Senior Risk Oversight Manager (Change)

at  Nationwide

We’re navigating significant change at Nationwide, it’s an exciting time as we evolve to a new future that sees us accelerate delivery of our strategic aims, deliver value to our members, and engage colleagues around new ways of working.
At the same time, we are investing in the Operational Risk Oversight team in the second line of defence. We are increasing the capacity, seniority, and technical capability of the team to ensure we can continue to add customer value by investigating, challenging, and influencing across the Society. We are aiming to do something different through challenge and influence over technical aspects of project delivery.
As Senior Risk Oversight Manager (Change), this role is an opportunity to provide risk oversight of key Strategic Change Programmes, supporting the Head of Operational Risk Oversight (Change) as part of the independent Second Line Risk function.
Understanding and managing change risk effectively is a critical part of our Enterprise Risk Management Framework. Nationwide delivers change projects to improve operational resilience, provide new products to customers, and to meet ongoing and new regulatory or legal requirements. This is an area of the team where we need to make significant investment to adapt our oversight approaches, technical skillset, and methods to assess technical change at a more granular level.
You will support and challenge execution of change at all levels through Nationwide’s “Value Delivery Framework” which encompasses portfolio and project management, and technical change delivery. You will work closely with programme managers, technical change teams, senior leadership teams, as well as partners across the Society’s Three Lines of Defence and UK Regulators.
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 Swindon or London office. 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.

ABOUT YOU

• We’ll need you to have a demonstrable track record of either leading projects/programmes and/or oversighting them with a good level of IT technical understanding within a Retail Banking/Financial Services firm. Working in a 2nd or 3rd line function would be advantageous, but not a requirement. You will likely have experience of working as a Programme or Project Manager.
• You may have integration / migration experience.
• Ability to demonstrate decisiveness and sound judgement on a consistent basis. With strong critical thinking, you’ll comprehend and assimilate technical information rapidly, break down complex problems and provide support and challenge to risk owners in a clear and understandable way to suit different audiences, from Exco level through to wider colleague engagement.
• Interpersonally, you will have experience of working on a regular basis with Senior and Director level stakeholders and you can develop high value relationships at all levels.
• You will have strong leadership skills and be comfortable working in a matrix environment.
• Experience of assessing business area compliance against the Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF) requirements.
• Being resilient and calm under pressure is key, stepping back and considering the bigger picture and being comfortable managing through uncertainty and ambiguity.

Our Customer First behaviours are all about putting customers and members at the heart of how we work together. You can strengthen your application by showing the behaviours that resonate with you, and how you might have already demonstrated these.

• Say it straight - This is about being honest and direct with good intent and saying what needs to be said in the room. It’s also about being clear, precise, and using language that we and, importantly, our customers and members can understand.
• Push for better - This is about aiming high and constantly looking for better in how we work together and serve our customers and members.
• Get it done - This is about prioritising what will have the greatest impact, being decisive and taking accountability for delivering on the end-to-end outcome.

We know applying for jobs can sometimes feel like you’re sending an application into a black hole. We review each application individually. So, it’s a good idea to call out your most relevant experience on your application to give yourself the best chance.

As part of this new role, you will be responsible for:

• Participating in the development of a chance oversight plan and owning oversight on assigned programmes; this will include assessment of the programme management activities (e.g. risk, time, cost, quality), and technical change activities (e.g. architecture, solution designs, 3rd parties, test plans/outcomes, and migration plans). The latter being a high priority.
• Providing assurance to executive management and the risk leadership on the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management across your programmes to mitigate key operational, regulatory and conduct risks.
• Maintaining high value relationships at all levels with a sufficient depth of technical and business understanding of their area, project deliverables, priorities and risks. You will ensure that the key programme and project risks are sufficiently prominent and accounted for.
• Undertaking oversight activities in various ways to suit the project activity. This could include “Close and Continuous” oversight, and undertaking risk and control based “formal oversight reviews” if required.
• Assessing business area compliance against the Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF) requirements. The ERMF includes business and regulatory requirements on, risks, controls, policies, and scenario analysis.
• Working collaboratively with partners across the 3LOD to simplify and strengthen project risk management practices for the benefit of the Business and Society overall.
• Providing effective insight and presenting at programme steering, working groups, and risk and control governance forums/committee
• Deputising for the Head of Operational Risk Oversight (Change) and other senior members of the team as required.