Director of Pensions and Chief Executive TfL Pension Fund

Reporting into – Chair of the Trustees (TfL Pension Fund) & Chief People Officer 

Contract – Permanent   

Band – Director

Location – Palestra House, London (Hybrid)  

About Us  

Transport for London (TfL) is committed to turning the Mayor’s Transport Strategy into a reality by being a strong, green heartbeat for London. Each day we move London forward safely, inclusively, and sustainably.   

This is a unique opportunity to join TfL’s senior leadership team as Director of Pensions and Chief Executive TfL Pension Fund. The department plays a vital role in managing and administering pension schemes for current and former employees, ensuring financial security for thousands of members.  

About the Role  

The TfL Pension Fund is a defined benefit pension scheme with around 86,000 members and assets of approximately £15 billion. It is regulated under UK pension legislation and is separate from the employer, with assets held on members’ behalf by the Trustee. However, its performance is fundamentally linked to the service cost incurred by TfL and this role is key to delivering value to the Fund’s members and to the organisation.

Reporting to the Chair of the Trustees and the Chief People Officer, you will work closely with the Trustee Board to drive strategy and policy changes. As Fund Secretary for TfL Trustee Company, you will also ensure that the pension administration, secretariat, payroll, accounting, communications and investment and tax strategies are legally compliant and meet the necessary rules and requirements of the Trust Deed.

Key responsibilities include: 

• Delivering visible and effective leadership to a team of up to 4 direct reports and 35 indirect reports, ensuring TfL’s Vision and Values are maintained.
• Providing operational expertise based on a deep understanding of pensions administration (including defined benefit schemes), accounting, investment, and secretariat.
• Overall responsibility for managing the Trustee relationships.
• Developing policy proposals for the Trustees, ensuring that the advice and information provided is compliant and will enable key decision making.
• Establishing and managing TfL’s pension fund strategy and ensuring its correct determination. This includes operating as the corporate trustee under full delegated authority.
• Defining KPI’s and SLAs which enhance the reputation of the Trustees and the Fund, facilitating positive relationships with external advisors and providers (including TfL). Representing the Fund with the appropriate Regulators and other key stakeholders.
• Working closely with the Chair of the Board to manage all Trustee activity and specifically the Fund’s strategy. Effectively manage the Board’s risk management framework in collaboration with the Chief Investment Officer Pensions and the Head of Pensions.

Key Skills 

In this role you will need to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and practices of pension fund management and the investment industry, with the ability to lead strategies that contribute to wider business plans.

You will also require: 

• Knowledge and expertise around defined benefit (final salary) pension schemes (Essential).
• Operational experience at Board Level (Essential).
• Evidence of successfully leading the running, development and improvement of pension services (Essential).
• Previous experience of working with trade unions (Essential).
• Excellent stakeholder management skills which enable collaborative working and strong working relationships. The ability to manage complex customer and supplier relationships (Essential).
• A track record of leading teams in complex, customer focused environments, demonstrating critical decision making and introducing learning interventions to improve capabilities, behaviours and culture (Essential).
• Professionally qualified e.g. Fellow/Chartered Membership of CIPD or Pensions Management Institution and/or higher-level degree in HR (Essential).
• Experience in managing £14bn+ of pension investments in a large scale complex environment (Desirable).
• Experience in managing a team directly and indirectly (Essential).

In addition to this you must be able to apply pensions policies and procedures, have exemplary data entry and maintenance skills with a strong attention to detail and the ability to maintain service level agreements to an expert level.  

Please note as per the above, we will not be able to progress your application if you are not professionally qualified e.g. Fellow/Chartered Membership of CIPD or Pensions Management Institution and/or higher-level degree in HR.

You will also have experience of analysing and interpreting data to a strong level. 

How to apply  

Please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV (no more than 2 A4 pages Arial size 12) along with a cover letter (no more than 1 A4 page Arial size 12).   

We recommend that you consider the motivations, skills, knowledge, and experience required for this role and ensure your application outlines where you meet these criteria.  

Closing date for application will be Tuesday 5th August at 23:59hrs.

For a more detailed copy of the job description, please contact Senior Executive Recruitment Consultant James Hodder on talentacquisitionandexecutiverecruitment@tfl.gov.uk  

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion  

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria.  

Hybrid Working   

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.  

Additional Information – Eligibility 

Probation:  

In line with our Resourcing Policy (Feb 2014), internal employees are required to complete their probationary period before applying for internal TfL positions. Please ensure you have successfully completed your probation before submitting an application for this role, otherwise your application may be withdrawn.  

Formal Warnings:  

Internal employees with any current formal warnings are not eligible to apply for internal TfL vacancies until expiry of the warning. Ineligible applications may be withdrawn. Details of what is defined as a current formal warning can be found on Platform: https://transportforlondon.sharepoint.com/sites/Instructions-and-guidance-people-performance-and-rewards/SitePages/Applying-for-a-vacancy-with-a-formal-warning.aspx  

NPL Applications:  

Applications to internally advertised roles can only be accepted from temporary workers who are on PAYE terms via agency, or PAYE via Umbrella Companies. Temporary workers who are paid through their own limited companies are not covered by the Agency Worker Regulations and are ineligible to apply.