Customer Communications Squad Lead

We're looking for an experienced Customer Communications Squad Lead to join our Marketing & Communications team on a permanent basis. In this leadership role, you'll lead a specialist squad responsible for delivering customer communication journeys across marketing, service and regulatory communications. You'll translate strategic priorities into clear plans, ensuring communications are relevant, timely, personalised and connected across channels while delivering measurable outcomes for customers and the business.

As Customer Communications Squad Lead, you will oversee the planning, development and delivery of complex communication programmes, campaigns and change initiatives. Working closely with teams across brand, product, audience, legal, compliance, risk and technology, you'll ensure communications are customer-focused, data-driven and aligned to organisational priorities. You'll use customer insights, analytics and market understanding to optimise engagement, improve performance and create effective end-to-end communication journeys.

You will provide strong people leadership to a team of specialists, setting direction, developing capability and fostering a high-performance culture. You'll also act as a subject matter expert in customer communications, championing innovation, continuous improvement and best practice across channels, tools and ways of working. With accountability for governance, risk and quality standards, you'll ensure all communications meet brand, accessibility, regulatory and reputation requirements.

This role would suit an experienced communications or marketing leader with a strong background in data-driven customer communications, stakeholder management and leading high-performing teams. You'll bring a proven track record of delivering complex communication strategies, using insight and performance data to drive decisions, and influencing senior stakeholders to achieve successful customer and business outcomes in a regulated environment.

We are happy to consider flexible working approaches to help you perform at your best.

The working hours (per week) for this role can be between 28 and 35 hours.

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 Swindon or London 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.

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. You can also find out more about our approach to hybrid working here.

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.

What you’ll be doing

As a Customer Communications Squad Lead, you'll lead a multi-disciplinary squad responsible for creating and delivering customer communications that support key business objectives, regulatory requirements and customer needs. You'll translate strategic priorities into clear communication plans, ensuring the right messages reach the right audiences through the most effective channels and at the right time.

You'll work closely with Product Owners, Marketing teams, Customer Experience specialists, Content Designers, Digital teams, Risk, Compliance and operational stakeholders to understand customer needs and business goals. Using customer insight, performance data and market trends, you'll shape communication strategies and journeys that drive engagement, improve understanding and deliver positive customer outcomes.

A key part of the role will be leading and developing a high-performing squad, creating a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement. You'll prioritise activity, manage competing demands and ensure the team focuses on the work that delivers the greatest value for customers and the business.

You'll be responsible for monitoring and evaluating communication performance, using data and customer feedback to identify opportunities for optimisation. You'll ensure lessons learned are embedded into future activity and that communication approaches continue to evolve in line with changing customer expectations and business priorities.

You'll act as a subject matter expert for customer communications, championing best practice across content, channel strategy, personalisation and customer engagement. You'll provide guidance and constructive challenge to stakeholders, helping teams make informed decisions and maximise the impact of customer communications.

You'll also play an important role in governance and risk management, ensuring all communications meet brand, accessibility, legal and regulatory requirements. Through strong leadership, effective stakeholder engagement and a focus on continuous improvement, you'll help deliver communications that build trust, support customer understanding and strengthen member relationships.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for:

• Experience leading a large, cross-functional team responsible for delivering 1:1 marketing communications – with proven leadership credentials and evidence of authoritative and credible leadership, contributing and influencing within the leadership team and representing the squad and wider area in senior forums
• Experience leading the planning and delivery of complex, data-driven 1:1 marketing campaigns that achieve agreed customer and commercial outcomes
• Experience leading the development of 1:1 marketing creative within brand, tone of voice and embedding 1:1 communications excellence
• Experience using customer insight and performance data to improve 1:1 campaigns and their outcomes
• Strong stakeholder leadership and influencing skills, with experience working across senior Business, Risk, Legal and Customer-facing functions to drive alignment and deliver customer outcomes

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:

• 30 days holiday, pro rata

• 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.

Keeping your data and personal information confidential is important to us. To find out more about how we use and process your data, please read our Privacy policy.

If you want to find out more about using AI in our recruitment process, please read more here.

Disability Confident

We’re not just guided by data, we’re driven by the real experiences of our people. We’re a Disability Confident Level 3 Leader, the highest level.

That’s why we’re constantly evolving our policies and practices to make sure everyone feels genuinely supported, valued, and empowered to champion inclusion. Whatever your needs, we’re here to support you. If you need any additional support throughout your application journey, email our team at Recruitment Support.

Apply safely with Nationwide

Recruitment scams can look convincing, so take a moment to check the role is listed on our official careers site and read our guidance on Don’t be conned by a job scam.

The hiring manager for this role is Joe Mariani, and the main recruitment contact is Sameena Rehman.

Interviews for this position are expected to take place from 11th November. We will let you know the outcome of your application shortly after the closing date. If you are shortlisted, we will share further details with you about the interview process.

Please let us know about any annual leave you have planned during the interview timeframe.