Liverpool - USS Careers

Based in the Royal Liver Building, our Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USSL) Head Office in Liverpool is in charge of managing our pension scheme – and delivering an exceptional service to our members and employers. Alongside our pension teams, Group employees work collaboratively to enable our excellent service delivery to members and institutions.

Meet our people

Meet Andy,
Business Systems & Change Manager

"The team I work with is responsible for ensuring that applications are appropriately supported, ensuring the business have the systems and support they need to deliver a service to employers and members."

"What I love about working at USS is the people. As with any organisation, there are new challenges and changes to take on, and the people at USS work together to ensure that we deliver what is required, especially if sometimes timescales are tight."

"Big scheme. Big opportunities. One area I do feel USS is particularly good at is providing opportunities for staff to share ideas and suggestions for improvement with the wider business."

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Meet Lyndsey,
Senior Pensions Administrator

"Since joining USS a few months ago, I have gained a greater understanding and vast amount of knowledge not only in dealing with USS pensions, but in the industry in general. On the Data Reconciliation team, my role requires me to liaise with both employers and members. It is my responsibility to ensure contributions are in order, so my day includes completing manual calculations, refunding or invoicing employers, helping members to understand the USS Investment Builder and setting up new joiners to the scheme."

"Working independently gives me responsibility and great satisfaction; however, as a team, we strive for excellence and a quick turnaround – successfully meeting targets is important to us. I have built good relationships with employer contacts and being a member-focused pension scheme we are trusted to act."

"USS is keen to innovate and adapt which I enjoy as each day brings new challenges. Our mission statement is "to be the pensions service of choice for the higher education sector for the long term."

"I feel comfortable and proud to work here and appreciate the fact that as an employee, you can express yourself. There are opportunities to take exams, which help employees to develop and grow with the company."

"USS has opened new opportunities for me and it is an organisation I hope to be successful with."

Find out more about Pensions Operations Apply for a Pensions Operations role

Meet Graeme,
Head of DC Operations

"I am the Head of DC Operations at USS, a role based in the Pensions Operations department. That means that I am responsible for ensuring that all operations that underpin our service to members with Defined Contribution (DC) savings run smoothly, whether that means the provision of a contact centre to field telephone queries or back-office functions that must meet the rigorous timescales that we set ourselves to ensure members’ monies are invested as quickly as feasibly possible. You can learn more about USS’s DC arrangement, the Investment Builder, on our website."

"My role is challenging one but exciting as USS’s DC proposition doesn’t stand still and I have to ensure that targets are met whilst also ensuring that we are receptive and capable of any future changes we make for the benefit of our members."

"I place a big emphasis on having good people around me and we have developed a collaborative, considerate and hugely talented team in Pensions Operations that meets all its challenges head on."

"Our service proposition is focused on:

Quality – delivering an industry leading service to our members, from joining through to retirement. We ensure that all member requirements are catered for and ensure that benefits are settled promptly and accurately;
Efficiency – we have hugely ambitious service levels that we adhere to, meaning that we get responses out to our members for the majority of their applications and enquires within three days;
Cost – ensuring that we deliver the above whilst being responsible with members’ pension contributions and ensuring that we spend wisely on innovation;
Member focus – ensuring that members are at the heart of everything we do, whether that be the investment of contributions, the response to a telephone call or the payment of pensions."

"Only through the development of a purposeful culture, outstanding team-work and truly capable staff can we hope to fulfil this service proposition. Fortunately in Pensions Operations, and throughout USS, we have this in place meaning that we can take pride in our achievements - knowing that they are appreciated by our members too - and take enjoyment from working for an organisation that is at the forefront of its industry in many ways."

Find out more about Pensions Operations Apply for a Pensions Operations role

Meet Piers,
Group Transformation Executive

"The Group Transformation Executive provides leadership and coordination of programmes that deliver key pensions product and service functionality. In delivering key products and services we aim to pre-empt and satisfy member's and employer's needs such that they have the information, capabilities and tools they require, thereby supporting USS's mission in being the pensions service of choice for the higher education sector for the long term."

"What I love about working at USS is the people. Relatively speaking, USS is a small organisation, and consists of a close-knit team that cares deeply for the needs of members and employers; in a working in environment that is intellectually stimulating, challenging and fun."

"Where experts come together. The depth of expertise at USS is really very impressive across all aspects of the organisation. This creates significant opportunities to learn and develop – and not a single day goes by without that happening."

Find out more about Group Transformation Apply for a Group Transformation role

Where will you build your career?

There are many opportunities here – whether you're just leaving school or university, or you're experienced in the pension or financial services sector. From answering our members' technical pension queries, to helping run our state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, project managing change programmes to helping our financial operations run with great efficiency, there are many ways to build your career.

