Product Owner

This internal opportunity in the Group Risk Product Owner team offers the chance to play a key role in the modernisation of Risk technology, working closely with Mortgage & Retail Product and Change teams to deliver meaningful outcomes for the business. You'll help shape the capability roadmap, manage demand through Nationwide's change governance framework and support investment and delivery decisions across Risk and the Chief Operating Office (COO).

Suited to someone who is confident managing a diverse and fast-moving Credit Risk portfolio, you'll maintain momentum, navigate ambiguity and escalate decisions or risks at the right time. Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to influence how technology evolves, demonstrating your contribution to Nationwide's mortgage growth strategy through the delivery of modern, scalable and customer-focused solutions.

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 our Swindon 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.

Whilst these locations are where we are primarily looking to fill the role, if you’re an internal applicant based in a different location we would welcome your application and if successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this could work for this specific role. You can also find out more about our approach to hybrid working here.

Nationwide is committed to the redeployment of our employees impacted by change, as such applications for redeployment candidates will be prioritised in this recruitment process.

If you’re a colleague on long-term absence (for example, on parental leave) or a temporary worker, please use your personal email address to submit an application.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll work closely with senior leaders and stakeholders across business functions and COO to understand strategic priorities, translate them into capability needs and maintain a medium- to long-term roadmap that balances business outcomes, regulatory commitments, operational resilience and available investment.

You’ll lead demand through the ideation and initiation stages of Nationwide’s change governance framework. This will include reviewing new ideas, shaping scope and outcomes, coordinating early impact assessment and ensuring proposals are sufficiently developed to support prioritisation, estimation, sequencing and investment decisions.

A key part of the role will be hands-on management of the Strategic Investment portfolio for Credit Risk. You’ll maintain a clear view of demand, funding, dependencies, delivery sequencing and key trade-offs, working with COO partners and change teams to support estimation and portfolio planning processes.

You’ll work with Business Analysts, Engineers, Architects and delivery colleagues to shape solutions and ensure initiatives are aligned to the target capability roadmap. You’ll also provide clear, concise updates to senior stakeholders, escalating risks and decisions where required.

You’ll develop a strong understanding of the applications, processes, journeys and products supported by Credit Risk, enabling you to maintain a prioritised backlog and identify opportunities to improve capability, customer outcomes and delivery effectiveness.

As part of the wider Product Owner community, you’ll share good practice, contribute to consistent product and portfolio disciplines and take ownership of your continued professional development.

About you

As a minimum, you’ll have

• Demonstrable experience of managing senior leadership stakeholders across business functions and COO functions, with the confidence to influence priorities, present clear recommendations and navigate competing demands.
• Experience of creating and maintaining capability roadmap documents, translating business strategy into sequenced capability outcomes, dependencies and investment choices.
• Experience of managing ideation and initiation processes within Nationwide’s change governance framework, including shaping demand, clarifying outcomes, coordinating early assessment and preparing proposals for prioritisation and approval.
• Hands-on experience of managing Strategic Investment funding portfolios, with a clear understanding of funding allocation, demand prioritisation, portfolio trade-offs, governance and reporting.
• Experience of supporting COO estimation and sequencing processes, working across business and delivery teams to develop credible estimates, identify dependencies and create an achievable delivery sequence.
• Strong strategic and commercial judgement, with the ability to assess value, risk, operational impact and the consequences of delaying or not progressing change.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to connect senior stakeholders, product, architecture, engineering and change colleagues around a common direction.
• Confidence managing a diverse and fast-moving portfolio, maintaining momentum, resolving ambiguity and escalating decisions or risks at the right time.

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.

The extras you’ll get

There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:

• 25 days holiday, pro rata
• 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.

Keeping your data and personal information confidential is important to us. To find out more about how we use and process your data, please read our Privacy policy.

If you want to find out more about using AI in our recruitment process, please read more here.

Disability Confident

We’re not just guided by data, we’re driven by the real experiences of our people. We’re a Disability Confident Level 3 Leader, the highest level.

That’s why we’re constantly evolving our policies and practices to make sure everyone feels genuinely supported, valued, and empowered to champion inclusion. Whatever your needs, we’re here to support you. If you need any additional support throughout your application journey, email our team at Recruitment Support.

Apply safely with Nationwide

Recruitment scams can look convincing, so take a moment to check the role is listed on our official careers site and read our guidance on Don’t be conned by a job scam.

The hiring manager for this role is Darren Milne, and the main recruitment contact is Kris Mason.