The posting
*Please note we only accept online applications.*
Role Overview
We're looking for a Senior Scheme Accounts Analyst to join our Pension Scheme Accounting Team. In this role, you'll take ownership of a key pension scheme accounting workstream, helping to ensure the delivery of accurate financial information, robust controls and high-quality reporting across the Scheme.
You'll lead the review and analysis of reconciliations, journals, management accounts and service provider outputs, ensuring issues are identified, challenged and resolved effectively. Working closely with TCS, Northern Trust and NatWest, you'll oversee critical accounting activities, support month-end reporting and contribute to the production of key financial and regulatory returns.
As a senior member of the team, you'll provide guidance and support to Scheme Accounts Analysts, help strengthen review and escalation processes, and drive continuous improvements to controls, documentation and ways of working.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced finance professional with strong reconciliation, reporting and analytical skills to play a key role in maintaining the financial integrity of one of the UK's largest workplace pension schemes.
Minimum criteria for this role are:
- Substantial experience of cash, bank, investment accounting, financial reconciliations or management accounts processes, ideally in a pension scheme, financial services, administration or high-volume transaction environment
- Experience supporting or coordinating month-end reporting, balance sheet reconciliations, journals, management account schedules or audit evidence
- Strong numerical, analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound judgement over accuracy, completeness, evidence, review and control requirements
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills and confidence using financial systems, reporting tools and large datasets to support analysis, review and decision-making
- Experience of working with third-party service providers, challenging outputs and following operational or financial issues through to resolution
- Degree educated, part-qualified, qualified by experience, or fully qualified accountant
- Excellent attention to detail, with analysis that is accurate, robust, well-evidenced and clearly explained
- A proactive and organised approach to managing deadlines, priorities, dependencies and follow-up actions across a workstream
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement and escalate issues clearly when risks, delays or control matters arise
- Resilience and adaptability in a changing environment, including new processes, systems, provider arrangements and control requirements
Flexible and agile working
Everyone's personal situation is different.
To make the most out of hybrid working, we've introduced different ways of working, which include (subject to role requirements):
- hybrid of office (Canary Wharf, London) and home working (there will be an expectation to attend the office, once - twice a week, or more, as required)
- reduce or vary working hours
- reduce or vary the days worked
Click here to see the benefits we offer at Nest.
For more information about our recruitment process click here
Directorate/Department Overview
The Finance & Commercial Solutions (FCS) Directorate, led by the Chief Financial Officer and their leadership team, consists of three distinct areas:
- Finance
- Commercial Management
- Commercial Procurement
Within the Finance team there are multiple disciplines, including the core financial control activities for which this role would be responsible. It is an exciting time to join the Finance function as the CFO is looking to make a significant amount of change and enhancement in each area, while also seeking synergies and alignment across the Directorate.
Within the Finance team and looking after the accounting for the Nest Pension Scheme (the Scheme) itself, is the Pension Scheme Accounting team (PSAT), which is responsible for:
- Ownership of the Scheme general ledger, ensuring all entries are complete, accurate, timely, appropriately supported and subject to effective review
- Production of high-quality monthly Scheme accounts
- Managing and delivering specific key external publications relevant to the Scheme, such as the Scheme Annual Report and Accounts (SARA), annual TPR return, and submitting quarterly returns to the ONS and ABI
- Providing challenge to the Fund Administration Team to ensure the data flows from the Scheme Administrator (TCS) and Fund Administrator/Custodian (Northern Trust) are timely and accurate
- Ensuring routine finance and cash reconciliations supporting the Pension Scheme financial statements are completed by the Scheme Administrator timely and accurately
- Main finance point of contact for SAPE
- Monitoring of the Scheme General Account and approval of payments from the account
- Day-to-day ownership of the banking relationship for Nest ensuring banking issues are dealt with effectively
- Day-to-day ownership of the tax adviser relationship ensuring all tax relevant to the Scheme is reclaimed where appropriate
Organisational Overview
Nest is an award-winning workplace pension scheme, the largest in the country.
Set up by the government to give every worker in the UK somewhere to save, our first-class responsible investment practice and governance are the backbone of what we do, supported by all the functions you’d expect to find in a thriving business. We’re committed to creating a workplace where you can be your authentic self and offer an inclusive and flexible working environment.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of their age, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy or caring responsibilities, race, religion/belief, sex, sexual orientation or socio economic background.
We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought and other forms of neurocognitive variation.
Nest is a Disability Confident Leader, which is the highest level of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you have a disability, please declare that you’re applying through the scheme.
We aim to offer an interview to those applicants who apply through the Disability Confident Scheme and best meet the minimum criteria. However, there may be some circumstances where this is not possible due to the volume of applications.
Please note that this advert may close early if we receive a sufficient number of satisfactory applications.
If you have any difficulty in sending your application or need the application pack in an alternative format, or you require any reasonable adjustments please contact: [email protected].
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