Audit

Our Internal Audit team operates as a 'third line of defence' beyond the individual units and the Group Risk function. Our mission is to provide an independent, objective and efficient assurance and consulting service. We work across both our Liverpool and London offices.

By evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes, we can make sure we're safeguarding the USS pension scheme – and our members' financial future. We cover four key areas: reliability and integrity of financial and operational information, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, safeguarding of assets and compliance with laws, regulations and contracts.

Jobs in Audit

Corporate Affairs

The Corporate Affairs team is responsible for managing the Group’s external communication and public affairs strategy as well as setting the direction for and managing internal communications, ensuring all activity is consistent with the culture and values of the Group.

Through our public relations activity we raise the profile, enhance the brand and protect the reputation of USS as a pension provider and investment manager. We lead on global advocacy and influencing, and through stakeholder engagement, help shape policy.

And we have oversight of initiatives relating to our social, economic and environmental impacts and through our culture programme encourage employee engagement and collaboration across USS.

Jobs in Corporate Affairs

Finance

The Finance department has four major roles – as a strategist at the top table, driving our future; as a steward, protecting our assets for our members; as an operator, helping our investment and pension service functions run smoothly, and as a catalyst, driving change.

We have six teams, Financial Planning and Strategy, Finance Operations & Control, Investment Finance & Asset Valuation, Tax, Payroll, and Procurement. Not only do we run our own internal finances including supporting all supplier relationships, we also play a key role in our fund management through providing valuations, oversight, and decision-making advice including tax management. We work just as closely with our member and employer services, helping to ensure that the smooth running of the cash processing of our pensions, other member payments and payments into the DC funds. We manage the receipt of money from institutions, working closely with Pensions Operations. Our payroll team also deal directly with pensioners on their queries, reporting to tax authorities and process interpretations of scheme rules.

Jobs in Finance

Group General Counsel

The Group General Counsel is responsible at an executive level for the management of compliance risk, governance risk and legal risk.

Legal

Managing risk is at the heart of our legal team – as we look to ensure we're meeting all relevant legal and regulatory obligations, both in terms of our pension scheme administration and delivery, and the management of our circa £67 billion investment fund. By providing key legal advice and support to both Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited and USS Investment Management Limited, we help ensure compliance – and the protection of our members and our employers.

Compliance

It's our task to help define the compliance rules for individual business areas throughout Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited and USS Investment Management Limited. Our primary role is to identify and manage compliance risks, define frameworks to respond to them, and, where applicable, report to executive management and the board regarding adherence to those frameworks.

We also work closely with teams around the business to make sure that those rules are clearly understood through training and communication programmes.

Governance and Company Secretariat

We're responsible for the management and oversight of governance risk within the whole USS Group. We make sure not only that we have an effective governance framework in place, but also that it's properly documented and understood.

One of our key roles is to advise the Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited board and USS Investment Management Limited board and their committees on matters of corporate governance. In particular, we offer advice in relation to the UK Corporate Governance Code, and the FCAs SYSC rules, as they apply to USS Investment Management Limited. The team also advise the business on SPV governance arrangements and provide company secretarial support to the firm's full suite of SPVs.

Jobs in Group General Counsel

Group Risk

It's our vision to be the best value-added pension risk team in the world. The department is headed up by our Chief Risk Officer who reports directly to the Group CEO. We operate on the 'three lines of defence' model. The first line being our individual business units, the second, the Group Risk, Legal and Compliance teams, and the third, the Internal Audit team.

We perform two key roles. Firstly, control: maintaining the risk management framework to ensure risks are identified and managed in accordance with the board's risk appetite. Our second key objective is to add value. This includes developing models and tools that provide insight and challenge to improve business decision making.

We're split into four teams:

Funding Strategy

We address the risks associated with the defined benefit pensions liability, solvency and funding. This team runs the triennial valuation process and all projects involving actuarial analysis. It's also responsible for oversight of model risk across the USS Group.

PAIR (Performance Analysis & Investment Risk)

We address the risks associated with investment management and investment performance. The work of this team involves a combination of regular reporting of risks and performance, along with challenging modelling and analytical projects.

Information Security

We address data and cyber risks. This team works closely with the IT department to ensure we have implemented appropriate controls against data and cyber risks.

Operational Risk

We address operational risks and enterprise risk management. This team facilitates both the updating of the top-down enterprise risk register and the bottom-up departmental risk registers. It also maintains the overall risk management framework.

Jobs in Group Risk

Group Transformation

Our Transformation team in Liverpool is focused on Pensions and Group function change. In doing so the team drives the planning and delivery of the change portfolio, helping the wider business achieve its objectives.

There are always absorbing projects to tackle in supporting our 340 participating employers and c. 450,000 members.

