Associate Director - Commercial & Fishing Sector in Edinburgh

We like promoting our own and developing talent, we encourage growth, but not just upwards. We want you to have the chance to move into broader roles and into different areas if you’d like to expand your experience. Fancy a new opportunity? You’ve come to the right place.

We’re at our best when we have something to drive us forward, a belief that underlines who we are and what we do. Our Purpose is to make people happier about money – and that idea starts with every single one of us here at Nationwide. Feeling insatiably curious about your next adventure? You might have just found it.

Exciting opportunities exist within our North & East Scotland Strategic Finance team right now. Our Strategic Finance team supports commercial, corporate, PLC and private equity backed businesses in our region and across the UK. If you're passionate and ambitious about playing a key role in helping shape and grow our business, then please read on.

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 be covering the North & East Scotland region so will need to be based locally to Aberdeen as you will be expected to regularly travel to meet customers across this region. Additionally, there will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues for collaboration events in one of our office sites. This is anticipated to be monthly in Edinburgh or Aberdeen, however the location may vary. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works.

You’ll be employed by Nationwide from day one, delivering real impact and benefitting from a highly competitive range of benefits. We’re a workplace where you’re rewarded, recognised and celebrated.

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:

• As a key member of the North & East Scotland Strategic Finance Team, you’ll be primarily responsible for assisting our Relationship Managers and Senior Directors to support our customers and drive business growth.
• You’ll support with relationship management, sourcing of high-quality customers and strengthening brand visibility in the local and regional marketplace whilst developing and expanding your own network of internal and external contacts.
• You’ll be working with the Relationship Managers and Senior Directors to evaluate and generate opportunities with new and existing customers.
• You’ll assist in the conversion thereof from initial meetings through to completion of new transactions, including the analysis of new business proposals and undertaking independent research on companies and sub-sectors.
• You’ll prepare credit applications in respect of existing customers and new proposals, which will include the preparation and analysis of financial models.
• Instruct, complete and process internal and external documentation to ensure loan and security documentation is prepared, in order and the due diligence is correctly scoped.
• Provide new customers with a seamless on‑boarding experience, working collaboratively with colleagues across the business to support Relationship Managers and Senior Directors to manage and monitor the portfolio, ensuring compliance on all credit, operations, loan administration and other risk and administrative matters as necessary.
• You’ll monitor ongoing compliance with the facility agreement and covenants and ensure that all pre‑and post‑deal housekeeping and internal compliance requirements are met.
• Liaise effectively with our customers, various external agencies and credit teams in respect of existing customer reviews and consent requests.

About you:

• A passion for, or experience of, working in the UK fishing industry.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to engage and build lasting relationships with our fishing customers and external professional networks.
• The ability to cope with complex situations, work to tight deadlines, problem solve and approach challenges with flexibility.
• Excellent qualitative and quantitative analytical skills (including Excel financial modelling skills) with an ability to understand and interpret financial statements and due diligence reports.
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to assimilate, understand and efficiently present information to various stakeholders to produce effective lending outcomes.
• A Graduate degree, or vocational qualification in finance or demonstrable experience working within the fishing industry.

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:

• Access to 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.