Senior Enterprise Architect

We are looking for an experienced Senior Enterprise Architect to shape the future of Nationwide’s digital customer experience. This is a strategic role with a specialist focus on customer identity, digital channels, open banking, cross-channel orchestration and personalisation.

You will work across business and technology teams to define the target architecture, roadmaps and transition states needed to deliver secure, joined up and personalised customer experiences. You will translate business strategy, customer needs, technology trends and regulatory requirements into clear architectural direction, principles and investment priorities.

As a trusted adviser to senior leaders, architects and major programmes, you will guide strategically significant decisions and provide constructive challenge to ensure change aligns with Nationwide’s technology strategy and enterprise architecture. You will help teams navigate complex choices, manage dependencies across customer journeys and platforms, and balance immediate delivery needs with the longer-term direction.

You will also evaluate market developments and emerging technologies, working with technology partners, fintechs and industry bodies to identify opportunities and bring new digital capabilities into Nationwide. This may include leading research, developing strategic options and sponsoring proofs of concept.

The role has no direct reports but will lead virtual, cross-functional teams and influence significant investment decisions. You will combine deep digital domain expertise with broad enterprise architecture experience, helping Nationwide build simpler, safer and more effective digital services for current and future customers.

This role sits within the Customer Engagement and Enterprise Functions Enterprise Architecture team, which shapes the strategic direction for the capabilities and technology that support how customers engage with Nationwide, alongside the enterprise functions that enable the Society to operate effectively.

You’ll lead the development of enterprise architecture across key digital capabilities, including customer identity, digital channels, open banking, cross-channel orchestration and personalisation. Working with business leaders, CIO (Chief Information Office) teams, architects and delivery programmes, you’ll translate customer needs and business strategy into clear target architectures, roadmaps, principles and investment priorities.

Your work will help Nationwide create simpler, safer and more joined-up customer experiences. You’ll ensure customers can identify themselves securely, move confidently between channels, access relevant products and services, and benefit from more personalised interactions. By guiding strategically significant decisions and maintaining alignment across journeys, platforms and programmes, you’ll help Nationwide deliver digital services that meet the changing needs of current and future customers.

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

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 role, you'll be based at your nearest regional office or hub. We value time spent together to connect with colleagues for collaboration so there will be a regular requirement to attend our Swindon site approximately once per quarter. If you are based at an office location, you'll be expected to meet our hybrid working requirement of at least two days a week, or 40% of your working time if part-time, in the office. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works.

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 spend your time working with business and technology leaders to understand their priorities and turn them into clear architectural direction. You’ll shape future plans for customer identity, digital channels, open banking, joined-up customer journeys and personalisation, while helping teams make practical decisions about current change.

Additionally, you’ll bring together people from across Nationwide to explore complex problems, challenge proposed approaches and build agreement on the best way forward. You’ll also research market developments and emerging technology to identify opportunities to improve how customers engage with Nationwide.

About you

You will have

• Strong understanding of modern digital architecture and platform patterns, including cloud-native, microservices, event-driven and domain-driven architectures, SaaS and hybrid integration models, and the technology ecosystems underpinning digital identity, Open Banking, digital wallets and AI-enabled services
• Significant enterprise architecture experience across customer identity and access management (CIAM), digital identity verification and identity assurance within a regulated organisation
• Practical knowledge of identity and security standards and profiles such as OAuth 2.1, OpenID Connect (OIDC), FAPI 2.0 and OpenID Connect for Identity Assurance (OIDC4IDA), including their distinct roles in authorisation, authentication, secure API access and the exchange of verified identity evidence
• Experience designing standards-based identity architectures covering identity federation, relying-party integration, redirects and callbacks, token and claims handling, consent, attribute sharing and verified identity evidence with assurance metadata
• Practical experience of modern authentication and transaction security, such as passkeys, multi-factor and adaptive authentication, device and biometric signals, DPoP and transaction signing
• Experience integrating identity-proofing providers and trust frameworks into customer journeys, including provider onboarding, certification, fraud and policy controls, exception handling, assisted fallback, evidence retention and end-to-end auditability
• The ability to turn complex identity, regulatory and technology requirements into clear strategies, roadmaps and investment decisions, and to explain the associated security, privacy, control, cost and vendor lock-in trade-offs to executive 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:

• 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.

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