Transitions Operations Delivery Manager

Just Group plc; Reigate; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Birthday day off

Private medical cover

Income protection

Bonus scheme

Job summary

Just Group plc is seeking a Transition Manager to lead end-to-end transition activities for DB de-risking projects. You will manage transition teams, oversee day-to-day delivery, and coordinate with trustees, EBCs, and the Commercial team to ensure timely and accurate handovers and settlements.

The role focuses on delivering a high-quality transition experience, strong external relationships, and operational excellence within a hybrid working model (Reigate/London).

Qualifications

• Proven planning and organisational skills to manage a varied portfolio of scheme transitions.
• Knowledge of the life and pensions industry, particularly DB pensions and de-risking.
• Strong influencing and relationship-management with trustees and EBCs.
• Experience leading transition, implementation or operations teams within pensions.
• Excellent communication, both written and verbal, with external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of transition teams and set priorities.
• Coordinate with the Head of Transition & Buy out Services to deliver a high-quality experience for trustees and EBCs.
• Drive trustee communication and engagement aligned with scheme timelines and data position.
• Ensure onboarding data is accurate and compliant with signing-off controls.
• Act as operational liaison for the Commercial team across prospective and in-flight transactions.
• Build relationships across the EBC market and manage escalations and queries.
• Coach and develop the transition teams to improve capability and engagement.
• Support commercial activity including RFIs, due diligence and client discussions.
• Oversee project and stakeholder management through to final premium calculation and settlement.
• Review data cleanse extension requests and escalate material risks when needed.
• Coordinate transitions with change and technology initiatives and embed new processes.
• Produce timely management information for governance and committees.

Skills

Transition management

Pensions knowledge

Stakeholder management

Project leadership

Trustee communication

Job description

Location: Reigate or London (Hybrid - 50%)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours

Purpose

The role is responsible for leading the transition management activity of transactions from contract signing through to implementation handover.

The role holder will manage the transition teams and the end-to-end flow of schemes across streamlined and core transaction routes. They will translate agreed priorities into clear delivery plans, allocate work effectively, monitor capacity and performance, and ensure risks or issues are escalated promptly to the Head of Transition & Buy out Services.

The role will have a strong external and commercial focus, managing day-to-day relationships with Employee Benefit Consultants (EBCs), supporting professional trustees and the Commercial team. The role holder will support new business activity, communicate our transition capability and service model, coordinate responses and meetings, and use market feedback to improve processes while ensuring agreed client commitments are delivered.

The role holder will work closely with all teams across wider DB area to ensure strong communication and collaboration to help design, implement and embed new propositions and identify opportunities.

About Just

We help people achieve a better later life. That’s our purpose and it’s the reason we exist. We are a fast-growing company helping customers enjoy the retirement they deserve. We do this through a variety of market leading, award-winning products and services, delivered by a diverse team of over 1,400 purpose-led colleagues who genuinely put the customer at the heart of everything we do.

This is a brilliant time to join our business. We are on an exciting growth journey to become the UK’s most loved retirement expert.

Key responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day delivery of the transition teams, setting clear priorities and oversee scheme allocation across the Transition Team according to complexity, capacity and customer commitments.
• Work with the Head of Transition & Buy out Services and wider Member & Operational Services leadership team to deliver a consistent, high-quality transition experience for trustees, EBCs, professional trustees and other interested parties.
• Drive trustee communication and engagement capabilities, ensuring expectations are considered, managed and appropriate to the scheme timelines and data position.
• Ensure agreed controls, vetting and sign-off requirements are completed across the teams so that data accepted for onboarding is accurate, complete and aligned to the benefits specified.
• Act as the operational point of contact for the Commercial team on prospective and in-flight transactions, coordinating timely input from the transition teams and subject matter experts.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships across the EBC market, managing operational queries and escalations and providing clear, timely updates to internal stakeholders.
• Lead, coach and support the management team, setting clear objectives, monitoring delivery and creating development and progression opportunities that build capability and engagement.
• Manage the team’s contribution to commercial activity, including capability materials, insurer selection meetings, requests for information (RFIs), due diligence and prospective client discussions.
• Oversee effective project and stakeholder management across all transitions through to calculation, communication and settlement of the final premium, ensuring milestones, dependencies, decisions and customer communications are actively managed.
• Review data cleanse extension requests and recovery plans where schemes are not progressing to agreed timescales, escalating material risks or commercial impacts in line with the governance framework.
• Coordinate transition input to change and technology initiatives, ensuring clear operational requirements and appropriate subject matter expertise are provided, and that new processes and tools are embedded effectively within the teams.
• Produce accurate and timely management information for operational governance and relevant committees, highlighting volumes, capacity, service performance, risks, issues, commercial activity and emerging market themes.

What we’re looking for

• Proven planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage a varied portfolio of scheme transitions, competing priorities and team capacity.
• Ability to work independently and through others to tight deadlines, maintaining strong standards of accuracy, control and attention to detail.
• Good understanding of the life and pensions industry, particularly DB pensions, the DB de-risking market and the roles of EBCs and professional trustees.
• Strong influencing and relationship-management skills, with the ability to work effectively with trustees, EBCs, professional trustees and internal commercial stakeholders to progress transactions.
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills, with the confidence to represent the transition operation in external meetings and present our capability clearly and concisely.
• Strong problem analysis, decision-making and resolution skills, with sound judgement on when to escal.
• Strong operational, project, people and stakeholder management skills, supported by a practical understanding of commercial priorities.
• Experience in a transition, implementation, operations or relationship management role within DB de-risking, gained with an insurer, pensions consultancy or a third party administrator supporting an insurer.
• Relevant experience within the DB pensions industry is essential.
• Experience of managing complex or large scheme transitions is desirable.
• Experience of working with trustees, EBCs and commercial colleagues, with evidence of coordinating teams and driving scheme transitions through to conclusion.
• Previous people-management experience in an operations, implementation or customer service environment is beneficial.

Our behaviours

At Just you’ll have the opportunity to develop your career, whilst making a difference to the lives of those around you. You’ll be part of a company with a strong and distinctive culture - we’re ambitious, curious and collaborative – and every decision we make centres around being Just and delivering the best outcomes for our customers.

What ’s in it for you

A competitive salary, pension scheme and life assurance

25 days annual leave plus an additional day on us for your birthday

Private medical cover and income protection, just in case

A generous and highly achievable bonus scheme

Opportunities to progress your career in-role and within the company

Free access to the Headspace app, 24/7 employee assistance helpline and trained physical and mental health first aiders

A variety of employee funded benefits available via our online benefits portal

Plus, several additional purchase options available for you and your loved ones

Valuing diversity of thought and fostering a sense of belonging is critical to our business success, driving innovation and balanced decision making. Our work on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) aims to deliver a brilliant employee experience underpinned by a sense of belonging, where our people feel proud to work at Just.

We remain committed to our publicly disclosed HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter targets and support a wide range of employee network and events, championing issues including intergenerational working, social mobility and neurodiversity.