Principal

The Vacancy

As a principal risk transfer consultant, you will lead complex risk transfer projects for a portfolio of clients. You will act as a trusted adviser to trustee boards and sponsoring employers, shaping strategy and driving successful endgame outcomes for UK defined benefit pension schemes.

You will play a key leadership role within the pension scheme risk transfer services team. Your focus will be on leading client delivery, developing people, growing client and insurer relationships and contributing to the wider success of the business.

You will bring deep experience of pension schemes and endgame strategy, with the judgement and credibility to lead conversations at board level and manage complex stakeholder environments.

About Us

Hymans Robertson is one of the UK’s leading pensions, investment and risk management consultancies. We are an independent partnership with a strong client focus and a culture of collaboration and innovation.

We work with many of the UK’s largest pension schemes and continue to grow through the quality of our advice and the strength of our relationships.

Key Responsibilities Will Include

• Leading end-to-end delivery of complex risk transfer projects, acting as the primary client contact and trusted adviser to trustees and sponsoring employers.
• Setting and owning project strategy, including defining the market approach and provider selection process and advising on key decisions and trade-offs.
• Overseeing project plans and ensuring delivery against milestones, with clear accountability for outcomes, risks and client experience.
• Providing strategic and technical leadership on key aspects of risk transfer, including endgame strategy, broking strategy, benefit specification, insurer requirements, residual risks.
• Leading engagement with insurers and other stakeholders, holding all parties to account and resolving issues proactively.
• Providing oversight of all core workstreams, including insurer readiness; market approach; insurer selection.
• Identifying and managing key risks and dependencies, escalating where needed and driving practical solutions.
• Acting as a coach and mentor to junior team members, supporting their development and building team capability.
• Building strong, long-term client relationships, identifying opportunities for further advice and support.
• Contributing meaningfully to new business activity, including proposals, pitches and thought leadership.
• Building strong relationships with insurer’s origination teams, influencing their approach on systematic issues and nurturing a positive, collaborative relationship with Hymans as a risk transfer specialist.
• Supporting proposition development and continuous improvement of our risk transfer services. Expected to lead on a material aspect of the proposition internally and become a go to expert for the business unit.
• Ensuring high standards of quality, governance and documentation across all work.
• Maintaining strong knowledge of pensions legislation, market developments and insurer practices.
• Contributing to leadership within the team and wider business, including sharing insight and supporting strategic priorities.
• Ensuring compliance with the firm’s information security standards, policies and procedures.

Skills And Qualifications Required

We are looking for the following personal characteristics

• Strong leadership presence and credibility with trustee boards and senior stakeholders.
• Excellent relationship management skills with the ability to influence and challenge constructively.
• Highly developed organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage complex programmes of work.
• Strong commercial awareness and an ability to identify opportunities to add value for clients and the firm.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and make sound judgements in a changing environment.
• Proactive and solutions-focused, with the ability to anticipate issues and drive outcomes.
• Commitment to developing others and building high-performing teams.

Qualifications And Experience

• Significant experience working with UK defined benefit pension schemes on risk transfer projects.
• A strong track record of leading client relationships and delivering complex projects.
• Experience working with insurers and bulk annuity transactions.
• A strong understanding of the legislative and regulatory framework for UK pension schemes and insurers.
• Experience gained in consultancy, insurer or trustee executive environments.
• A relevant professional qualification is desirable but not essential where equivalent experience is demonstrated.

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’ve 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 out 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.