Management Consultant – Life & Pensions Specialist

PEN Partnership was set up in 2012 by a group of financial services management consultants who had worked together for 20 years and were determined to create a substantially different offering for clients and employees. We need people who understand what we are building, see the potential and want to work hard to share in our future. We think we offer an exciting environment in which to do this. This is what we expect applicants to do in this role:

• Market Knowledge and Development - share and bring to bear personal experience of working with industry providers, partners and suppliers in this space, and the typical operating models, technology and processes employed

• Project Delivery - playing a leading role in the delivery of projects and programmes, reporting to executive-level clients, (the CEO, COO, CIO) of leading Financial Services institutions. Working with PEN Partners and alone at clients depending on the engagement
• Business Development - developing our business propositions to the Life & Pensions sector in collaboration with other members of the team
• Client Service - continually surpassing expectations of our customers; understanding their problems and proactively engaging with them to deliver the right outcome
• PEN Development - contribute to the management and development of PEN, both in day-to-day operations and longer-term strategy

The candidate will likely have between 3 – 8 years’ experience of working in a relevant area of the financial services industry, mainly in the Life & Pensions sector and with a track record of exposure to product, marketing, technology, process, finance & actuarial practices and models. During this time, they will have either been directly engaged as a consultant, in business-related or in project roles within an industry setting, where consulting-style skills have been required.

Market and Industry knowledge

It is essential that candidates have a general understanding of the Life & Pensions industry and in-depth knowledge of the business models, opportunities and challenges prevalent in the sector. Specific experience required will include:

• A good understanding of the business and operating models typically utilized in the sector, together with their heritage, challenges and opportunities. Experience of changing the operating model in light of customer/market/regulatory/financial dynamics would be advantageous

• Strong knowledge of the underlying products and propositions offered by sector providers, covering protection (individual and group), pensions (DB and DC, retail and institutional) and investment-based solutions
• A good working knowledge of the underlying customer expectations and dynamics in this sector and how this dictates strategy, behaviour and operating model of industry providers. For this purpose, customers includes financial advisers, trustees and the regulator as well as end customers
• An understanding of the financial workings of the sector, how businesses make money and the metrics typically used to measure success. This would include knowledge around reserving, capital management, asset and liability management and associated de-risking mechanisms
• A strong working knowledge of the technological solutions employed in the sector, be they for the purposes of policy administration, management or statutory reporting, pricing, financial management etc
• Good working knowledge of the associated regulatory and reporting environment in the sector and the current regulatory dynamics

Consulting competencies

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate:

• Leadership – the unique ability to join a project and understand, work with, motivate, challenge and empathize with a group of (initially) unknown colleagues on a project, leading all to a successful outcome

• Professionalism - Display initiative / enthusiasm in achievement of programme objectives, overcoming or coping with problems, ability to act with integrity no matter how awkward or challenging the issue
• Core consulting skills – including problem-solving, structured thinking, change management, business case development, facilitation, stakeholder and people management
• Communication – Able to present a clear and convincing message to client/PEN team at the appropriate time with the ability to hold attention of the audience by gauging reactions, demonstrating strong interpersonal skills
• Adaptability – Able to manage the unexpected in a consistent and level-headed manner dealing with defensive and emotional behaviour at stressful times, also able to create clarity out of uncertain situations
• Project delivery - Able to lead drafting of key project documentation. Able to Plan and organise work for others, manage upwards and deliver on agreed objectives, ensuring at all times that the client’s expectations are being met, and value-for-money is demonstrated

What sort of people are PEN people?

• People who are passionate about delivering great service to clients; who can offer the right mix of support and challenge throughout the lifecycle of complex projects
• Professionals who operate with absolute honesty, make realistic promises and are assured in the choices they make
• Consultants who quickly gain the trust of PEN colleagues, project teams and can empathise with those working on the shop floor of client organisations
• Self-starters who can operate autonomously at clients and outside of the ‘mothership’ consulting organisation
• People who will understand what PEN is about, want to share in it, and want to put in additional effort to help us grow
• A good sense of humour is desirable: we want people who enjoy life more than work, and will not consider working for PEN as ‘having a job’
• Confident team players who will make sure they are heard in a group; will blow their own trumpet, but know the correct volume at which to do so
• We also think everyone should have a ‘superpower’: be it an area of expertise, a general skill, or something they are known for in the industry

• Basic salary negotiable (depending on experience) – options available around structure of remuneration

• Annual bonus relating to personal and company performance – (annual bonus target is c.20% of basic salary)
• Membership of the PEN Partnership Pension Scheme, including employer contributions
• Life assurance of 4 x salary
• Private medical insurance (including dependents)
• Participation in the PEN employee ownership scheme (EOS)
• 6 weeks annual leave

PEN is a specialist consultancy that helps our clients in regulated industries – financial services & life sciences – transform to better serve their customers. Our deep experience from the two sectors, and the parallels and learnings that can be brought across, offer our clients a unique proposition.

The business, which started in financial services, has grown +20% year on year, has more than 40 full-time employees, +200 trusted associates, and repeat business from 9 out of every 10 clients.

Since PEN started in 2012, and even though we have grown quite a bit over the last few years, we have nurtured a strong culture to go with our ambition to help our clients become more digital, data-driven and customer-focused.

People who work at PEN say our culture stands out from other places they’ve worked. Many say it feels very much like home, and words like ‘Supported’, ‘Open’, ‘Fun’, ‘Empowered’, ‘No Hierarchy’, ‘Committed’ are often mentioned by PEN people

And it’s official. We ranked 2nd in the UK’s Best Small Workplaces in 2021 with Great Places to Work and received the Excellence in Wellbeing Award 2 years in a row, in 2019-2021 and 2021-2022.

Here are a few examples of how we walk the talk:

• We only take work on where we believe we can create a quality impactful outcome
• We have Ethical, Social and Environmental considerations front of mind in everything that we do
• We empower everyone to be straight-forward, honest and to take tough decisions when it is right to do so
• We put the wellbeing of our people at the heart of our decisions, nurturing our culture to be inclusive, supportive, and fun
• We prioritise innovation and invest in our specialist propositions, people and capabilities to be truly market leading
• We are as meritocratic as possible. Everyone is truly equally empowered to shape the future of the business and entrepreneurialism is expected
• We believe your health is important, and we help along the way with a true work/life balance, 6 weeks paid annual leave and life and medical insurance for you and your family
• We care about giving back, which we do through venture investments and the PEN Trust - which uses 1% of our revenue to help our community and people who need it
• We are champions of hybrid working. Our team is often separated geographically due to client work, but help and advice is always an e-mail, phone call or WhatsApp message away – and monthly whole-company meetings provide time to think about PEN and see colleagues when it is safe to do so
• We don’t have the commercial constraints of a large professional services operation and can be flexible to clients’ budgets, always offering an attractive commercial proposition
• We believe that money isn’t everything. Our ultimate goal is to maintain a growing, energetic company that provides loads more than just a salary to our people