Pension Fund Accountant - 29454

Do you want to work for an organisation that values difference and includes everyone? Then the Environment Agency is the organisation for you.
We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share.
With this exciting opportunity, we are looking for a finance professional to support the Finance Manager, in all aspects of financial and management accounting for the Environment Agency Active and Closed Pension Funds. You will provide expert advice to the Pension Fund Management Team and its Governance Committees and maintain sound accounting records, ensuring that they comply with Local Government Pension Scheme regulations, accounting standards and guidance.

Collaboration will be a key part of this role as your insight and knowledge will provide valuable guidance across the Team and the wider organisation. You will prepare and monitor the Active and Closed Pension Fund Budgets and report on expenditure and variances, enabling Management to make informed decisions. Managing cash flows and reporting on income and expenditure will be a key aspect of the role. You will also have frequent interactions with our outsourced Scheme Accountants and deal with a variety of consultants and investment managers and be able to understand and interpret detailed and complex financial information. You will support the Finance Manager in preparing the Pension Fund Annual Report and Financial Statements which will also involve engagement with Internal and External Auditors.
You may be asked to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident. This may attract an additional payment and full training will be available to support you with your incident role.

The Pensions Team sits in Strategy, Transformation and Assurance reporting into the Environment Agency's Chief Executive.

We are currently a national team of 15 but with our Head Office based in Bristol. Our Team is responsible for looking after the Pension Fund Finances, Investments, Administration and Governance. We are a friendly team, committed to delivering a great Pension Fund. We operate flexible and hybrid working.

To be considered for this role, you will require substantial experience working in a financial organisation or function, preparing accounting and management information for senior management. A good team player, but also possess the ability to work on their own at times and be responsive to changing environments and manage unexpected workloads and demands. It is important to possess organisational skills to manage work to tight deadlines. To have excellent communication skills with a keen eye for detail. You will be dealing with Pension Funds that have a £5billion asset base, with high-volume transactions which will operate under established internal controls.
You should have experience working with Microsoft O365, specifically Excel, Word and Sharepoint.
Support towards a professional accounting qualification will be considered for the right candidate.

The base location for this role is Horizon House, Bristol, we welcome flexible working patterns, including job share. The work will involve some travel to London and Sheffield.
Everyone starting in a new role will be welcomed into the team and given all the training and support needed. As part of your comprehensive induction, you will also be provided with all the equipment required for your role.
For more information about working for us, our extensive range of employee benefits and how to apply, please read the candidate pack and additional information document.
For questions relating to this role, please contact karen.silvester@environment-agency.gov.uk
Interviews are expected be held on 1st and 2nd October, face-to-face at our Bristol city centre office.

This is about how you collect, analyse, interpret, record, manage, develop and share data, material or information appropriately for a variety of purposes.
To prepare the Pension Fund Budget requires the collation of high volumes of varying data. Can you explain how you would go about collecting and analysing the data before deciding on recording it and ultimately accounting for it?

Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information and ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.
The Pension Fund Accountant will be required to communicate with many different stakeholders. Can you give examples of different audiences this role would communicate with and what methods of communication you would use for different stakeholders?

Presenting a case in a convincing and attractive way that will win people over, encouraging them to follow plans willingly; often succeeding where logic and reason alone would fail.
Can you give an example of a situation where you have successfully persuaded other key stakeholders to follow your plans in order to deliver a major piece of work? What strategy did you use to bring people on board?

Sets and delivers high work standards, demonstrates the drive to meet targets. Prioritises and organises tasks and resources to ensure timely achievement of results.

Giving a specific example, describe how you have successfully delivered a major project or task in the face of considerable challenges or obstacles and how you overcame and managed the challenges?