Co-Head of Pensions (2 roles)

December 20, 2025

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Bristol, Darlington, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton Job Summary Do you enjoy coaching, leading and empowering teams to achieve? Would you bring strong influencing skills whilst also holding your stakeholders to account? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for a Co-Head of Pensions to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we'd love to hear from you! Public sector pensions are fundamental to security in later life for millions of people who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities. Improving the pensions system is also key to this government’s agenda, recognising the role that unfunded pension schemes such as the £400bn Local Government Pension Scheme can have in economic growth. We are looking for two Heads of Pensions to jointly lead a large and varied programme of work across the Local Government Pension Scheme and the Firefighter Pension Scheme. The Local Government Pension Scheme has 6.6 million members, many of whom are low paid women, with an average annual pension of around £5,000. There are significant opportunities to make a difference to millions of people’s lives through work on local government pensions, building on pioneering reforms to close the gender pensions gap and protect “contracted out” workers. The Local Government Pensions Scheme is also the seventh largest public sector pension scheme in the world, with around £400bn in assets. The Scheme is at the heart of the government’s growth and investment agenda. As part of the flagship Pensions Review, it is undergoing major reform to reduce the number of asset pools, improve local investment, and improve governance between asset pools and pension funds. The Firefighter Pensions Scheme is provided to almost 100,000 active, retained and retired firefighters, paying out £1 billion in pensions every year. The government has been undertaking years-long reform of the Firefighter Scheme to address historic unfairness in the scheme, has a forward-looking agenda for reviewing outdated elements of the scheme. As a funded scheme, the government must ensure its long-term financial sustainability. The formulation of the two roles is expected to be <ul><li> Co-Head of Pensions: Investments, Strategy and Engagement;</li><li> Co-Head of Pensions: LGPS and Firefighter Membership and Fairness. </li></ul>If you are invited to interview you will be asked to indicate which of these roles is your preference. Job Description As Co-Head of Pensions, you will be responsible for: <ul><li>Leading and inspiring a team of 16 people from diverse backgrounds with a range of skills and interests, creating a culture of support and fun.</li><li>Leading our programme of engagement with key stakeholders, including Local Government Pension pools and funds, pension administrators, local authorities and strategic authorities, trade bodies, trade unions and Fire and Rescue Authorities</li><li>Delivering a vast and ambitious policy programme including:</li><li>The passage of the Pensions Schemes Bill and associated regulations and guidance on pooling and improved governance;</li><li>Improving administration and membership through delivering regulations and guidance to improve access to the scheme for contracted-out workers and elected representatives;</li><li>Enabling greater local investment and ensuring the local government scheme responds to changes of local government reorganisation; and</li><li>Righting the historic discrimination in the firefighter’s scheme and bringing up to date compensation and other arrangements through consultation and regulations.</li><li>Futureproofing both schemes to ensure they are equipped to manage and mitigate risk.</li><li>Developing the trust of Ministers in MHCLG and HM Treasury, supporting them to take complex advice and make sound decisions on highly complex policy areas.</li><li>Maintaining excellent relationships with other teams across MHCLG, the Government Actuary Department and other government departments that manage pension schemes, including HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Education.</li><li>Supporting the Deputy Director in budget management for work delivered with the Government Actuary Department and the Scheme Advisory Board for both schemes, ensuring consistent value for money.</li><li>Managing, mitigating and responding to risk to delivery of policy within the schemes. </li></ul>As Co-Head Of Pensions, You Will Be Responsible For <ul><li>Leading and inspiring a team of 16 people from diverse backgrounds with a range of skills and interests, creating a culture of support and fun.</li><li>Leading our programme of engagement with key stakeholders, including Local Government Pension pools and funds, pension administrators, local authorities and strategic authorities, trade bodies, trade unions and Fire and Rescue Authorities</li><li>Delivering a vast and ambitious policy programme including:</li><li>The passage of the Pensions Schemes Bill and associated regulations and guidance on pooling and improved governance;</li><li>Improving administration and membership through delivering regulations and guidance to improve access to the scheme for contracted-out workers and elected representatives;</li><li>Enabling greater local investment and ensuring the local government scheme responds to changes of local government reorganisation; and</li><li>Righting the historic discrimination in the firefighter’s scheme and bringing up to date compensation and other arrangements through consultation and regulations.