Head of Pension Administration at Britam

Job Purpose: 
Overall oversight of the pension administration business and ensuring retention of pension business.

Key responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Business Growth

• Develop and execute the strategic direction, business plans, and operating model for the Pension Administration business in alignment with the organization's overall strategy.
• Drive growth, profitability, and sustainability of the pension administration portfolio through market expansion, client retention, and service innovation.
• Lead the development and implementation of digital and process transformation initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and customer experience.
• Monitor industry trends, regulatory changes, and market developments, providing strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

Client Relationship & Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with scheme sponsors, trustees, regulators, and key stakeholders to ensure continuity, growth, and effective governance of pension schemes.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex client issues, ensuring timely resolution and high levels of client satisfaction.
• Foster effective collaboration with custodians, corporate trustees, investment managers, actuaries, auditors, finance teams, and other service providers to achieve agreed service standards and timelines.
• Lead client engagement initiatives, reviews, and retention strategies to strengthen long-term partnerships.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure pension schemes are administered in accordance with the Retirement Benefits Act, RBA Regulations, KRA requirements, Trust Deeds and Rules, and other applicable legislation.
• Provide oversight on compliance monitoring, regulatory reporting, and governance frameworks across all administered schemes.
• Ensure timely licensing and renewal requirements for pension schemes and the organization as a licensed Pension Administrator are met.
• Establish and maintain robust risk management and internal control frameworks to safeguard scheme assets and mitigate operational, regulatory, and reputational risks.
• Lead regulatory engagements, audits, inspections, and responses to regulatory inquiries.

Operations & Service Delivery

• Provide leadership and oversight for the end-to-end administration of pension schemes, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and adherence to service level agreements.
• Oversee the processing and settlement of member benefits, contributions, transfers, and pension payments within prescribed timelines.
• Drive operational excellence through continuous process improvement, performance monitoring, and implementation of industry best practices.
• Ensure accurate and timely preparation of management, trustee, board, and regulatory reports.

Governance Meetings & Regulatory Engagement

• Lead the planning, coordination, and servicing of trustee, annual general, and other statutory meetings.
• Provide professional guidance to trustees and sponsors on pension governance, compliance matters, and industry developments.
• Ensure implementation and follow-up of resolutions arising from statutory and governance meetings.

People Leadership

• Provide leadership, coaching, and development of the Pension Administration team to build technical expertise and high performance.
• Establish departmental objectives, monitor performance, and drive a culture of accountability, innovation, and customer centricity.
• Lead succession planning, talent development, and workforce capability initiatives within the department.

Financial & Performance Management

• Develop and manage departmental budgets, ensuring effective utilization of resources and cost optimization.
• Monitor and report on key performance indicators (OKRs), service metrics, compliance standards, and business objectives.
• Identify revenue enhancement opportunities and implement initiatives to improve financial performance.

Other Responsibilities

• Exercise delegated authority in accordance with the approved Delegated Authority Matrix.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by management from time to time.

Knowledge, experience and qualifications required:

• Bachelor’s degree in a business-related field. 
• At least a diploma in insurance.
• Master’s Degree (Added advantage). 
• Professional qualification in Pension Management. 
• At least 7-10 years successful insurance experience 3 of which should be in a management position.
• Significant experience in stakeholder management and working with various teams to ensure segment strategies are achieved.

Technical/ Functional competencies:

• Knowledge of pension administration industry and concepts.
• Customer, market and competitor understanding.
• Knowledge of the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA’s) regulatory requirements.