Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme - Retail

Good things this way

If you're ambitious, curious and enjoy solving problems, our Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme - Retail provides a structured route into a rewarding career in banking.

Develop practical experience across business delivery, performance insight and process improvement while building a strong foundation for your future career.

Whether you're a graduate ready to make an impact, or a career changer looking for a new challenge, you'll gain hands-on experience, develop future-ready skills, and contribute to projects that deliver banking that's fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society.

You'll follow a tailored learning pathway designed to build the skills you'll need for the future of financial services. Through digital learning, interactive workshops, insights from leaders and industry experts, and hands-on experience in your role, you'll have plenty of opportunities to put your learning into practice. You'll also learn alongside colleagues from across Nationwide, helping you build your network and understand more about how our business works.

We'll support your development through structured learning, personalised development and hands-on experience, helping you grow with confidence.

Looking for a rewarding career in banking? Good things this way.

Where you’ll be working

You'll join our Retail, Customer Operations and Product function, where teams work together to improve experiences, deliver change, solve business challenges and support Nationwide's long-term success.

The Business Operations & Improvement pathway is designed for people who enjoy solving problems, improving ways of working and helping organisations deliver their goals. Through a range of placements, you'll develop skills in business planning, performance insight, process improvement and stakeholder management while learning how data, technology and collaboration support effective business delivery.

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 or Northampton offices.

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 Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme - Retail

Our Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme begins on 6th September 2027.

Your programme begins with an induction, helping you learn more about Nationwide, connect with colleagues and build the foundations for your role.

Over two years, you'll complete three eight-month placements across teams within Retail, Customer Operations and Product. Each placement offers a different perspective on how the business operates while helping you build specialist knowledge, practical experience and a strong professional network.

Alongside on-the-job learning, you'll take part in our Future Ready Core development programme. This combines development sessions, networking opportunities, self-guided learning, reflective workbooks, customer immersion experiences and access to a wider early careers community.

Together, these experiences will help you develop the skills, confidence and connections needed for a successful career.

The Business Operations & Improvement pathway is designed for people who enjoy understanding how organisations work and identifying opportunities to make them better.

No two days are the same. Activities could include attending team meetings, collaborating with stakeholders, contributing to projects, reviewing customer and business insights, supporting process improvement activities and helping teams track delivery against business priorities.

Working across different placements will help you understand how organisations plan, deliver and continuously improve their services. Along the way, you'll gain exposure to business planning, performance insight, stakeholder management and process improvement activity.

The technologies used will vary depending on the placement team. You may work with collaboration tools, project and change management platforms, data and insight tools and systems used to support business delivery activities.

Throughout the programme, you'll develop highly transferable skills in:

• Business planning and performance insight

• Process improvement

• Stakeholder management

• Governance and Controls

• Project and programme delivery

• Business analysis and requirements gathering

• Communication and relationship building

• Creative problem solving

• Enterprise-wide thinking

• Adaptability and resilience

 You'll often be balancing multiple projects, working with different stakeholders and learning new skills as you progress through the programme.

Who we’re looking for on the Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme - Retail

We're looking for driven, curious people with high standards and a genuine interest in Business Operations & Improvement. You'll share our determination to push for better and put customers first, not just in what you deliver, but in every decision you make.

Whatever your route, our Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme will help you build the skills and experience needed for a rewarding career in banking.

To succeed on our Business Operations & Improvement Development Programme, you'll need to show:

• An interest in understanding business challenges and identifying opportunities for improvement

• The ability to think critically and analyse information to support decision-making

• Curiosity about how organisations operate, improve and deliver results

• 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

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.

Visa sponsorship information 

As a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the applicable Immigration Rules and guidance (which are subject to change). The Skilled Worker route has specific requirements relating to skill level of the role and minimum salary expectations. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited or may not be possible for some programmes. 

VISA Sponsorship cannot be offered on this programme. 

All successful applicants with need to demonstrate their right to work in the UK on commencement of employment and for the duration of the programme applied for without requiring sponsorship. 

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