions team assess the financial strength and commercial outlook of sponsors of defined benefit pensions schemes, to understand the cash flows and assets available to support funding of pension liabilities. This includes advising on covenant mitigation solutions where there are corporate events such as M&A, refinancing or restructuring.

Isio are looking for qualified accountants with employer covenant advisory experience—and/or a transaction/restructuring advisory background—to join our team in advising clients and supporting our growth plans.

What’s the role?

Isio are seeking a Senior Manager to help support the growth of its covenant advisory business. The candidate will have the opportunity to build a portfolio of corporate and trustee advisory clients as well as advise in M&A/transaction, run‑on and super‑fund transaction situations. The role will involve working on some of the most complex transactions and challenging pensions issues businesses and trustees face, and work alongside a range of Isio specialists in actuarial and investment services to provide integrated solutions to support pensions strategy.

The candidate will have employer covenant expertise and/or transactions/restructuring advisory experience. This will include experience of preparing insolvency estimated outcome statements for the purposes of assessing potential returns to creditors/pension schemes.

This is a great opportunity for a high‑calibre candidate to fast‑track their career prospects, widen their skillset and be part of Isio’s ambitious growth plans for its pensions and covenant advisory business.

Role and Responsibilities

• Building and managing a portfolio of pension trustee advisory clients, leading advice on their employer covenant assessments and integrated risk management framework.
• Managing small teams for client projects and assisting in the delivery of larger complex projects.
• Assessing the impact of a corporate activity such as a transaction, restructuring or refinancing on the employer covenant provided to pension schemes.
• Advising on solutions to mitigate changes in the employer covenant security provided to pension schemes.
• Advising corporate sponsors of pension schemes in negotiations with trustees over employer covenant and mitigation / financial support options.
• Leading external marketing initiatives and product development to support Isio’s growth ambitions.

Where is the role?

Our ideal applicant would work alongside our existing team in either Manchester, Edinburgh or London. However, we can offer suitable applicants the opportunity to work from our other Isio offices. We work on a hybrid basis, offering the opportunity for colleagues to split their working time between working in the office and at home.

As a business we are great at building strong communities amongst our employees – both across locations and teams, hosting regular team building, charity, and social events.

Key Skills & Experience

• Qualified ACA/CA/ACCA accountant with significant, relevant post‑qualified experience.
• Extensive relevant employer covenant and/or transaction/restructuring advisory experience.
• Commercial awareness and a general interest in how businesses work.
• An enthusiasm for and genuine commitment to business development and supporting market initiatives.
• Track record of establishing trusted relationships with clients and intermediaries, along with an existing network across the corporate/trustee/intermediary community.
• Experience of insolvency analysis/recoveries e.g. preparing Estimated Outcome Statements and/or Entity Priority Models and in order to advise clients of the implications.
• Experience using AI and data analysis tools to improve efficiency in research and reporting.
• Excellent report writing, financial analysis, client and project management skills.

Demonstrated Commitment to our Core Purpose

Power in Partnership: We work in partnership with our clients & each other – building open and trusted relationships. Working together allows us to deliver the best for our clients.

Future Focus: We want to push our industry forward by solving problems in better ways that benefit both our clients & society.

Strength in Difference: We work with diverse perspectives to find better solutions. Working with differences makes us stronger.

People First: We recognise that pensions is a people business. People are the source of Isio’s expertise and it is people’s lives that we affect through our advice.

What we offer you

Isio is a people business, and we’re committed to helping our great colleagues gain a wide variety of experience, significant development opportunities and progression through the business. The variety of work that’ll be available to you will enable you to do this.

You can find out more about Isio and the benefits we offer here Isio – Careers & Benefits.

About Isio

Isio was ‘born’ in 2020 from the sale of KPMG UK’s Pension Practice to a private equity firm. An industry‑leading challenger, we provide diverse expertise spanning Pensions, Investment, Benefits and Wealth to give clients an integrated experience.

Isio is built by challengers, innovators and forward‑thinkers, grounded around a vision which strives to deliver greater financial confidence for everyone. We empower and develop those who join us – valuing curious minds and giving people the freedom to outperform.

Known and respected for our agility, we harness specialist experience, bold thinking and the desire to push the boundaries of what we can achieve for our clients, from small to blue chip, public to private.

At Isio, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and diverse workplace, in which our colleagues feel they belong, regardless of background or difference. We uphold the values of respect, fairness, and inclusion in our actions and decisions. We believe that by adhering to these principles, we will create a stronger, more innovative, and supportive environment for all, as well as ensuring that the advice and support we provide to our clients is more creative, more insightful and leaves a lasting impact.

We have offices across the UK and many of our roles offer a hybrid, flexible approach to work to help create a work‑life balance that works for you. Isio Group is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

If you think you may require a reasonable adjustment to be made for any reason at any stage of your recruitment process, please email [e-mail].