Head of Retail Strategy and Innovation

This is a new role responsible for leading innovation and strategic thinking for our customers, products and services. This role will focus on assuming greater control and responsibility for the design and management of NS&I's future propositions, features and customer experience, whilst working in partnership with the Retail services senior leadership team.

As our organisation grows and evolves, it will need to be more 'digital first' whilst supporting our customer service principals and ensuring we design in an inclusive and accessible way for all - and for future needs.

NS&I aims to increase the pace at which we deliver change and enhancements to our services and products, maintaining alignment with customer expectations and increased competition in the UK savings market.

This will involve -

• Streamline processes required for using market/competitor information to review propositions, services, products etc, with ongoing feedback loops to improve speed at which customer insights can be used to develop and test changes to services and products. Clearer alignment with Market Intelligence & Research teams to support effective horizon scanning activities.


• Clear process and ownership is required for the development of the customer strategy and propositions aligned to NS&I's corporate strategy. Clear process for translating changes in the strategy/propositions through into the live environment - with clear prioritisation of changes.


• Greater focus on ongoing service innovation utilising insights and trends from wider industry. NS&I would benefit from increased capacity to gather service innovations from suppliers, broader market etc and evaluate, test and approve innovations into live services.


• Strategy and proposition development should become less iterative and responsive, with documents reviewed and enhancements made on a more regular basis. Retail will benefit from having dedicated resources to focus on longer-term strategic and innovation planning., Strategic thinking - experience of leading the design and implementation of retail strategies, competing priorities and is hypothesis driven. Data led, open minded and comfortable operating in future horizon thinking and ambiguity.


• Leadership - Enjoys leading teams, demonstrates inclusion, approachability, deep listening skills and enjoys setting goals, enabling teams to deliver consistent success.


• Forward thinking - A proactive and future thinking mindset, balanced with trends and research to help drive NS&I to think multiple steps ahead.


• Stakeholder relationships - skilled in building positive and productive stakeholder relationships around common and strategic goals. Influencing senior stakeholders and driving resolution of problems.


Please note there is no expectation for you to meet the maximum word count provided for the statement. Feel free to use as many words as you need within the limit to demonstrate your experience in a concise and clear manner.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the following lead key criteria only:

• Strategic thinking - experience of leading the design and implementation of retail strategies, competing priorities and is hypothesis driven. Data led, open minded and comfortable operating in future horizon thinking and ambiguity.


If shortlisted, you will be invited to attend a 1 hour panel interview via video call.

As part of this interview you will be asked to make a 10 minute presentation aimed at demonstrating your Communicating and Influencing skills.,
• UK nationals


• nationals of the Republic of Ireland


• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK


• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)


• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)


• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020


• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  Essential Experience, knowledge and skills


• Communication - skilled in communicating at all levels with clear, concise and compelling skills, both verbal and written. Listens to others, considers competing views and tensions and is articulate and careful in their language. Ability to represent NS&I across the business and wider industry.


• Stakeholder relationships - skilled in building positive and productive stakeholder relationships around common and strategic goals. Influencing senior stakeholders and driving resolution of problems.


• Customer Centric - Complete understanding of NS&I mandate balanced with a passion for customer excellence, service and outcomes.


• Strategic thinking - experience of leading the design and implementation of retail strategies, competing priorities and is hypothesis driven. Data led, open minded and comfortable operating in future horizon thinking and ambiguity.


• Forward thinking - A proactive and future thinking mindset, balanced with trends and research to help drive NS&I to think multiple steps ahead.


• Leadership - Enjoys leading teams, demonstrates inclusion, approachability, deep listening skills and enjoys setting goals, enabling teams to deliver consistent success.


Desirable qualifications, experience and technical knowledge and skills

• Experience of working within innovation, strategy or digital environments, responsible for sponsoring change.


• Experience of leading a teams through transformation projects


• Agile ways of working / methodology, Communicating and Influencing


• Changing and Improving


• Developing Self and Others


• Leadership


• Seeing the Big Picture, Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Alongside your salary of £53,500, National Savings and Investments contributes £14,445 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK with more than 24 million customers and over £218 billion invested. We are both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Our origins can be traced back more than 150 years to 1861.

A small company with a big reach, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working, great opportunities for development and a generous pension scheme. We care for colleagues, respect one another, invest in our people and manage talent effectively.

Some benefits of working at NS&I include:

• Learning and development tailored to your role


• An environment with flexible hybrid working options


• 9 day fortnight scheme


• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity


• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%


• Generous annual leave - starting at 25 days, increasing to 30 days


• Performance related variable pay bonus


• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave


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