Defined Benefit Actuarial Assistant Manager – Pensions Actuarial

Job Description

Defined Benefit Actuarial- Assistant Manager | KPMG

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at KPMG, with core hubs in London Canary Wharf, Birmingham, and Manchester, and flexibility for other locations across the UK. KPMG’s Pensions Advisory business is actively expanding its new pensions team. This role is critical for delivering high-quality actuarial pensions advice for defined benefit schemes, with a primary focus on public sector clients but also engaging with private sector schemes. The company seeks individuals who can contribute diverse skill sets to support the team’s continued growth and success.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time (flexible hours and part-time options available)
• Location: Hybrid, United Kingdom

• Team: Pensions Actuarial team within Pensions Advisory business
• Mission: Deliver high-quality actuarial pensions advice related to defined benefit pension schemes, primarily for the public sector.
• Tech Stack: MS Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), KPMG developed tools

What You’ll Actually Do
• Advise: Provide strategic actuarial pensions advice on defined benefit schemes, covering journey planning, funding, accounting, risk management, benefit design, and governance for public and private sector clients.
• Manage: Act as a key client contact, ensure engagements are delivered within agreed timelines, and maintain regular, honest communication with clients and the team.
• Oversee: Direct and oversee the work of junior team members, including reviewing their outputs and providing coaching and mentoring support.
• Develop: Contribute to the development of junior actuarial colleagues by delivering technical training and enhancing their technical knowledge and consulting skills.
• Ensure Quality: Complete documentation and audit trails with a focus on quality, check technical actuarial work against actuarial standards and KPMG quality procedures, applying professional skepticism.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Assistant Manager level, part qualified actuary having passed at least 5 of the FIA exams (or equivalent), with a strong understanding of relevant technical actuarial, accounting, and financial reporting standards and pension regulations.
• Experience: Working in pensions actuarial at an employee benefit consultancy or other Big 4 firm, experience of leading and performance managing teams, and advising Trustees/corporates on scheme funding, including knowledge of the Pensions Regulator’s regime.
• Skills: Good technical understanding of pensions liability calculations, knowledge of the wider UK pensions landscape and its funding/accounting regimes, highly effective stakeholder management, strong analytical and numerical abilities, and IT literacy with MS Office tools.
• Bonus: Experience of coaching and mentoring junior staff.