Operational Risk Oversight Manager - 3rd Party in Swindon

We are looking for an Operational Risk Oversight Manager – Third Party to join our Second Line of Defence team. As third-party partnerships and suppliers play a crucial role in our operations, this role focuses on how Nationwide manages and governs risks arising from external suppliers. By identifying and challenging third-party risks, you will help protect Nationwide and our members, ensuring that our supply chain and outsourcing arrangements are secure, resilient, and appropriately controlled.

As part of our independent Second Line Operational Risk Oversight team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering the Society’s objectives. The team’s mission is to ensure that non-financial risks are effectively managed so that Nationwide can serve its members safely and efficiently. You will work closely with first-line third-party risk teams, Supplier Relationship Managers, Procurement teams, and business areas that rely on critical suppliers, providing guidance on best practice risk management and ensuring compliance with third-party risk policies and evolving regulatory requirements.

In practice, you will engage with business leaders to challenge how they identify, assess, and mitigate supplier risks, particularly as regulatory expectations around outsourcing and operational resilience continue to evolve. Your oversight activities will include conducting supplier risk reviews, performing continuous monitoring of key vendor performance and controls, and evaluating the effectiveness of the third-party risk management framework to identify any gaps. You will also contribute to enhancing supplier risk policies and play an important role in presenting your oversight findings to senior management and relevant risk committees.

By maintaining a clear view of the Society’s third-party risk landscape and collaborating with Operational Risk and Compliance colleagues, you will support the Director of Operational Risk in upholding robust standards for third-party management, helping to protect our members from potential disruption or issues within the supply chain.

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 either our London or Swindon office. If you are aligned to our Glasgow hub (as this is your nearest location), there will be a need to regularly connect and collaborate with colleagues. This is anticipated to be weekly in Glasgow.

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.

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

You will provide operational risk oversight for all risks arising from Nationwide’s use of third parties, including suppliers, partners, and outsourced service providers. You will monitor and assess how business areas manage their supplier relationships by reviewing critical vendor agreements, evaluating compliance with third-party risk policies, and conducting assurance reviews of supplier controls. On a typical day, you may collaborate with colleagues across procurement, vendor management, and risk teams to identify potential vulnerabilities within the supply chain and support the development of mitigation actions.

You will stay up to date with industry and regulatory developments in third-party risk (such as emerging guidance on supplier resilience) and offer expert advice to first-line teams to help them meet these requirements. Through independent challenge and clear reporting of your findings to senior management, you will provide assurance that Nationwide’s critical suppliers are well governed and resilient, directly supporting the Director of Operational Risk’s focus on safeguarding our members and services.

About you

You will have:

• In-depth knowledge of third-party risk management principles and practices, including familiarity with outsourcing regulations and industry standards for managing supplier relationships and associated risks.
• Experience in risk management, audit, or compliance within financial services or a similarly regulated environment, enabling effective assessment of third-party risk controls and governance.
• Strong analytical and review capabilities, with a proven track record of conducting in-depth evaluations of vendor risk frameworks, identifying control gaps, and recommending improvements.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the confidence to advise and influence first-line business leaders and supplier management teams to ensure adherence to risk policies.
• Highly adaptable and self-motivated, with the ability to manage multiple supplier-related projects and respond pragmatically to emerging third-party risks and shifting priorities.

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:

• 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 Sean Wright, and the main recruitment contact is Sameena Rehman. Please note that should you be successful in securing this role, the job title on our internal systems will be Risk Manager Oversight.