</li><li>Futureproofing both schemes to ensure they are equipped to manage and mitigate risk.</li><li>Developing the trust of Ministers in MHCLG and HM Treasury, supporting them to take complex advice and make sound decisions on highly complex policy areas.</li><li>Maintaining excellent relationships with other teams across MHCLG, the Government Actuary Department and other government departments that manage pension schemes, including HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Education.</li><li>Supporting the Deputy Director in budget management for work delivered with the Government Actuary Department and the Scheme Advisory Board for both schemes, ensuring consistent value for money.</li><li>Managing, mitigating and responding to risk to delivery of policy within the schemes. </li></ul>Person specification <ul><li>An inspiring, confident and empowering leader who can get the best from a busy team with diverse backgrounds and skills</li><li> A track record of working effectively with Ministers or other very senior stakeholders, communicating with conviction and confidence.</li><li>The ability to demonstrate strong and effective stakeholder management including influencing others to change their approach or views.  </li><li>A track record of policy design and delivery in a complex landscape and ensuring that the intended policy works on the ground for citizens.</li><li>A willingness to challenge economic, financial and actuarial analysis to support in the policy making process, as well as supporting others to learn from and apply data and evidence to policy making.</li><li>An ability to learn quickly, absorb large amounts of detail and complexity, and make judgement calls in complex and uncertain environments, that account for risk and incomplete information.</li><li>An ability to work collaboratively with fellow grade 6s in the leadership of the Pensions team, the Local Tax and Pensions division and the Local Government Finance directorate. </li></ul>Desirable criteria <ul><li>Knowledge of and experience working in public or private sector pensions </li></ul>Alongside your salary of £66,620, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £19,299 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. <ul><li>At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here. </li></ul>Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles: Ability , Behaviours , Experience , Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information. Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link. Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading. Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter) Experience: Your cover letter should act as a statement of suitability, referencing how you meet the criteria in the job description. It should be no longer than two pages. Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. Stage 2: Interview <ul><li>Behaviours: Seeing The Big Picture, Working together, Leadership, Communicating and Influencing</li><li>Ability </li></ul>Candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview. Sift and Interview Dates Sifting is envisaged to take place the commencing 06/01/2026. How We Recruit Find out more about our recruitment processes here. <ul><li>Applying </li><li>Sifting </li><li>Interview </li><li>Interview Results & Feedback </li><li>Reserve List </li><li>Near Miss </li><li>Civil Service Grades </li><li>We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer </li><li>Reasonable Adjustments </li></ul>How To Apply Find out everything you need to know before applying here. You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly. <ul><li>Security Clearance Requirements </li><li>Civil Service Nationality Requirements </li><li>Right to Work </li><li>Artificial Intelligence </li><li>Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles </li><li>CV Declaration </li><li>Sponsorships </li><li>Salary and Grade </li><li>Existing Civil Servants </li><li>Conflict of Interest </li><li>Location and Flexible Working </li><li>Fixed Term Contracts </li><li>Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register </li><li>Appeals and Complaints </li><li>Conflict of Interest </li></ul>Security Clearance Requirements National Office: BPSS + CTC London Office: BPSS + CTC Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups <ul><li>UK nationals</li><li>nationals of the Republic of Ireland</li><li>nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK</li><li>nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)</li><li>nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)</li><li>individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020</li><li>Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service </li></ul>Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job Contact <ul><li>Name : Michelle Warbis</li><li>Email : michelle.warbis@communities.gov.uk </li></ul>Recruitment team <ul><li>Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk</li></ul>

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