Associate, Reward & Benefits

Associate, Reward Benefits (retirement plan specialist)

The Associate, Reward Benefits is responsible for providing management support to the Principal, Reward Benefits and the Associate Director, Head of Compensation and Benefits in ensuring that the retirement plan benefits are appropriate, market competitive, professionally managed and delivered to staff effectively and to a high standard. The provision of professional expertise to the Bank is also a key component of this role so that decisions can be made by Senior Management and committees in an informed way.

The role includes the development, management and enhancement of the Bank's current retirement plan policies and plans, and the introduction of new elements of the reward package where appropriate, implementing and communicating changes across the Bank effectively.

The role is also responsible for providing expert benefits consulting advice and guidance to HR Business Partners, thereby developing their knowledge, capability and understanding of Benefits policies and plans.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities Policy development and implementation

• Responsibility for providing input to the development and communication of the Bank's reward strategy, ensuring that it is clearly understood and that compensation policies and plans support this strategy.
• Work with the Principal, Reward Benefits and the Associate Director, Head of Compensation and Benefits to continually monitor and review the retirement plan benefits provided to staff, including benchmarking with comparator organisations.
• Support Principal, Reward Benefits and the Associate Director, Head of Compensation and Benefits in development of changes to bank wide policies or introduce new policies (more specifically in the retirement plan function) where appropriate, actively gaining buy in from stakeholders during the development.
• Support Principal, Reward Benefits and the Associate Director, Head of Compensation and Benefits in development of bank wide communications for staff regarding changes to policies and processes as they are implemented.
• Provide support to the Principal, Reward Benefits and the Associate Director, Head of Compensation and Benefits in the development of the annual compensation proposals made to the Board, via the Executive Committee, and recommend changes appropriate to establish and maintain a competitive reward package aligned to the reward strategy.
• Take a lead in specific parts of the annual reward and benefits proposals in order to improve the benefits policies at the Bank. Managing the consultation of ideas and checking alignment with the reward strategy.
• Management and ownership of specific reward projects to develop specialist solutions in the area of reward and benefits.

Provision of expertise to the Bank

• Ensure up to date understanding of best practices and market trends related to benefits, with a focus on retirement plans, through external networking and attending seminars and conferences. Build and maintain a network of professional relationships designed to tap into and develop the best policies and plans for the Bank.
• Provide information to staff, to enable them to understand policies and processes, via a variety of communication channels.
• Understand and resolve complex issues relating to specific groups of staff or specific areas of the benefits and communicate these effectively to staff or management.
• Design and provide individual training, information and education sessions to staff and to other HR teams.
• Deputise for the Principal, HR Reward as required to ensure the consistent provision of retirement plan expertise and support to staff, the HR Business Partners and the business.
• Serve as a source of expert Reward advice and act as an internal consultant, for a specific area of the business, to HR Business Partners and their clients to enable them to make decisions, interpret policies, resolve complex issues as they arise, including providing advice and analysis in support of the banks D&I policy, and have a full understanding of the Bank's policies, plans and processes.
• Analyse the Bank's reward and benefits policies and practices in relation to its comparator groups, via participation in surveys, information sharing within networks and working with external consultancy firms and attending seminars and conferences.

Associate, Reward Benefits specific: ongoing management of retirement plan provisions

• Undertake tasks required for the retirement plans annual cycle such as benefit statements for staff, audit, report & accounts, actuarial valuation and US Waiver exercise.
• Support Principal, Reward Benefits in management the Bank's internal retirement plan committees including the arranging of meetings and preparation of required documentation
• Manage contractual and day to day relationships with the external providers to ensure there is an efficient provision of benefits to staff, service levels are maintained, and invoicing is accurate
• Assist with external provider contract extension and retender exercises
• Provide clear and accurate responses to queries from staff, former staff, HR teams, the wider business and external retirement plan providers
• Manage benefit settlement processes for deaths, divorces and transfers, including preparing documentation for the relevant retirement plan committee
• Manage staff engagement framework with outsourced suppliers, including the annual financial wellness sessions
• Conduct the internal controls framework testing (ICF) related to benefits
• Work with the Principal, Reward Benefits, participate as required in a variety of ad hoc tasks and projects
• Maintain and enhance retirement plan knowledge base articles and Staff Guide intranet pages. Draft new knowledge base articles where appropriate
• Work in partnership with Employee Relations and OGC (legal team) to ensure the Staff Handbook is maintained in terms of reward policies
• Ensure retirement plan records are maintained and appropriately stored

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills, with a consulting mentality, and the ability to coordinate and integrate ideas and solutions across teams.
• Numerate and computer literate
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written), fluent in English language, with the ability to convey complex information in a simple and engaging way.
• Effective analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities, within tight deadlines, prioritising work effectively.
• Ability to work autonomously and exercise sound judgement.

Reward Benefits specific

• Significant breadth of relevant experience in all aspects of retirement plan management and consultancy
• Excellent knowledge of retirement plan practices
• Experience of developing, implementing and communicating policy changes
• Demonstrated experience of drafting retirement plan communication materials for staff and providing training sessions
• Trustee/retirement plan committee secretarial support experience would be an advantage
• Experience operating in HR systems transformation environment would be an added advantage

Benefits

• A comprehensive suite of competitive benefits.