P&O Consultant

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Responsible Business team within Procurement and play a key role in delivering our Procurement for Mutual Good programme, for a more inclusive, ethical, and environmentally responsible supply chain, and supporting our Group Procurement People Plan.

You’ll be responsible for operating our processes to ensure third party suppliers meet Nationwide’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) expectations; including onboarding checks on new suppliers, evaluating prospective suppliers bidding for work, reviewing evidence suppliers meet our standards, and monitoring EcoVadis responses. 

In this role, you’ll engage with colleagues across the Group Procurement team, supplier relationship managers across the organisation, and responsible business teams across other functions, as well as communicating directly with third party suppliers, to promote responsible purchasing practices and ESG standards.

You’ll also support how our Group Procurement team comes together, shares key updates celebrates success, and creates positive social impact, by booking and planning meetings, drafting communications, keeping collatorel updated, working with colleagues on volunteering and fundraising activities.

We are seeking someone who demonstrates a desire to make a difference, who has clear communication skills, and who can follow established patterns with initiative to resolve problems and react to changing priorities. 

You’ll be joining a high-performing team that has been recognised with external awards, including the CIPS Best Commitment to Carbon Reduction in Supply Chains and finalists for Nationwide’s Green Champion Award in 2024.

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 our London office. Whilst this location is primarily where we’re 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. You can also find out more about our approach here.

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

On a day-to-day basis, you will be responsible for:

• Operating our ESG supplier due diligence processes at onboarding and during contract management, by checking suppliers agree to meet our ESG expectations and have evidence in place that demonstrates this
• Keeping the tracker of supplier ESG contractual commitments updated and notifying the team when engagement is required as deadlines are approaching
• Communicating with colleagues and suppliers on EcoVadis scorecard validity and performance
• Checking sustainability-related calculations, including greenhouse gas emissions, modern slavery and nature risk assessments
• Support the administration of the Group Procurement People Plan, including booking and planning meetings, compiling data, keeping materials updated, planning initiatives, and measuring their success
• Drafting communications and training content across ESG and culture
• Weekly wrap-up of key sustainable procurement news stories to keep the team updated and informed on the latest trends and industry developments
• Responding to ad-hoc requests for information or research 

About you

• Passionate about sustainability in procurement.
• Enthusiastic about working in a thriving team.
• Diligent in following established patterns and processes.
• Initiative to resolve queries and react to changing priorities.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Able to manage multiple competing priorities.
• Clear communication skills, both written and verbal, with attention to detail.
• Proficient in MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Experience using Power BI is a bonus.

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

There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:

• 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

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.