Senior Complaint Handler

We’re looking for someone to join our High Risk Complaints Pillar, to provide simply brilliant service through actively managing complaints, establishing the root cause to put things right, and delivering the Society’s written final response. 

As a Senior Complaint Handler, the complaints you handle will be more urgent, sensitive and complex in nature, helping to fix things for some of our most vulnerable and distressed customers.  This could involve handling complaints for scam victims, bereaved customers, complaints where the Press are involved, repeat complainers or complaints related to verbal and abusive behaviour in our branches.  We need to be clear, this role will undoubtedly involve managing our most challenging complaints.  But it just so happens these can also be our most interesting and rewarding complaints to resolve. 

Our Senior Complaint Handlers also operate within our FOS complaints team.  Whilst we are not looking to recruit this role into our FOS team at present, successful applicants may be required to flex into this area in the future to meet fluctuations in demand.  

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 Northampton, Swindon or Dunfermline office. 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.

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

You'll be responsible for taking ownership of complex and sensitive customer complaints on a variety of issues across Nationwide’s full product and service range, to reach a good outcome for our customers and Nationwide.   

Handling your own allocated worklist, you'll need to work on a stand-alone basis to prioritise and respond to customers within set regulatory timescales. You’ll have a personal mandate to agree compensation levels where required.  

You’ll need to be a confident communicator, as you’ll be engaging with customers by phone and in writing, plus engaging with a wide network of internal stakeholders to help you get the information you need.  This may involve the need to interact with colleagues in executive roles, including members of ExCo and Nationwide’s board.  

The amazing work you’ll do for our customers will all need to be recorded and evidenced, both via our complaint management system, and in our separate capacity management tool to account for the time you spend. 

If through handling complaints you spot something we can do better, we'll expect you to share ideas that could improve our members' experience, or even our procedures in complaints.

About you

The minimum requirements for the role are:

• Extensive complaints experience through which you’ve developed the expertise to manage our most urgent, complex and sensitive complaints 
• Significant experience of financial services complaint handling, or complaint handling in another regulated industry 
• Experience of dealing with vulnerable customers who are at times angry or upset  
• Extensive Customer Service experience  
• Ability to communicate complaint outcomes and decisions in a clear and empathetic manner (both verbally and in writing)  
• Strong attention to detail - Can analyse data from a wide range of sources to be able to draw conclusions and make informed decisions  
• Able to confidently and professionally engage with senior stakeholders 

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:

• 25 days holiday, pro rata

• From January 2026, all colleagues will have access to fully funded private medical insurance

• A personal pension – if you put in 7% of your salary, we’ll top up by a further 16%

• Access to an annual performance related bonus

• Access to training to help you develop and progress your career

• A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme

• Life assurance worth 8x your salary

• 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.