Team Leader & Audit Specialist

Hymans Robertson LLP; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pension consultancy in Birmingham is seeking a Team Leader & Audit Specialist for its Quality & Risk team. You will lead audits, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and driving continuous improvement in service quality. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical skills, a solid understanding of pensions legislation, and effective communication abilities. This role offers hybrid working, mentoring opportunities, and a variety of employee benefits tailored to individual needs.

Benefits

Flexible employee benefits

On-site mental health assistance

Paid volunteering leave

Birthday day off

Access to award-winning learning portal

Qualifications

• Up-to-date knowledge of pensions legislation and industry best practices.
• Clear, accurate, and concise communication with various stakeholders.
• Self-motivated individual with strong team management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal and external audits for compliance and quality assurance.
• Manage schedules and deliver detailed audit reports to stakeholders.
• Collaborate effectively with other teams to drive process improvements.

Skills

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Problem-solving skills

Communication skills

Time management

Project management

Education

GCSE / Higher in Maths and English at minimum grade C

Tools

Microsoft Office

Pension administration system (e.g., UPM)

Job description

The Vacancy

Our Third Party Administration (TPA) department is a dynamic administration team with a varied portfolio of clients. They play a key part in providing our clients and members with a market‑leading service on Defined Benefits (DB), Defined Contribution (DC) and CARE pension arrangements.

We currently have an exciting opportunity to join this department as a Team Leader & Audit Specialist within our Quality & Risk team in one of our four Offices.

What will your role look like?

This role sits within our dynamic Risk and Audit Team, which sets the standard for quality in Pensions Administration by upholding the highest legislative, regulatory, and firm‑wide requirements. As Audit Specialist, you’ll lead the annual cycle of internal and external audits – including AAF Internal Controls, ISO27001, and PASA Accreditation – managing everything from planning to delivery. You’ll ensure audit actions are followed through, supporting continuous service improvement and robust governance. Achieving clean audit results is central to our strategy and reflects our commitment to delivering excellent experiences for clients, members, and colleagues.

Key tasks

• Deliver all TPA external audit activities, including planning, delivery, and cascading findings internally and externally to achieve a clean outcome.
• Manage a cycle of internal self‑audits: drafting, scoping, scheduling, delivery, assessment of outcomes, presenting results, and ensuring actions are delivered in line with Business Unit and Firmwide Risk framework.
• Perform deep dives into audit issues to identify root causes and communicate recommendations.
• Act as subject matter expert and main point of contact for all audit‑related matters within TPA.
• Analyse trends in findings and monitor process improvements with other TPA areas.
• Collaborate with the firm‑wide audit function and stakeholders outside TPA (e.g., APV client managers and 2nd Line of Defence).
• Present audit outcomes and recommendations to internal stakeholders, using plain English to explain complex topics.
• Drive continuous improvement in service quality and control frameworks.
• Implement a culture of engagement around audit processes and deliver training (e.g., AAF Audit training).
• Contribute to professional standards and quality systems, including peer review processes and best practice frameworks.
• Prioritise and allocate work across the Risk and Audit team, managing capacity and priorities proactively.
• Act as main point of contact for Client Managers, Administration Managers, and Project Leads.
• Support colleague development, career growth plans, and provide feedback.

To enjoy and succeed in this role, you will have:

• GCSE / Higher (or equivalent) in Maths and English at minimum grade C or above, or relevant comparable experience.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of relevant pensions legislation, technical developments affecting pension administration and industry best practice.
• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail and problem‑solving skills balanced with a broader view of business needs.
• Clear, accurate and concise oral and written communication, demonstrating effective communication with internal teams, stakeholders and third parties, ensuring alignment with the Hymans Values.
• Good IT skills, including working with Microsoft Office applications and experience of a pension administration system such as UPM, or a similar system.
• Effective time and workload planning, capable of juggling priorities and working well under pressure.
• A self‑motivated individual with strong project management and team management skills, working in a consultative, collaborative manner with others.

We would also encourage applications from candidates who perhaps do not possess ALL of the attributes and experience listed above, but are competent with the majority and would be able to quickly develop the additional skills and experience required in post with our full support.

In addition to a competitive salary and access to our profit‑share scheme, we offer:

• A flexible selection of employee benefits, so you can choose a package that best matches your lifestyle and needs.
• A collaborative and encouraging work environment where your thinking and ideas are encouraged.
• On‑site mental health and wellbeing assistance.
• A commitment to helping you develop both personally and professionally, with mentoring opportunities and access to our award‑winning learning portal, Aspire.
• Regular social activities, in addition to three days paid volunteering leave each year and a day’s leave to celebrate your birthday.
• Hybrid working so you can enjoy the positive wellbeing of working from home as well as the benefits of meeting colleagues in our sociable, modern office environments – with the expectation of two “in‑office” days per week.
• A flexible working window, allowing colleagues the freedom to work flexibly between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

Please note, we recruit on a rolling basis so early applications are recommended to avoid disappointment.

About Us

Together, we’ve been building better futures for over 100 years, for our people, our clients and their people, our communities and the environment.

We thrive on tackling complex problems. And we believe those problems are best solved by diverse teams - diverse in skills, approaches and backgrounds. Our independence lets our people be themselves and think freely, while working in a collaborative, supportive environment. We love innovative, independent thinking and want everyone to share their ideas.

Working alongside employers, trustees and financial services institutions, we offer pensions, investments, benefits and risk consulting services, as well as data and technology solutions. With over 1000 employees and counting, we’re one of the leading consultancies in our field and are proud to be recognised by numerous industry awards.

We’re committed to developing our people and encourage everyone to carve out their own career path. We have many colleagues who started out in one team in the business and have ended up somewhere completely different, having had the chance to develop new skills and explore new passions.

We are continually working to improve our inclusive culture and employ diverse talent. We therefore welcome applications from people from all backgrounds, which includes but isn’t limited to: age, disability, ethnic heritage, gender, marital or civil partnership status, neurodiversity, religion, sexual orientation, and socio‑economic background.

Our hybrid working model offers the best of both worlds – home working as well as a fun, collaborative office environment – meaning flexible working patterns to accommodate individual needs. Find out more about our careers here.

If you need any assistance in relation to a personal requirement, medical condition or neurological difference during our selection process then please let us know.

Together, we can make this the best job you’ll ever have.

We Offer

Our culture

We live and breathe our four values – friendly, confident, partnering and straightforward – and genuinely care about our people, clients, community and the environment.

Job satisfaction

Every employee can genuinely make a difference and contribute towards achieving our purpose – together, building better futures. Whether that’s helping our clients build more secure financial futures, using your 3 days volunteering or helping us reduce our carbon footprint.

Reward and wellbeing

We offer competitive salaries, a share of company profits and an award‑winning benefits package. We also take your mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing seriously, both in and outside of work.

Flexible working

We trust our people to work in a pattern that suits their circumstances with a healthy balance of home and office working.

Latest technology

We use the most up‑to‑date technology and software to match our ground‑breaking business solutions that make life easier for us and our clients.

Career development

There is no linear path – learning opportunities are plentiful and empower you to carve out your own career.