Pensions Administrator Ref. 3422
Find out more about this role by reading the information below, then apply to be considered.
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Disability confident leader
Department Specialist Roles
Location(s) Cheltenham, London
Salary £39,152 London, £36,534 Cheltenham
Job description
Flexible working: Due to the sensitive nature of the role, your work will need to be done from the office. However, we offer flexible working in the form of part-time and compressed hours, with flexibility around start and finish times.
About us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.
The role
As one of our Pensions Administrators, you’ll be part of the team that looks after the pensions of all your colleagues at MI5 and MI6. You’ll answer enquiries, provide guidance and correspond with current and past MI5 and MI6 staff to keep them updated on pension matters. And you’ll do it all as part of a welcoming, supportive workplace that’s committed to helping you fulfil your potential.
Day-to-day, you’ll complete all processes related to pensions, including making calculations, updating records, and filing personal information compliantly. Your existing knowledge of HR, pensions or payroll will mean you have a keen attention to detail and understand how to carefully handle sensitive information. And you’ll work efficiently and accurately as you meet tight deadlines, understanding the importance of staying compliant with legal obligations.
Teamwork is at the heart of this role. You’ll become part of a growing department who all support each other. And you’ll regularly collaborate with colleagues working in other teams too, like Policy, HR and Payroll. As you grow your knowledge and confidence, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to training. And you’ll get the chance to take on individual project work to help with your own development.
More than anything else, this role is about providing a great service to your colleagues working across MI5 and MI6. Through your support, they’ll be assured that their pensions are secure and properly managed, so they can plan for their future.
About you
You’ll have a minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above in mathematics and English language (or an equivalent Level 2 qualification). You’ll have experience working in pensions, or in a similar field like HR or payroll. You’ll be proficient with IT and able to learn new programmes and systems. And since you’ll need to regularly complete calculations, you’ll be comfortable working with numbers.
As well as this, you’ll be good at multi-tasking, since you may need to answer queries by phone or email while working on daily process work. And you’ll have good customer service skills, enabling you to clearly guide MI5 and MI6 colleagues through their options and answer any questions they might have.
It’s a busy team where you’ll need to work at a fast pace and regularly reprioritise tasks to meet deadlines. So, you’ll be comfortable working under pressure and able to work quickly while maintaining high quality. Finally, you’ll have a passion for pensions and be excited about the chance to contribute to MI5 and MI6’s work.
Training and development
When you join, you’ll be assigned a dedicated buddy to help you settle in. And you’ll get on-the-job training from our pension specialists. Plus, you’ll have access to internal training courses available from any of the UK’s Intelligence Services, as well as access to internal communities, support networks, and mentors.
And if you’re interested, you’ll also get the option to gain a CIPD or similar pension accreditation (subject to places). We’ll provide you with study leave and funding to do it, along with plenty of internal support to help your learning.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £39,152 (London) or £36,534 (Cheltenham) plus other benefits including:
25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
Personal Learning Budget
Interest-free season ticket loan
Excellent pension scheme
Cycle to work scheme
Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
Paid parental and adoption leave.
Equal Opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
https://www.MI5.gov.uk/careers/diversity
We’re Disability Confident
MI5 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:
A minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4/C in mathematics and English language (or an equivalent O-Level, BTEC or Level 2 qualification)
You must be able to demonstrate that you can work collaboratively
You will be required to meet the minimum pass mark for the questions which explore your motivation to work for the organisation and this particular role
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
Application sift, looking at your motivation and skills for the role and the organisation. There will also be a competency question
An interview, examining your responses to different situations typical to the role
If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before You Apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more discretely.
The roles are based in London or Cheltenham, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.