Jobs in Group Transformation

HR

The HR team’s objective is to attract, retain and grow highly engaged employees to support USS Group in achieving our purpose. Our people processes, policy and practice are all underpinned by the Group’s values: Integrity, Collaboration and Excellence. Based across our Liverpool and London offices, we define the people strategy for the Group, delivery strategic HR business partnering and seamless HR administrative and systems support, acting as a trusted advisor, people risk manager, service provider and governance unit. In HR, we’ve developed a roadmap of activities to help support our strategic goals across the Group. These initiatives have been developed through 9 levers of people practice: Resourcing, Talent Management, Reward & Recognition, Learning & Development, Diversity & Inclusion, Health & Wellbeing, Organisational Design, Performance Management and Employee Relations. Our team ethos is again based on our company values. We work together across all the HR streams, meaning it is an exciting and dynamic team to work in.

Jobs in HR

IT

There's been a huge amount of change in our Liverpool offices – and our IT team has been at the heart of it. We deliver the IT that makes it possible to provide a pensions service to circa 450,000 people and 340 employers. From applications and infrastructure, to operations and facilities, we cover it all.

Here in IT, we've been closely involved in the move from one pensions administration platform to another. This included the migration of the administration and payroll records together with the launch of a new employer portal with enhanced contribution and HR data interfaces. We believe in long-term thinking here at USS. Which means that if an idea will save money over the long-term, we'll act on it. The result is an IT department with the chance to learn, innovate, grow and develop.

Jobs in IT

Pensions Engagement & Development

The Pensions Engagement & Development department covers three main areas of responsibility within the Pensions Business:

Client Engagement & Support

It’s our aim to ensure that participating employers are engaged, can easily access the appropriate level of support and continue to recognise USS Group staff as a valued asset. By providing information, education and support to employers, we can effectively promote the benefits of USS’s products, services and systems and assist employers in discharging their administrative obligations in an accurate and timely manner. We engage with employers on a regular basis to identify and resolve issues impacting performance in key areas of processing and look to initiate and drive continuous improvements to the end-to-end processes used by employers.

Client Relationship Management & Employer Communications

By providing a structured programme of engagement with our 350–plus participating employers, we can develop a strategic dialogue with a range of key contacts including finance directors, HR directors and pension managers and deepen our understanding of the needs of a wider and more diverse range of employers across the Higher Education (HE) sector. This helps us to identify opportunities for business development, product and service growth most relevant to the participating employers in order to ensure USS meets its mission to be the pension service of choice for the HE sector for the long term. We are also responsible for driving resolution of any relationship issues with participating employers and for the creation and delivery of an effective communications approach for engaging all employer groups in a timely, targeted and streamlined manner.

Product Development

We are primarily accountable for overseeing the development and delivery of USS's pensions product agenda, including production of detailed product specifications that give precise effect to strategic decisions. We provide key technical and subject matter expertise input to the development and delivery of product options and solutions to ensure the objectives of the proposition are met, are compliant with regulations, are based on best practice and meet the needs of members, participating employers and other key stakeholders.

As a department, we can offer varied career opportunities that will see you collaborating across the wider business and engaging with key stakeholders within the HE sector.

Jobs in Pensions Engagement & Development

Pensions Operations

In this vital team, we work to provide a high–quality service to circa 450,000 members and 340 participating employers.

Every month, we complete around 8,000 processes covering all aspects of the member journey, from joining the scheme to retirement. Working alongside our colleagues throughout the company, we provide support and guidance to our membership, ensuring that complex pension–related issues are made simple and easy to understand.

In everything we do, we’re always looking for ways to improve the service we give to members and employers, so we look for adaptable people who thrive on change and want to give their very best.

Jobs in Pensions Operations

Pensions Strategy

It's our mission to be the pension service of choice for the Higher Education sector for the long term. To do this, we have to engage in next generation thinking and deliver the most efficiently run support services. And, of course, we need to make sure we take all of our members, and their employers in the Higher Education sector, with us on the journey through the changes and evolutions this requires.

Insight, Policy and Proposition Development and Communications

By gaining real insight into the needs of our members and sponsoring employers, we can better understand the sector’s future needs, its workforce challenges and retirement strategies, and the evolving circumstances and expectations of our stakeholders. We use this knowledge to help develop future policy and product strategies, working with the stakeholders of the scheme to make sure we remain the pension service of choice for the Higher Education sector for the long term.

Of course, a key part of this is effective communication and engagement with our members – through our online channels and through the wider support we provide to members to help them with decisions in relation to saving and planning for retirement.

Business–wide influence

As a cross–cutting and outward-looking Group function that works both with our pension administration and management teams in Liverpool, and our USS Investment Management teams, legal and funding and risk teams in London, as well as our external stakeholders, we can offer varied, absorbing career opportunities that will see you collaborating across the business.

Jobs in Pensions Strategy