As part of the Financial Reporting development programme, you’ll develop skills in different work situations, contributing to the development and improvement of processes, products and services in your department.

This three-year programme comprises of three 12-month placements, progressively building on your skills, knowledge, and experiences to reach an Accountant level role. This includes support throughout the programme to study for and obtain the ACA Chartered Accountant qualification – helping you learn and embed key management accounting practices that you can apply in your role.

You’ll also attend development workshops and complete any training aligned to achieve your best.

Here in the Finance function, we make sure we spend our customers money wisely, so they get the most benefit. As a function, we are made up of diverse individuals, skills and capabilities that enable us to provide financial partnering services, produce statutory and regulatory reporting, raise wholesale funds & maintain liquidity. We provide lending for social housing, create and deliver a financial plan, manage stress testing requirements, provide and maintain financial systems and technology and drive the development of our Society Strategy.

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 head office.

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

If you’re ambitious and driven to succeed, you’ve come to the right place. These roles come with the expectation of delivering positive outcomes for the Society from the very first day in a particularly intriguing time in our history. Attention to detail, asking questions, and an eagerness to find solutions are key to succeeding as you’ll be working on important deliverables for the UK’s 2nd largest mortgage and savings provider, ensuring we spend our customers money wisely, whilst pushing for better by improving efficiency and productivity in everything we do.

Building and maintaining strong working relationships will give you a firm foundation to tackle complex and technical challenges. If you can take these challenges in your stride, learn from any setbacks, remain well-organised, and provide your own fresh perspective to situations, you’ll quickly stand out as someone with long-term potential.

Financial Reporting comprises several teams responsible for different aspects of financial accounting and reporting. This includes Nationwide’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), as well as a range of regulatory financial reporting for the Bank of England, PRA & FCA. There are separate teams responsible for more complex areas, such as taxation, treasury reporting, and loan loss provisions. Financial Reporting also includes a reconciliation function, plus a team who oversee Nationwide’s technical accounting approach, ensuring it’s in line with accounting standards and based on appropriate judgements.

1st year

During your first year you’ll develop a foundational understanding and application of accounting fundamentals, setting you up for success in your following years and supporting your first year of exams. You will be in the equivalent of an assistant accountant role where you will support an accountant in a combination of producing, reconciling, analysing, and reporting month end numbers. We would also be looking at you to identify areas where processes could be improved and to work collaboratively across the teams to improve efficiency.

2nd year

In this pivotal year of your journey, you're positioned at the intermediate level, ready to enhance the skills you've already begun cultivating. You’ll move to a new team to build on your knowledge from year 1 as you’ll take on responsibility for a greater share of the analysis and commentary to support some of our reporting deliverables. Expect to amplify your impact as you actively contribute more substantially to supporting accounting processes and reporting. It's not just about skill enhancement, it's about taking ownership and playing a more influential role in the production of the financial reports.

3rd year

In the final year of your journey, you can expect to be in a role that is the equivalent of a senior assistant accountant, as you’ll move teams again to take on responsibilities in a more complex area such as treasury reporting or disclosures within our ARA. You’ll broaden your experience and knowledge with opportunities to showcase the skills you’ve learnt across your journey in readiness to propel you into your future Nationwide career beyond the programme. Your scope of responsibility will extend to more intricate business areas, where you’ll be at the forefront of providing invaluable insights and delivering reporting for publication or submission to external stakeholders.

Having contributed to key deliveries across your programme, developed skills that display your competency within Financial Reporting, and successfully passed your ACA qualification, we would expect you to be well-positioned to move into an Accountant role equivalent role.


About you

Dare more. Develop more. Deliver more.

  • Bold in living our Customer First behaviours, you are innovative and have a growth mindset.
  • Development is something you expect and embrace.
  • You push for high performance – from yourself and those around you.
  • You have a high standard of numerical, written, and verbal communication skills.
  • You’ll have the ability to analyse data and problem solve to identify challenges and propose solutions.
  • Through research and experience, you’ll have commercial awareness of Nationwide Building Society and the Financial Services industry.


Entry requirements

Whether you’re a recent graduate, contemplating a career change, or are already working in finance but seeking your next challenge, our finance development programme paves the way for a fast-paced career in finance.

You’ll need to have:

  • Two A Level qualifications (A*-E) and three GCSE’s at grades A-C/grade 9-4 (or equivalent) including Maths and English Language
  • You have an inquisitive mind and an aptitude for problem solving
  • Experience using Microsoft Excel
  • Strong organisational skills to plan and deliver work with attention to detail


In addition, we will also be looking for:

  • Determination and a drive to make a difference
  • Good time management and prioritisation skills for working in a fast paced environment
  • You want to get involved in activities across the Finance department, such as working with our recognition team or Network and Knowledge events

Nationwide will support your studies with time off work for your accountancy exams and for study and revision courses run by an external study provider. To be successful you will also need to dedicate a significant amount of your own time for self-study, revision and exam practice.

Our Customer First behaviours are all about putting customers and members at the heart of how we work together. You can strengthen your application by showing the behaviours that resonate with you, and how you might have already demonstrated these.

• Say it straight - This is about being honest and direct with good intent and saying what needs to be said in the room. It’s also about being clear, precise, and using language that we and, importantly, our customers and members can understand.
• Push for better - This is about aiming high and constantly looking for better in how we work together and serve our customers and members.
• Get it done - This is about prioritising what will have the greatest impact, being decisive and taking accountability for delivering on the end-to-end outcome.

We know applying for jobs can sometimes feel like you’re sending an application into a black hole. We review each application individually. So, it’s a good idea to call out your most relevant experience on your application to give yourself the best chance.


The extras you’ll get

As well as a permanent contract and a competitive starting salary (£32,500pa), as a valued member of the team we offer you:

  • A personal pension – if you put in 7% of your salary, we’ll top up by a further 16%
  • Up to 2 days of paid volunteering a year
  • Life assurance worth 8x your salary
  • A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme
  • Wellhub – Access to a range of free and paid options for health and wellness.
  • Access to an annual performance related bonus
  • Access to training to help you develop and progress your career
  • 25 days holiday


What makes us different

Uniquely Nationwide

At Nationwide, we're making banking fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society. Unlike the banks we are owned by our members, not shareholders. That’s anyone who banks, saves or has a mortgage with us. Which means we can always focus on what’s best for them. It’s our fundamental difference.

You'll feel that difference when you join our Early Careers programmes. When you're inspired by fairer finances, passionate about making a meaningful impact, and truly care about customers, you're one of us. An advocate for positive change.