Business Manager

Place of Work: London

Contract Type: Permanent

When you join USS, the size and scale of our pension scheme means you will have numerous opportunities to learn and develop your career. Given our size you'll have real autonomy and influence as you collaborate closely with a wide-ranging team of experts.

Our office is a vibrant place to work, and we offer flexibility of office/homeworking due to our hybrid model.

About the role

In your role as Business Manager, you will make a meaningful and valued contribution from the outset. This role will provide a great opportunity to act as a strategic partner and trusted adviser to the Group General Counsel (GGC), enabling the effective leadership, prioritisation and delivery of the GGC function. The role will support the translation of strategic objectives into clear priorities and actionable plans, ensuring alignment across the GGC management team and effective coordination of key initiatives.

In partnership with GGC Operations and other functional leads, the role will help ensure the function operates in a joined-up, focused and outcome-driven way. Through oversight of strategic priorities, leadership team effectiveness and cross-functional coordination, the role will enable the GGC to drive performance, maintain organisational alignment and deliver against its most critical objectives.

What you will be doing

As a trusted part of the Group General Counsel team you will be responsible for:

Strategic Planning, Prioritisation and Delivery

1. Partner with the GGC Management Team to shape and deliver the team’s strategic priorities, ensuring clarity of objectives and alignment to wider USS goals.
2. Support the translation of strategic objectives into clear, actionable plans, ensuring priorities are well defined, sequenced and deliverable.
3. Oversee the tracking and delivery of key strategic initiatives, ensuring appropriate focus, pace and accountability across the GGC management team.
4. Proactively identify, assess and escalate risks to delivery supporting timely and effective resolution.
5. Lead or coordinate delivery of high-impact, cross-functional initiatives on behalf of the GGC, ensuring clarity of scope, ownership and outcomes.
6. Support the resolution of complex or sensitive issues that cut across teams or require senior stakeholder engagement.
7. Ensure lessons learned and continuous improvement are embedded across key initiatives.

Executive Support and Leadership Enablement

1. Act as a trusted adviser to the GGC, supporting effective decision-making through insight, briefing and prioritisation support.
2. Enhance effectiveness of the GGC management team, including forward planning and ensuring clear follow through on actions.
3. Support the GGC in setting and driving a clear direction for the team, ensuring consistent understanding and alignment.
4. Support the GGC on organisational design, talent and succession planning.
5. Facilitate effective communication and cascade of key messages, priorities and decisions.

Cross-Functional Coordination, Alignment and Team Effectiveness

1. Act as a central point of coordination across Legal, Governance and GGC Operations, ensuring activities are aligned and interdependencies are effectively managed.
2. Work closely with GGC Operations to ensure strategic priorities are supported by appropriate resource and budget planning.
3. Ensure that key initiatives requiring input across the team and/ or across multiple stakeholders are joined-up, well co-ordinated and delivered in a cohesive manner.
4. Support the GGC and management team in maintaining a high-performing well managed function, including clarity of objectives, accountability and performance tracking.
5. Support the GGC and work closely with the Governance and Legal teams to drive high-quality advice and reporting from the GGC function to Boards and Committees.
6. Identify opportunities to enhance effectiveness, improve ways of working and strengthen collaboration.
7. Contribute to fostering a positive and inclusive team culture.

Stakeholder Engagement

1. Build strong relationships across the organisation, including with senior leaders, to ensure the GGC function is well understood, aligned and effectively supported.
2. Support the GGC in preparing for key internal and external engagements – ensuring clear, consistent and high quality messaging.
3. Represent the GGC team in key forums as appropriate.

About you

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they don't tick every box, if you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, then please apply, regardless of whether you meet all the requirements outlined in this profile.

To be successful in the role you will have:

1. Experience working with a large and complex organisation with a complex stakeholder environment
2. Proven track record of project management and delivery across multiple business areas, effecting positive change
3. Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and drive enhancements to ways of working, processes and team effectiveness
4. Experience of effective management of executive/non-executive relationships
5. Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to influence and drive matters to successful completion
6. Track record of successfully building effective relationships across an organisation and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders
7. Trusted, discreet and proactive in anticipating needs and adding value
8. Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
9. Previous experience as a Business Manager, Chief of Staff for a division or equivalent

Why join us?

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