Do you want to have an influence on making the UK a more responsible business market, helping our business customers to decarbonise and make their business more responsible?
Following the acquisition of Virgin Money, Nationwide is on a bold journey to build a credible, relationship‑led Business Bank, combining strong customer advocacy, deep sector and local knowledge, sustainable growth and disciplined risk management aligned to the benefits of being a modern mutual.
Business Banking is seeking a Product Manager – Sustainable Finance Manager to manage our responsible business programme and supporting Nationwide to deliver responsible business banking as we bring the mutual model to the UK SME market
The role will help set the direction and monitor progress of key initiatives such as the Responsible Business Club, the Sustainable Finance Framework, data enhancements and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) disclosures.
The roles sit within the Business Management function who oversee delivery across Business Banking by coordinating priorities, unblocking issues, and driving pace, focus and execution across the leadership agenda. The team is responsible for driving Business Banking performance, sustainability and engagement, strengthening connection, clarity and capability.
The Product Manager – Sustainable Finance Manageris a new role – with an opportunity for the successful candidate to shape and evolve the role – with an overarching ambition to help our business customers with their sustainability ambitions
Working as part of a small team, the role holder has an opportunity to shape and influence how we deliver responsible business banking, doing in a style that reflects Nationwide’s values: customer-first, inclusive, collaborative and principled.
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 role, you will be part of our growing Business Banking team, meeting with and supporting customers across your assigned region. As such, you can be based anywhere across the mainland UK, provided you are able to travel regularly to meet clients within your region. Additionally, there will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues through collaboration events at one of our office locations. These are currently expected to take place monthly in Glasgow or London, although locations may vary. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will share further details on how this will work in practice. You can also find out more about our approach to hybrid working here.
Virgin Money is now part of Nationwide
Nationwide acquired Virgin Money in October 2024. Virgin Money continues to serve customers on the high street, and there will be a phased and considered integration over the coming years.
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.
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.
Responsibilities
What you’ll be doing
The role will help set and steer a 2030 roadmap of actions in collaboration with the Senior Manager for Sustainable Finance, ensuring this work feeds directly into the Group’s overarching Climate Plan. It also involves working closely with the Sustainable Finance Industry Managers to monitor and manage progress across the Group Transition, providing oversight of Business Bank deliverables and ensuring alignment with wider organisational objectives.
In partnership with the Senior Manager for Sustainable Finance, the role helps to bring together the various components of the organisation’s responsible business proposition, ensuring a coherent and compelling narrative is presented at Board and Executive Committee level. Additionally, the role provides guidance and support to the Sustainable Finance Senior Specialist across reporting, insight and analysis, and communications, helping to maintain high‑quality outputs and effective stakeholder engagement.
The role includes full end‑to‑end product management of the Sustainable Business Coach, ensuring it remains effective, relevant and aligned with the organisation’s wider sustainability objectives. It also carries responsibility for contract management relating to the partnership with Trinity AgTech, maintaining strong governance and ensuring the partnership continues to deliver value.
In addition, the role leads collaborative work with the Sustainable Finance team and other internal stakeholders to define the future shape of a potential Future‑Fit Advisory service, as well as exploring what university partnerships could look like. This involves shaping early concepts, aligning stakeholders and helping to set a clear direction for future development.
The role involves working closely with Group Sustainability, Risk and Business teams to assess data requirements, ensuring strong alignment between regulatory expectations, internal decision‑making needs and enhancements to the customer experience. This includes connecting insights across functions to create a coherent and efficient approach to sustainability‑related data.
It also requires monitoring and assessing wider Business data and platform developments to identify opportunities for Sustainable Finance to leverage Business‑wide programmes. By understanding how broader initiatives evolve, the role helps ensure Sustainable Finance remains integrated, efficient and strategically aligned.
In addition, the role explores third‑party data sources—whether through external suppliers or open‑source platforms—and works to embed these resources within the organisation. This supports the enhancement of ESG‑related data, strengthening the organisation’s ability to assess, report and act on sustainability performance.
About you
As a minimum requirement, you’ll have:
- A track record for excellence in business banking and sustainability
- Hold, or be willing to work towards, becoming a Future-Fit Accredited Advisor
- Experience and insight on the commercial benefits of being a responsible business, including working knowledge of the Sustainable Business Coach product
- Excellent, effective communication and influencing skills, both written and verbal, building instant credibility with stakeholders internally and externally
- An aptitude to assimilate, understand, and efficiently present complex information, such as climate and sustainable finance information
- Capability to bring together multiple stakeholders across the organisation, and confidence to provide an appropriate degree of challenge
- The ability to deliver to specific deadlines, working on your own initiative
- An understanding of policies, procedures, and regulations, and how they relate to sustainable finance
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.
Qualifications
The extras you’ll get
There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:
25 days holiday, pro rata
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 - 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.
The hiring manager for this role is Scott McFarlane, and the main recruitment contact is Amy Bright.
Please note that should you be successful in securing this role, the job title on our internal systems will be Product Manager.
Contact Details:
Nationwide Building Society Recruitment Team
