Job Description

Vacancy No

VN2463

Location City

Manchester

Location Country

United Kingdom

Job Title:

Benefits & Pensions Manager

Reports to:

Head of People Operations and Experience

Location

: Manchester

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION

The People Team sits at the heart of Channel 4's success, ensuring we attract, support, and retain the very best talent. We partner closely with the business across our three core areas--Creative, Commercial, and Operations--to enable a high-performing, inclusive, and forward-thinking workplace.



As we expand our footprint with the opening of our Manchester office, we are growing our People Team presence in the Nations and Regions to reflect the diversity and reach of our audiences and workforce.



Our team is made up of Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development (L&D), People Operations, and People Partners. We work collaboratively across all functions to deliver a people strategy that underpins Channel 4's Fast Forward strategy--focusing on innovation, development, and engagement.



The People Operations & Experience Team are specialists in Operations, Reward, Data, Employee Engagement and People Systems, supporting the wider People Team to ensure that our people are developed and engaged to enable the channel to deliver on its remit and produce award-winning content



As a team, we help the business to improve and evolve and ensure that our people are supported, developed and engaged as they deliver on C4's remit.

JOB PURPOSE

This role will bring in significant and comprehensive pension and benefit experience and will lead on managing the compliance of our pension schemes. Stakeholder management is a key focus of this role, externally with our suppliers, pension trustees and internally to our Leadership team.



This role requires someone who is comfortable working at both a strategic and an operational level. It's a very hands-on approach whilst also being the person who designs and drives the strategic benefits philosophy and bench marking our benefits to ensure they remain competitive against the market.



The role will ensure that the benefits offering at C4 supports the needs of our employees across the UK and enables us to attract and retain top talent.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsible for stakeholder management - the main point of contact to all suppliers, including benefit brokers, systems suppliers, pension trustees and administrators as well as the escalation point for all employee pension/benefit queries. Working with our outsourced benefits provider, improving benefit design including the modernisation of benefits to improve and enhance our benefit portfolio to our employees. Negotiate cost, looking to improve the service and offering from our suppliers. Communication is key to how we engage the business, educate our employees and the people team on our benefit offerings and changes. Lead the project and manage the design and enrolment for the benefits year, overseeing and signing off communications and branding of benefit documentation and system testing. Responsible for the day to day management and relationships with third party benefit suppliers. Ensures regular meetings are in place, reviewing contractual wording, benefit policies. Ensuring deliverables and KPI's are reported on. Key responsibility for the compliance of auto enrolment and internal governance of our DC Pension scheme. Will work with our pension trustees and administrators for our closed DB Pension scheme. Must be able to provide advisory support to the People team and our leaders becoming the pensions and benefits expert for C4. Work with the Operations team and our benefits supplier to continually review our total rewards statement to communicate our benefits/pensions/non-cash awards to employees and prospective employees Review employee engagement and take up of our benefits, analyse MI to inform potential changes or trends. Supports our people team by educating our people assistants and people partners about new policies, benefits, and changes. Ensure our benefits are processed correctly through payroll, managing the accuracy of data held in both the benefits and payroll systems. Have oversight of our monthly Payroll to ensure salary / benefit changes have been reflected correctly and support the monthly payroll sign off process. Provide support during annual projects including Salary and Variable Pay Review cycles Work with internal business partners (Finance) to ensure our budgets are tracking correctly and sign off invoices against contracts. Confident in managing a tender process, working with and understand our procurement process when renewing or working with new potential suppliers. Keep abreast of changes in legislation, updating relevant policies and processes as and when appropriate and providing analysis of the financial impact of any such changes

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

Proven experience of operating at this level Excellent communication skills, comfortable at presenting recommendations and advice at senior leadership level. Prior experience of working in pensions and benefits roles, ideally in a not for profit or charitable sector Proven experience of working with Third Party Benefit Systems, HR Reporting Systems and Pension Portals Prior experience of working with DB and DC pension schemes, ideally with trustee management experience An excellent working knowledge of UK Pension Schemes Advanced excel skills Excellent numerical and analytical skills Demonstrates a commercial understanding of the drivers of business performance and profitability Is committed to providing exceptional levels of customer service to the business Proven experience of providing commercially viable solutions to deadlines Passionate about the C4 remit and content

Basic salary per annum starting from

64,969.00

Application questions to complete

Please remember to complete the additional application questions by uploading a Word or PDF attachment. These questions really help us get to know you better and we won't be able to consider your application without them.

Please outline how you meet the 'Essential Experience & Skills' outlined in the (Max 500 words)

Benefits

There are a million reasons why it's great to work at Channel 4, here are just a few of the perks for you;




- Private medical insurance


- Free Virtual GP access for employees


- Free Female Health hormone test each year


- Free Tastecard membership


- Financial guidance 1-2-1's available each quarter


- Discounted Gym memberships


- Pension


- Life Assurance


- Income Protection


- Holiday Purchase

Hybrid working

From September 2023, C4 has operated a 60/40 working pattern, equating to three office days per week.


Having everyone in the office three days a week gives us more opportunity to build our high performing, inclusive culture; to collaborate and to learn and share with each other, as well as helping to coordinate a regular pattern of home and office working days. Employees then have the flexibility to decide where they spend the rest of the working week. All our offices are open five days a week.

Applications Close Date

10 Jul 2025

Equal Opportunities

Channel 4's purpose is to create change through entertainment; by representing unheard voices, challenging with purpose and delivering content which reflects the diversity of different communities across the UK.




We are only able to deliver on this remit by having a workforce rich in diversity of thought, background and lived experience. As an employer we encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on disability, age, gender reassignment, gender expression, criminal history, length of time spent unemployed, marriage or civil partnership status, national origin, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.




Disability Confident Scheme:


Channel 4 is a member of the Business Disability Forum (BDF) and has also maintained the highest level of the Department of Work and Pension's Disability Confident scheme - Level 3: Leader. Under the Disability Confident Scheme, we aim to offer an interview to all candidates who have a neurodiverse condition, impairment or long-term condition and who meet the essential criteria for an advertised job. If you wish your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please select yes when completing the application questions. For more information, please visit the Disability Confident Campaign website.




For our roles and schemes that receive a high volume of applications it may not be possible to provide an interview to all applicants who meet the essential criteria and in this situation we can only select applications that best meet the skills needed for the role.




Care Leaver Friendly Employer:


Channel 4 is a Care Leaver Friendly Employer. By signing the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter and adopting its principles, we are supporting an immensely talented yet often under-served and under-represented community of young people/ adults. We commit to offering an interview (and constructive feedback) to applicants who identify as care experienced and meet the essential criteria for the role as outlined on the job description. Applicants should indicate if they wish to apply under our Care Leaver Scheme by selecting the option on the application form.




For our roles and schemes that receive a high volume of applications it may not be possible to provide an interview to all applicants who meet the essential criteria and in this situation we can only select applications that best meet the skills needed for the role.




Workplace Adjustments:


We are committed to providing disabled applicants a level playing field when applying for a job and support whilst employed to perform to the best of their ability and develop their careers. If you have a neurodiverse condition, impairment or long-term condition and require any adjustments, additional support or alternative arrangements during the recruitment and wish to discuss this confidentially, please let us know via the following e-mail recruitment@channel4.co.uk