Job description
As part of our independent Second Line Operational Risk Oversight team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering the Society’s objectives. The team’s mission is to ensure that non-financial risks are effectively managed so that Nationwide can serve its members safely and efficiently.
In this role, you will focus on monitoring and challenging how Nationwide delivers transformation projects and programmes. Change is central to our strategy—whether enhancing products, improving resilience, or meeting evolving regulatory requirements. You will ensure that enterprise change delivery frameworks are applied consistently and effectively, and that major initiatives identify and manage their risks appropriately, while keeping customer outcomes and operational resilience at the forefront.
You will partner with Programme Directors, project managers, and technical teams across Nationwide, providing expert operational risk insight into project plans and governance. By offering constructive challenge and promoting best practice in risk and control management across change delivery, you will help improve project outcomes and mitigate issues before they impact our customers.
You will also collaborate with risk specialists across the Three Lines of Defence to champion leading practices in change risk oversight. Through these efforts, you will strengthen Nationwide’s ability to deliver complex change safely, effectively, and with confidence.
We are happy to consider flexible working approaches to help you perform at your best.
At Nationwide we offer hybrid working wherever possible. More rewarding relationships are supported through our hybrid approach, bringing colleagues together across our UK wide estate, whilst also supporting generous access to home working. We value our time in the office to solve problems, to learn, and to feel connected.
For this job you'll spend at least two days per week, or if part time you'll spend 40% of your working time, based at either our London, Glasgow or Swindon office. If you’re based at our Glasgow office, this will apply from 1 April 2027 and ahead of that there will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues for collaboration events. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works. You can also find out more about our approach to hybrid working here.
If we receive a high volume of relevant applications, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so please apply as soon as you can.
The extras you’ll get
There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:
- 25 days holiday, pro rata
- Access to private medical insurance
- A highly competitive pension to help you build a strong foundation for retirement
- Access to an annual performance-related bonus
- Training and development to help you progress your career
- A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme
- Life assurance to provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones in the event of your death
- Wellhub – access to a range of free and paid options for health and wellness
- Up to 2 days of paid volunteering a year
Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society
We forge our own path at Nationwide.
As a mutual, we’re owned by our members - those customers who bank, save or have a mortgage with us. We challenge the financial sector status quo. We don’t see customers as the engine of our own profit. We share our profits with them and put their needs first. Always there when they need us. Supporting them and their lives.
If you’re inspired by fairer finances, passionate about making a meaningful impact, and truly care about our customers, you’re one of us.
At Nationwide, you are challenged to grow and rewarded for doing so. Valued. Recognised. Inspired to be your best. As a community, we want our working lives to count. As a team, we celebrate what we achieve. As a standard-setter, we work for the good of customers, communities, and broader society.
We are purpose-driven. Uncompromisingly customer. Unstoppably Nationwide.
What to do next
If this role is for you, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button. You’ll need to attach your up-to-date CV and answer a few quick questions for us.
We respond to everyone, so we will be in contact shortly after the closing date to let you know the outcome of your application.
Please note should you be successful in securing this role, the job title on our internal system will be Risk Manager Oversight.
What you’ll be doing
You will deliver independent operational risk oversight of major change programmes and projects across Nationwide, ensuring our change initiatives are managed within risk appetite and deliver safe outcomes for our members. On a typical day, you might partner with programme leads and project managers to review risk and control assessments, provide constructive challenge on project plans and governance, and help them address potential operational or regulatory risks before they materialise.
You will use varied oversight approaches, from ongoing engagement with first line delivery teams to formal risk deep-dives to check that projects adhere to our risk management standards and change delivery frameworks. Through these efforts, you’ll influence improvements in how the Society plans and executes change. In doing so, you’ll directly support the Director of Operational Risk’s mandate by enhancing our oversight of strategic change and helping protect our members while we innovate.
About you
Proven experience in managing or overseeing large-scale change programmes in a financial services or similarly complex environment, with a solid understanding of project management practices, technology delivery, and the operational risks involved in change
A track record in risk management or assurance, equipping you with the ability to evaluate project risks, controls, and governance against internal frameworks and regulatory expectations
Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including success working with senior leaders (such as Programme Directors or Heads of Change) and the confidence to challenge and support them in managing risk
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities, capable of quickly understanding complex project issues, assessing their risk implications, and recommending effective mitigation actions
Resilience and adaptability, with the capacity to balance multiple projects and changing priorities while maintaining a clear focus on critical risk issues and delivering timely oversight reports
Our customer first behaviours put customers and members at the heart of how we work together. They are the set of behaviours that every colleague needs to display, in every role:
- Feel what customers feel - We step into our customers’ shoes, using their feedback and insights to empathise with them and to understand their needs, so that every decision we make starts and finishes with our customers in mind
- Say it straight - We are brave in speaking out and saying what we think – we’re honest and direct with good intent, openly sharing diverse perspectives to reach the best conclusions and using language everyone can understand
- Push for better - We don’t settle for mediocrity, we challenge the status quo, taking responsibility for continuous improvement and personal development
Get it done - We prioritise what will have the greatest impact, we are decisive, and we take accountability for delivering brilliant customer outcomes
You can strengthen your application by showing how our customer first behaviours resonate with you, and where you may have already demonstrated these.