PASA has today published new Guidance aimed at strengthening understanding of career pathways,
capability and progression across pensions administration, highlighting the growing strategic importance
of the profession and the breadth of careers now available within it.
The Guidance, Building Career Pathways in Pensions Administration, has been developed by PASA’s
Administration Careers & Development Working Group and sets out an initial industry framework based
around job families commonly found across pensions administration. It explores the challenges currently
facing the sector, including inconsistent role definitions, unclear progression routes and the increasing
impact of technology, digital transformation and operational change on administration careers.
The paper identifies a broad range of professional pathways across administration, including member
operations, technical expertise, operational risk, client relationship management, project delivery, digital
transformation, systems enablement, scheme finance and operational leadership. It also introduces a
‘Skills Compass’, designed to help individuals understand how different roles rely on different
combinations of technical, operational and behavioural skills rather than fitting within a single linear
hierarchy.
David Fairs, PASA Chair, said: “Administration plays a critical role in delivering good outcomes for
members and is increasingly recognised as a strategic function within the pensions industry. As the
profession evolves, it’s important career pathways are clearer, skills are more visible and individuals can
better understand the breadth of opportunities available to them.
This Guidance represents an important first step in supporting greater consistency and shared
understanding across the industry, while recognising organisations will continue to deliver and structure
roles in different ways. By helping strengthen professional development and workforce resilience, this
work ultimately supports better outcomes for schemes and members.”
Dan Taylor, PASA Director and Board Sponsor of the PASA Administration Careers & Development
Working Group, added: “The administration profession has changed significantly in recent years.
Alongside strong technical pensions knowledge, the industry increasingly needs skills in technology, data,
operational risk, project delivery, communication and change management.
One of the key aims of this work is to make careers across administration more visible and easier to
navigate, particularly through the middle stages of a career where progression routes are not always
obvious. We want individuals to see the wide variety of opportunities available and to recognise there are
multiple ways to build a successful and rewarding career within pensions administration.”
Vanessa Jackson, Chief Learning Officer at the Pensions Management Institute, said: “PASA’s Building
Career Pathways guidance is a timely and valuable contribution to our industry. By providing a clear,
flexible framework for roles and capabilities in pensions administration, it brings much-needed clarity to
career progression during a period of rapid change. We fully support this initiative which aligns with the
work the PMI is doing to professionalise administration through qualifications, skills pathways and a focus
on raising capability across the sector. I encourage the whole sector to engage with it so we can
collectively strengthen development opportunities, improve retention, and build a more resilient,
professional administration workforce.”
The Guidance also outlines PASA’s next phase of work, including further exploration of capability levels
across job families, the technical and behavioural skills required at different career stages and how PASA
Standards can align with existing professional qualifications and industry development initiatives.
The Guidance is available here: Building Career Pathways
