Risk & Governance Industrial Placement

Good things this way

If you're ambitious, curious and enjoy solving problems, our Risk & Governance Industrial Placement provides an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience while exploring a future career in banking. This placement offers an opportunity to develop practical skills while contributing to meaningful business outcomes.

The experience is designed to help you build confidence, apply your learning and gain valuable insight into how effective governance and decision-making support a large organisation. Along the way, you'll broaden your network, work with experienced professionals and discover where your interests might take you after university.

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

Where you’ll be working

You'll join one of our specialist risk and governance teams within the Risk function, helping ensure Nationwide operates safely, responsibly and effectively for its customers and members.

Whether you're supporting regulatory compliance, helping protect the organisation from economic crime, or providing oversight of operational risks, you'll gain hands-on experience of how large organisations manage risk, strengthen governance and make informed decisions.

Working alongside experienced professionals, you'll contribute to meaningful work while developing valuable skills in analysis, problem solving, stakeholder management, business improvement and emerging technologies, including AI.

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 Glasgow 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. 

 

Responsibilities

What you'll be doing on the Risk & Governance Industrial Placement

Our Risk & Governance 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, development support and structured learning designed to help you settle in, build confidence and understand the role you'll be performing.  Alongside this, you'll join a 10-month collaborative project with other Industrial Placement students from across Nationwide. Throughout the placement, you'll gain hands-on experience while following a personalised learning pathway tailored to your role. Workshops, simulations and on-the-job learning will help you continue developing your skills and confidence.

As an Industrial Placement student in Risk, you'll spend your placement in one of three specialist areas: Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, Economic Crime, or Operational Risk Oversight. Whichever team you join, you'll gain hands-on experience, develop a strong understanding of risk and governance, and contribute to work that helps protect both our customers, members and our business.

Compliance and Regulatory Affairs

This team helps Nationwide navigate a complex and evolving regulatory landscape. They provide expert advice and challenge to ensure regulatory requirements are understood, risks are effectively managed, and products and services lead to good customer outcomes and meet regulatory expectations. They also lead and coordinate Nationwide's engagement with regulators, helping maintain consistent, open and cooperative regulatory relationships. 

Economic Crime

This team helps protect Nationwide, its members and their money from financial crime. They set policies and standards, provide specialist advice, and oversee controls relating to areas such as fraud, anti-money laundering, sanctions, bribery, and corruption.

Operational Risk Oversight

This team provides independent oversight and challenge to ensure operational risks are identified, assessed, and managed effectively. With a strong focus on technology, resilience, and governance, they help ensure robust controls are in place to support the safe running of the business.

Along the way, you'll develop transferable skills in communication, stakeholder engagement, problem solving, analysis and continuous improvement.

There will also be opportunities to support strategic projects and contribute to initiatives that improve how Nationwide manages risk and governance.

Successful completion of the placement may help shape future career choices and could provide a route into one of our Risk & Governance Skills Development Programmes after university.

Who we're looking for on the Risk & Governance Industrial Placement

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 governance, risk and business improvement could take you.

To succeed on our Risk & Governance Industrial Placement, you'll need to show:

• An interest in governance, risk management, regulatory interpretation and business improvement.

• Confidence solving problems and challenging existing ways of working.

• Curiosity about how organisations make decisions, manage risk and improve performance.

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

• Interest and drive to build AI skills and knowledge

• 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 in any discipline. 

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.

Qualifications

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