IFA Administrator

Would you like an opportunity to work for one of the 100 IFA firms in the country who has been awarded Corporate Chartered status by the Chartered Insurance Institute – the industry gold standard for financial planners evidencing ethical practice, professional, competent and knowledgeable advice, and a commitment to providing service and support of the highest quality.

Specialising in wealth planning, asset management and employee benefits.   As they are independent, this allows them to provide objective advice that is aligned to client’s best interests, delivered by teams steeped in financial services knowledge and experience. They have built their company on integrity and trust, because doing what is right for their clients in best for their business.

Reporting to the Group Administration Manager, this newly created role will support the Central Administration Team in providing exceptional quality administrative and technical support to the client-facing teams. The ideal candidate will be an experienced IFA administrator with an excellent understanding of Intelligent Office (iO) as a back-office system. The role will primarily provide ad-hoc and rotating cover for our team of 20 administration staff across 15 client teams, with an emphasis on supporting the integration of new teams / acquisitions and training new administration staff.

Providing administration support across client-facing admin teams

• Ad-hoc team-based administration support to cover, for example, holiday or sickness absences, temporary increases in workload or ad-hoc data cleansing work
• Support the transition and integration of administration work as a result of acquisition projects or new adviser induction
• Process and submit new business to providers and ensure applications are completed
• Ensure client data is accurately maintained on iO and Volume (our DMS), including all written and electronic communication with clients and providers and meeting notes
• Prepare documentation for client meetings, including literature, illustrations and forms from providers. Pre-complete application forms and other documents for client signing or approval where necessary and use DocuSign where appropriate
• Ensure client agreements, including fee schedules, are in place and signed, documented and saved to the DMS and that all client records are up to date on iO
• Schedule and manage follow up tasks relating to client meetings and business submissions, using iO to monitor and accurately record tasks
• Produce client portfolio valuations and statements and assist with trades and portfolio rebalancing if required
• Close plans correctly on iO in a timely manner and ensure income expectations are entered on the system and settled if required
• Follow risk profiling procedures using FinaMetrica, record risk profile score in iO and save risk profile to the DMS
• Comply with FCA and internal compliance procedures, ensuring all client files and information remain compliant and confidential and internal procedures are followed e.g. complaints, anti-money laundering and GDPR

Assist other members of the Central Administration Team with the training and development of new client-facing administrators

• Provide hands-on back-office system training for new admin staff
• Act as a ‘buddy’ for new administrators, helping them settle into the business and be the first point of call for queries
• Assist in the preparation and maintenance of training documentation for admin staff.

Intelligent Office project work

• Data auditing and data-focused project work relating to improvement of data quality, acquisitions and new adviser hires, improvement of MI reporting, historical data cleansing and any work associated with improving the efficiency of iO as a back-office system
• Note this is expected to comprise a significant element of overall workload.

Experience and Qualifications

• 2-3+ years’ experience within the independent sector of the financial services industry, in a relevant administration role
• 2-3+ years’ experience using iO in an IFA administration role and a talent for working with systems and managing data effectively (candidates lacking the necessary O experience will not be considered for the role)
• Sound technical knowledge covering pensions, investments, and protection and the underwriting process
• Demonstrable experience of delivering client service at the highest level
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with high attention to detail
• Excellent IT skills, being highly proficient in the use of Microsoft Office packages with at least intermediate Excel knowledge
• Understanding of the needs of Financial Services teams and FCA rules and compliance
• Relevant industry qualifications will be an advantage but are not essential.

Competencies

• Assist the adviser teams and clients in an enthusiastic and proactive manner, using organisation, time management and prioritising skills and adapting easily to the working styles of our different client teams
• Work to pressing deadlines and be able to handle the pressure of working across a range of busy teams with complex client needs
• Demonstrate focus and motivation in delivering an exceptional level of customer service to clients, third parties and colleagues
• Demonstrate sound professional judgement, the ability to work well under own initiative, and a common-sense, innovative and solution-focused approach to problems
• Be a quick learner, rapidly picking up knowledge of the company’s services, products, sales policy, compliance and administration procedures
• Happy to play a hands-on role e.g. getting involved with data cleansing work, providing absence cover or adapting to other unexpected priorities.

Additional Information:

• Location: home-based, with possible travel to the Weybridge and London office 1-2 days per week (not initially).
• Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week, 9am to 5.30pm (a degree of flexibility is possible). It may be necessary to occasionally work outside of normal office hours to meet the demands of client meetings and pressing deadlines.
• Salary: dependent on experience, but expected to be in the region of £25,000 – £35,000
• Full benefits are also available, together with a discretionary bonus scheme.