Location: Westminster or home-based

Salary: From £33,366 (without London weighting)

About us

The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. We work on behalf of our member councils to support, promote and improve local government.

We are a politically led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils to help them deliver local solutions to national problems. We also provide councils with the tools and resources to respond to challenges present and emerging, and support improvement across the sector.

We value diversity and encourage applications from all sections of the community

About the role

The LGA is offering an exciting opportunity to work as part of the pensions team at the LGA. The Fire pensions team works with and on behalf of fire and rescue services and authorities in England to support them in their role as scheme managers of the Firefighters’ Pension Schemes. As part of the team, you will play an important role in supporting one of the largest pension schemes in the UK. The broader LGA pensions team works with and on behalf of authorities and other stakeholders across the Local Government pension schemes in England. To be part of this team is to be a vital element in the legislative and administrative framework of some of the largest pension schemes in the UK.

The role requires individuals who can; work independently across multiple projects at any one time, update and analyse spreadsheets, produce reports, chase external stakeholders for information, plan and prepare meetings and events, take minutes, raise orders and invoices, monitor budgets, routinely keep project information and records up to date, and understand and follow corporate policies and procedures. You will also need to identify appropriate venues for conferences and training events and negotiate contracts that offer the best value for money.

About you

The successful candidate will need to be a team player who is flexible and capable of working with minimal supervision, well organised with the ability to plan and deliver a varied workload. You will be highly capable and well-motivated, with strong communication and interpersonal skills and have excellent attention to detail.

For enquiries contact tara.atkins@local.gov.uk

You must have the right to work in the UK, the LGA are unfortunately unable to offer sponsorship visas. Evidence for the right to work in the UK will be requested at the interview stage.

To apply

If you would like to be considered for the role, please complete the online form and include a supporting statement detailing how you meet the criteria for the role before the closing date.

We are specifically assessing candidates against the following criteria:

Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise work to meet deadlines, and a concern for order and accuracy
Excellent IT skills, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint with the ability to quickly learn new packages as required
Excellent written skills, with the ability to accurately summarise and convey complex information
Experience of managing a complex workload, preparing plans and meeting deadlines and milestones
Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with members, other clients and colleagues with courtesy, tact and sensitivity
Flexible approach to work, with a keenness to adapt to meet changing work requirements.

Programme Support Officer - Firefighters' Pensions - Job Description

Closing Date: 5pm, 11 August 2025

Interview Date: Thursday 21 and Friday 22 August 2025

We use anonymous recruitment, which is the practice of hiding candidates’ identities. This process involves removing any identifying information from candidates’ applications which includes names.

At the LGA we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit.

The LGA are proud to be awarded a “Disability Confident Leader”. Please contact us via Recruitment@local.gov.uk if you require a reasonable adjustment, which is a change to the format or conditions of the recruitment process to accommodate any disability-related needs you may have.

Our benefits

LGA annual leave entitlement is 29 days, rising to 31 days after three years’ service and to 33 days after five years’ service, plus all UK public holidays (pro rata for fixed term and part time contracts).*
Flexible & agile working – office-based staff are required to work in the LGA’s London office two days per week as a minimum, subject to business need and this may vary significantly between different roles and from week to week.
Future development – face-to-face and virtual courses are scheduled in line with developmental goals
The LGA offers 24/7 access to a free, confidential employee assistance programme managed by Health Assured. This service is also available for Dependants.
Family friendly policies

For more of LGA’s benefits and working with us, please view our webpage https://www.local.gov.uk/benefits-and-working-lga

Our values & behaviours

Our Values and Behaviours are there to give us an understanding of who we are as an organisation and who we want to be. They are a framework to help us understand:

how we work with each other
how we work with our members and stakeholders
our expectations for ourselves and each other

Our values are:

Collaboration – We value collaboration, to pursue shared goals by encouraging and utilising diverse perspectives and working with internal and external colleagues across the organisation.

Inclusion – We value inclusion, where everyone feels valued, understood, and supported to contribute meaningfully.

Ambition – We value ambition, reflecting our desire to achieve best possible outcomes for local government, communities, and individuals.

Respect – We value respect, to ensure fairness, recognition, and shared accountability.

Programme Support Officer - Fire Pensions