The Pension Administration Specialist has the responsibility to oversee day-to-day pension administration, and will ensure that the employment and compensation policies are upheld. They provide in-depth expertise in pension analysis, with a detailed understanding of provincial/federal legislation, and will connect the application of policy requirements to administration functionality, ensuring processes operate efficiently and effectively.  

Responsibilities 

• Pension Administration and Data Management 

• Oversees the transactional elements of pension plan administration activities and provides direction to staff, ensuring efficient administration; 
• Responds to a wide range of inquiries from plan members and employers that have been escalated from pension administrators;
• Identifies and validates underlying pension plan data elements required to calculate benefits and authorizes exceptional circumstances requiring manual calculations
• Maintains integrity of plan participant data to ensure retirement plan information is accurate and administered in accordance with plan provisions and government regulations;
• Prepares and/or participates in government filings, plan audits, and other tax-reporting requirements, as necessary;
• Manages data components to support year-end tasks and ensures that the data flow between systems appropriately
• Maintains compliance with pension legislation, regulatory and internal processing requirements.

• Supervision 

• Responsible for supervision of Pension Administrators and ensuring that staff have the necessary training, available departmental tools, and resources in order to fulfill their roles;
• Accountable for leading and developing a high performing, engaged, customer-centric team by providing direction, coaching, mentoring, and development to all individuals on the team;
• Ensures that the team provides prompt and accurate responses to Pension inquiries in a clear, timely, and professional manner; 
• Responsible for the management of day-to-day pension operations including effective task delegation/workload balancing, as required.

• General Reporting & Communication 

• Maintains integrity of plan participant data to ensure retirement plan information is accurate and administered in accordance with plan provisions and government regulations;
• Prepares and/or participates in government filings, plan audits, and other tax-reporting requirements, as necessary;
• Manages and performs year-end tasks including coordination with various service providers; 
• Ensures communication to plan members and their employers is in place regarding any updates/changes to the administration of the pension plans 
• Assists with the pension annual statement and acts as a resource in areas related to the administration of the pension plan including data integrity, historical legacy information, procedures, and policies.

• Special Projects 

• This position may be required to undertake a variety of projects as assigned by the Manager, Pension & Benefits, or the Team Leader/Project Manager, Pension & Benefits.
• This position will support the development of cross-functional teams in the area of benefits and pension. 

Qualifications/Education/Competencies/Experience:

• Post-secondary education with 6+ years recent defined benefit pension administration experience; CEB/CEBS/PPAC certification or working towards this certification is an asset;
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the administration of defined benefit pension plans in a large national organization or in the consulting field working with national organizations, (multi-employer plans preferred);
• Expert knowledge of pension legislation in all provinces and ability to keep up to date with legislative changes; 
• Strong organizational skills the ability to meet legislated deadlines
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to liaise with plan members, internal team members, and service providers; French language skills would be an asset;
• Proficient user of all Microsoft Office applications, with advanced knowledge of Excel 
• Critical thinking skills with exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills and attention to detail including implementation and execution of resolutions;
• Ability to work in a confidential environment showing tact, diplomacy, discretion, flexibility, and patience resulting in client satisfaction.