Business Operations & Improvement - Change (Business Services) Industrial Placement

Good things this way

If you're ambitious, curious and enjoy solving problems, our 12-month Change Industrial Placement provides an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience while exploring a future career in change and delivery.

Help deliver change that improves experiences for customers and colleagues while gaining valuable experience in a large, complex organisation.

Whether you're interested in business analysis, project delivery or helping organisations adapt and improve, this placement offers the opportunity to develop practical skills while contributing to real business outcomes.

The experience is designed to help you build confidence, apply your learning and gain valuable insight into how large organisations deliver change. Along the way, you'll broaden your network, work with experienced professionals and discover where your interests might take you after university.

Our Business Services team ensures our services run smoothly and efficiently across our property estate, operations, and supply chain. We support the organisation by managing the spaces, systems, and partnerships that underpin everyday activity. 

We’re offering exciting opportunities within our Colleague Enablement and Communications & Engagement teams. Ideal if you're passionate about creating seamless, engaging experiences for colleagues. 

As part of our high-performing teams, you’ll:

• Coordinate training events and manage bookings 

• Create engaging colleague communications 

• Support budget planning and tracking 

• Contribute to onboarding experiences, including Early Careers induction activities 

• Help drive continuous improvement through data collation and reporting 

Where you’ll be working

You'll join Change teams within our Chief Operating Office, helping deliver projects and initiatives that improve experiences for Nationwide customers and colleagues.

Working alongside experienced professionals, you'll gain exposure to business analysis, project management, stakeholder engagement and change delivery, building a broad understanding of how large-scale transformation happens across Nationwide.

Location 

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, based at our Swindon Head Office.

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. 

What you'll be doing on the Change Industrial Placement

Our Change Industrial Placement is a 12-month programme designed to combine practical experience, professional development and real workplace learning. This isn't a placement spent watching from the sidelines. From day one, you'll contribute to meaningful work while receiving the support needed to learn and grow.

Your placement begins with induction, technical training and development support designed to help you settle in, build confidence and understand the role you'll be performing. You’ll then join your team, where you’ll gain hands on experience, development practical skills and build relationships with colleagues across the business.  

Alongside your day to day role, you'll join a 10-month collaborative project with other Industrial Placement students from across Nationwide. Development workshops run throughout the placement, helping build project and professional skills, grow confidence and prepare you for your next career step. 

There will also be opportunities to learn from leaders and industry experts, gaining fresh perspectives and practical ideas you can apply day to day. Mentoring, workshops, stretch assignments and ongoing support will help you continue developing your skills and confidence.

The placement offers the opportunity to experience how large organisations deliver change while helping you explore future career options. Rather than focusing on a single destination role, you'll gain broad experience and discover which aspects of change and delivery interest you most.

No two days are the same. Activities could include attending project meetings, running workshops, analysing business processes, gathering requirements, supporting planning activities, reviewing project risks or working with colleagues across the organisation to help deliver successful change.

You'll gain exposure to tools such as Microsoft 365, Jira, Confluence and Visio, building practical experience of how change and project teams collaborate and deliver work.

Along the way, you'll develop transferable skills in communication, stakeholder engagement, planning, problem solving, organisation and collaboration. The placement places strong emphasis on learning, potential and future development rather than previous experience.

Successful completion of the placement may help shape future career choices and could provide a route into the Change Development Programme (CDP) after university.

Who we're looking for on the Change Industrial Placement 

Please note, you must be currently in your second year of a university degree to be able to apply for this vacancy.

We're looking for curious, motivated people who enjoy solving problems, learning new skills and working with others. You'll share our determination to push for better and put customers first in the decisions you make. Whatever your route, this placement will help you gain valuable experience while exploring where a future career in change and delivery could take you.

To succeed on our Change Industrial Placement, you'll need to show:

• An interest in business change, project delivery or business analysis.

• Confidence working with people and contributing ideas.

• Curiosity about how organisations improve processes, products and services.

• The ambition to keep growing, take on new challenges and build towards your next career step.

• A logical, methodical approach, with the ability to understand both the detail and the bigger picture.

• The confidence to build relationships and work with colleagues across the business.

• Drive, high performance and a commitment to learning from feedback and setbacks.

• A determination to push for better and put customers first in the decisions you make.

Eligibility: You must be studying towards an undergraduate degree.

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. 

The extras you’ll get

High performing and purpose-driven colleagues deserve a rewarding career and competitive benefits to match. We offer you:

• Structured learning, personalised development and hands-on experience to help you build future-ready skills and progress your career in banking

• 25 days holiday each year, which increases over time to 30. Plus, you can ‘buy’ up to 10 extra days

• The opportunity to earn an annual bonus based on your performance

• Private medical insurance to help you access additional healthcare when you need it

• Wellhub access to a range of free and paid fitness and wellbeing options, plus free on-site gyms at selected locations

• A highly competitive pension to help you start building your financial future 

• A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme

• Up to 14 paid hours each year to volunteer for a cause that matters to you

• Life assurance to provide additional peace of mind for you and the people who matter to you

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, where you’ll be asked to answer a few quick questions for us.  

We’ll send you our online assessments to complete and there will also be a short video interview to find out more about you. If you are successful, you could be selected to attend one of our assessment centres which run from January 2027.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at Early.Careers@nationwide.co.uk