Graduate & Intern Programmes / Chief Operating Office
Chief Operating Office Graduate Scheme
Although our current programmes are closed for applications, they do reopen on 3rd September 2012. If you’d like to be one of the first to hear about our 2013 programmes, click here to register your details.
Building on a 100-year heritage – and the strength of some of the country’s biggest insurance brands – our Chief Operating Office is a crucial enabler of the major business change we’re in the midst of. Working across all our brands, we explore new ways to improve our business, strategically, operationally and technologically. In other words, we’re at the heart of the separation and change programme.
Join us on our graduate programme and you’ll work with your line manager to decide whether to specialise in one specific area, or rotate around the Chief Operating Office in up to three areas, such as:
Strategy:
Working with key stakeholders as part of the strategy team, you’ll meet challenges designed to develop in-depth analysis skills. Long-term strategic planning, and reviewing and setting goals for specific business areas play a major part here. You’ll also spend time researching the insurance market and our competitors to deliver insight to the rest of our business.
Lean:
Join as a graduate here and you’ll gain unrivalled exposure to the elements we need to have in place if we’re to achieve transformational change across our entire business. Our focus is on developing the skills you need to become a leader – placing you in challenging change leadership roles, supported by training, coaching and mentoring.
Business technology services:
From running laptops to delivering new functionality on iPhones and PCs, we’re responsible for IT in all its forms. As part of a unique project, we’re also equipping our new organisation with the technology and associated systems it needs. It’s the chance to create a range of IT services from scratch – from operations and infrastructure to IT development and architecture. IT rarely offers more scope, or plays a more integral role in large-scale transformation.
Business Change:
Business change is at the heart of our business’ transformation engine. It’s here that the complex challenges facing our business are assessed, shaped and turned into strategies, before being implemented. There are several aspects to our work here:
- As a Business Architect architect you’ll be instrumental in the strategic design of core business functions – defining and translating complex business objectives and investment budgets into transformational delivery programmes.
- As a Programme or Project Manager you’ll work closely with our business and technology architects to define our change strategy. Developing relationships with our business owners, you’ll become an expert at translating their business challenges into solutions.
- As a Change Business Analyst you’ll develop strategic planning, specialist communication and analytical skills to help you assess business problems. Instrumental in project delivery, it’s a stepping stone to other key roles within our Chief Operating Office and commercial functions.
Portfolio Management:
As a portfolio analyst you’ll help to develop best practices in portfolio management across 100+ project teams, at the core of our £multi-billion transformation. Learning about our key strategic change programmes, you’ll collaborate with other teams, help to manage high impact risks, create reports and ensure that all projects are delivered to time, cost and quality – all whilst working towards professional accreditation.
What we look for:
A highly articulate communicator, you’ll need to be self-motivated with a passion to learn, as well as strong leadership and team-working skills. You’ll also ideally be:
- An analytical problem solver
- Numerate
- Commercial
You’ll need at least 300 UCAS points with a minimum 2.1 achieved for your undergraduate degree in a relevant subject, such as:
- Maths
- Business/Management
- Economics/Finance
