Economic Crime Investigator

This role sits within Nationwide's Financial Crime Operations function, specifically within the Special Interest Persons (SIP) and Terrorism Act (TACT) team. The team is responsible for managing customers who present heightened financial crime, criminality, terrorism or reputational risk to the Society.

As an Economic Crime Investigator, you will conduct complex investigations into customers identified through watchlist screening, internal referrals, adverse media, criminal convictions, law enforcement information and terrorist financing concerns. You will analyse intelligence from multiple internal and external sources to assess risk, identify potential proceeds of crime or terrorist financing concerns, and make evidence-based decisions which protect Nationwide, its members and the wider community.

The role combines analytical casework with limited telephony, working collaboratively with customers and internal teams to protect Nationwide and our members, supported by structured training, ongoing coaching, and a hybrid working model with predictable weekday hours.

This role offers the opportunity to do purposeful work that has a direct impact on protecting our members from financial crime while developing specialist investigative skills in a supportive and professional environment. You will benefit from exposure to advanced detection systems, varied and intellectually engaging casework, and clear working patterns with no weekend or bank holiday shifts.

You’ll complete a training program when you first join, where training will be delivered remotely. After training, you’ll work 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Your standard hours will be 8 AM - 4 PM, and every 4th week, you’ll work from 9 AM - 5 PM. There are no weekend shifts.

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 be located at our nearest regional office or hub. There will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues for collaboration and in some locations, you’ll be expected to spend at least two days a week, or if part time you'll spend 40% of your working time, in the office. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works.

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

In this role you will investigate customers who have been identified as presenting elevated financial crime risk, including individuals charged with or convicted of financially motivated offences, customers linked to terrorism-related concerns and those identified through adverse media, law enforcement intelligence or internal referrals.

You will review customer information, account activity, transactional behaviour, public-domain intelligence and supporting evidence to assess risk and determine whether a customer remains within Nationwide's risk appetite. This includes investigating potential money laundering, terrorist financing and proceeds of crime concerns, identifying red flag indicators and making clear, evidence-based recommendations.

You will manage investigations from initial identification through to final decision, completing detailed and accurate case records, escalating concerns where appropriate and preparing reports to support Nationwide's legal and regulatory obligations, including Suspicious Activity Reports to the National Crime Agency where required.

Alongside investigative work, you will engage with customers and internal stakeholders where necessary to obtain information, clarify activity and ensure appropriate outcomes are reached. You will work within defined service levels and risk frameworks whilst contributing to continuous improvement and adapting to emerging financial crime threats.

Careers Pathway Information

The Careers Pathway provides colleagues working within Protect with the opportunity to progress internally through a structured process. If you are considering this route, please note that there are set requirements you’ll need to meet. To understand whether you fit these, speak with your manager for guidance and support.

If you meet the criteria and choose to pursue the Careers Pathway, you will not need to apply for the role via the website. Instead, the move will be handled internally through the pathway process.

About you

For this role, you will need:

• A naturally inquisitive and consistently thorough approach

• Very strong written and verbal communication skills with a close attention to detail

• Strong analytical and investigative mindset with the ability to assess complex information and identify risk indicators

• Ability to interpret information from multiple systems and sources and form balanced, evidence-based conclusions

• Comfortable making risk-based decisions in complex or ambiguous situations

• Experience of investigating financial crime, criminality, customer risk or regulatory issues

• Ability to produce detailed, accurate and defensible written rationales

• An interest in financial crime, money laundering, terrorist financing and economic crime prevention

• Previous EDD, AML, or Financial Crime investigative experience

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

• 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.

Once we’ve received your application successfully, we will invite you to the first stage; our online assessments!

Within a few hours you’ll receive a link to your unique candidate hub – here we’ll ask you to complete some online assessments within 48 hours of applying; these include a situational judgement test, checking and numerical assessments – all focussed around what’s important to us in a member facing role at Nationwide.

In your candidate hub you’ll also be able to get hints and tips and watch videos from our colleagues giving you a really good idea of what it’s like to work here at Nationwide.

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

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The hiring manager for this role is Duncan Antrobus, and the main recruitment contact is Amy Baxter.