Experience

Wealthtime Select

• United Kingdom
• Financial Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Head of Complaints

  • Sep 2022 - Present



Novia Financial Plc

• United Kingdom
• Financial Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Head of Technical

  • Apr 2019 - Sep 2022

• Pensions and Technical Manager

  • Jan 2017 - Apr 2019

  • Responsible for all aspects of administering a SIPP product.• Escalation point for operational decisions.• Designing and implementing controls to ensure regulatory compliance.• Oversight of new products, systems and processes.• Impact analysis on regulatory and industry developments.• Training and developing the administration team to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to deliver excellent customer service.• Training across ops to improve and maintain technical knowledge.• Supporting and empowering people to drive their personal development.• Secretary to the board of pension trustees.• Novia Foundation charity trustee. Show less

• Business Support Analyst

  • Jun 2014 - Jan 2017

  • Key technical consultant for Compliance, Sales, Marketing and Operations.• Managing legislative changes through impact assessment, functional design, process design, detailed training, overview training and IFA communications.• Liaising with key suppliers to ensure system changes are compatible with business priorities.• Testing new systems and processes.• Identifying training needs across Operations.• Designing and delivering training material for a range of trainees, from new starters in Ops to senior management.• Analysis of non-standard investments and their suitability for the SIPP.• Investigation and resolution of complex complaint cases and contentious death claims.• Lead role in implementing and communicating the changes relating to pension freedoms.• Oversight of PAYE and pension reporting, including RTI• Process design and redesign, strengthening controls and improving efficiency Show less



Novia Investment Services Ltd

• Bath, United Kingdom

• Quality Assurance Manager

  • Jun 2011 - May 2014

  • A lead role in the technical design and implementation of new back office systems and processes so that new products can be brought to market. • Designing and delivering training and assessment to embed understanding of new propositions. • Encouraging the technical development of operational staff with effective and engaging coaching and training. • Designing and maintaining a knowledge database for use across Operations. • Designing and managing the testing of new systems and processes. • Impact assessing and implementing regulatory changes. • Oversight of PAYE and pension reporting. • Induction training on products and processes. • Keeping the business informed with technical newsletters. • Ensuring effective communications between Compliance and Operations. • Designing dependable quality monitoring systems to feed staff performance evaluation and development. • Root cause analysis of complaints and breaches to identify failing controls and training requirements. • Providing management information for use in appraisals and one-to-ones. • Monitoring peer checking results and identifying trends and areas for improvement. • Coaching checkers and embedding a culture of ownership. From March 2014 I was seconded to Aegon in Edinburgh as a consultant, to support the transition of operations from Novia. Show less



James Hay and The IPS Partnership

• Financial Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Account Executive Team Leader

  • Jul 2010 - May 2011

  • Responsible for managing a team of 5 as well as administering a full portfolio of SIPPs.• Identifying training needs and providing on the job training and guidance.• Conducting appraisals and driving the development of team members. • Maintaining high productivity and quality of work within the team.• Managing key IFA relationships and dealing with problem cases.• Designing and implementing new procedures across the SIPP department.

• Account Executive

  • May 2009 - Jul 2010

  • Responsible for all aspects of administration of a portfolio of 500 SIPPs.• Providing comprehensive support to IFAs via telephone and email.• Processing a wide variety of investments including unquoted shares, loans and property.• Calculating benefits payable under USP and ASP.• Overseeing the process of contracting out SIPP members.• Making appropriate lump sum payments within HMRC guidelines.• Delivering excellent customer service under the pressure of volume and service level agreements. Show less



Transact

• Technical Services Administrator

  • May 2008 - Apr 2009

  • Technical Helpdesk: researching and resolving a wide range of queries relating to pensions, ISAs, offshore bonds and General Investment Accounts.• Advising on pension and ISA rules to ensure that all business is conducted within HMRC guidelines.• Checking and authorising pension benefit payments to minimise the risk of unauthorised payments.• Registering and winding up single member pension schemes. • Identifying software issues, submitting modification requests to the developers and testing new releases.• Checking legal documents such as trust deeds and wills; authorising trust applications.• Liaising with the training department to help identify training requirements.• Contributing to the company's internal knowledge database.• Applying contacted out rebates to clients' accounts and processing related payments to and from HMRC.• Calculating benefits within SIPPs, Personal Pensions, and Section 32 Buy-Out Bonds.• Calculating pre a-day tax free cash entitlements within Executive Pension Schemes.• Producing Transfer Value Analysis reports to evaluate potential transfers between final salary and money purchase schemes.• Overseeing the administration of Alternatively Secured Pensions. Show less

• Client Service Administrator

  • Jan 2007 - May 2008

  • Developing and maintaining strong working relationships with financial advisers. • Processing applications for offshore bonds, pensions, ISAs and General Investment Accounts.• Providing comprehensive, friendly assistance to IFAs and their clients via telephone and email.• Seeing pension and ISA transfers through from start to finish.• Liaising with fund managers and registrars to re-register investments.• Active in the training and ongoing development of team members and new starters. • Calculating potential profit and loss on compensation cases.• Role of team ‘Subject Matter Expert’ on two subjects: transfers and systems. Related responsibilities were checking the team’s work, attending meetings and implementing procedural changes. Show less



Capita Share Plan Services

• Beckenham

• Share Plan Administrator

  • Apr 2004 - Jan 2007

  • Primary client liaison for a rolling portfolio of up to ten companies. Forging strong client relationships. • Providing telephone and email support to employee shareholders. • Understanding and explaining the tax benefits of HMRC approved Share Incentive Plans (SIPs). • Trading large quantities of shares and maintaining good business relationships with stockbrokers. • Negotiating deadlines with clients – planning projects and drafting timelines. • Corresponding with shareholders; implementing agreed terminology and/or a bespoke branded style for the client company. • Checking the team’s work and helping them understand any issues. • Receiving and sending client money and regularly reconciling bank accounts. • Using software to extract data and collate reports at the request of clients, and for invoicing purposes. Show less