Title:  Junior Product Specialist

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

Role purpose

The Junior Product Specialist will support the creation of a new product specialist function for the firm’s multi-asset fund range. The role will help build the data, content, reporting, due diligence and infrastructure required to improve the way the firm supports UK financial advisers, strategic partners and internal distribution teams.

This is a development role. The successful candidate is not expected to be a fully formed multi-asset or UK adviser-market expert from day one. However, they will be expected to become the team’s core analytical and operational support, ensuring that fund information, performance commentary, adviser materials and internal sales tools are accurate, timely, consistent and commercially useful.

The role sits between fund management and distribution. It will help translate investment activity, fund performance and portfolio positioning into clear materials that can be used by sales teams, advisers and strategic partners.

Key Accountabilities

• Produce the materials: Drafts materials, performance commentary, pitch books, RFPs/DDQs, and presentation decks to a high standard of accuracy.
• Run the data and competitor analysis: Pulls and checks performance, attribution, peer, and competitor data, providing monthly updates to distribution.
• Support client engagement: Prepares meeting materials and attends client/adviser meetings (alongside the senior specialist at first) before taking lead on smaller meetings as SME/acting as cover to events.
• Build product and market knowledge: Develops deep familiarity with the multi-asset ranges and monitors the competitive landscape.
• Ensure compliance basics: Routes materials through compliance sign-off and checks adherence to FCA financial promotion and Consumer Duty rules.
• Support business development managers and telesales people with face-to-face and remote meetings up to 15% - 30% of their time

Candidate skills and experience required

Essential skills

• Strong analytical ability and attention to detail.
• Good numerical skills and confidence working with performance, fund and market data.
• Strong written communication skills and ability to produce clear, structured summaries.
• Strong PowerPoint and Excel capability.
• Good organizational skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• High standards of accuracy, source checking and version control.
• Curiosity about financial markets, investment funds and portfolio construction.
• Confidence working with stakeholders across investment, distribution, product, marketing and compliance.
• Willingness to learn quickly, take feedback and operate in a function being built from scratch.

Desirable skills and knowledge

• Some experience in asset management, wealth management, investment consulting, platforms, financial advice, banking or broader financial services.
• Understanding of investment funds, asset classes, portfolio construction, risk and return.
• Exposure to performance reporting, client reporting, RFP/DDQ processes or sales-support materials.
• Familiarity with the UK adviser market, platforms, strategic partners, IA sectors or risk-rated fund ranges.
• Experience using tools such as Morningstar, FE fundinfo, Bloomberg, Lipper, FactSet, Power BI or CRM systems.
• Progress towards IMC, CFA or another relevant investment qualification.
• Basic awareness of financial promotions, product governance or Consumer Duty requirements.

Benefits of working at Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that’s regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you’ll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance.  We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How we work at Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us.  We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures.  Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others.  Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward. 

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That’s why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us.  We are proud of the progress we’re making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus. 

“At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all.”  Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.