Jason Griffith

Jason Griffith

What is the name of the company you work for and what do they do?

I work for Lloyds Banking Group, a leading UK-based financial services group providing a wide range of banking and financial services, focused on personal and commercial customers.

The Group’s main business activities are retail, commercial and corporate banking, general insurance, and life, pensions and investment provision.

It operates the UK’s largest retail bank and has a large and diversified customer base.

Services are offered through a number of well recognised brands including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Scottish Widows, and a range of distribution channels. This includes the largest branch network in the UK and a comprehensive digital, telephony and mobile services.

What is your role within the company?

I work as an analyst in the Architecture team which sits in the wider ‘Risk’ function of the bank. The Risk team plays a crucial supportive role in pursuing the strategy of becoming the best bank for customers, investors, shareholders and colleagues. The various Risk teams do this by analysing the trends and performance of the various products that the bank offers and instigates controls and strategies to ensure that we remain within risk appetite - which is the level of risk that we are willing to take on with regards to customers defaulting/entering arrears. They work across the group to make it safer and more resilient as it pursues its objective of sustainable growth. As part of this growth, new and existing projects are constantly evolving and the role of the Architecture team is to facilitate this movement from end to end and to ensure they align with the group’s strategy.

Can you please give me an insight into a typical day?

One of the best things about my role is that there’s no such thing as a typical day. For example last week I was in London engaging with project stakeholders, the following day I was planning outdoor activities for an away-day.

What are you enjoying the most and are you involved in any interesting projects? 

What I’m enjoying most is being involved with senior members of the bank. I get a lot of exposure to senior colleagues through this role, more than I feel I’d get at another organisation of this size. I’m currently helping lead a project to streamline operations within the UK Wealth team; this entails regular trips down to London to speak to the stakeholders and is great for getting a more rounded view of the business as a whole. It will also be a big advantage for me when applying for the graduate scheme; which is highly competitive.

Why did you want to undertake a year in industry?

To gain real life experience in the ‘working world’, to gain something valuable to my CV, and to give me clarity that what I’m learning at university is actually relevant outside of exams. I hope to gain job experience that will help me land a place on the graduate scheme.

Do you have any tips and advice to current students thinking of undertaking a year in industry?

Do it. It’s a great experience, not just for you personally but employers will value it too. Also, don’t be afraid of applying for jobs you think are out of your reach, I didn’t think I’d hear back from Lloyds until I was woken up one day at 7am by the recruiter!