Armed Forces Veterans in the Home Office: Andrew’s Story

Hi, my name is Andrew and I'm a Product Manager at the Home Office.?

After University, I worked in several Sales and Business Development roles before getting into Project Management. I had been looking to join the Civil Service for some years as I wanted a varied but stable role that I wasn’t getting from some of the sales roles that I had done in the past. I came across a role at the Home Office through an agency and thought I would apply. I managed to secure an interview with the Project Management team, and it went from there.??

I have been in the Home Office for almost 6 years now. I joined as a consultant in 2017 and became permanent after 2 years. I worked as a Project Manager Officer for a while and spent approximately 18 months in a Change Management Programme before being promoted into my current role working as a Product Manager.?

In my day-to-day responsibilities, I look after an investigation software program and guide the product along its lifecycle, taking my direction from the Product Community as well as the business areas. I work with the business owners and delivery teams to achieve the product that the users want.?

What I enjoy the most about my role is the variation of guiding a delivery, contract renewal, training new staff and finding new training opportunities to improve myself.?

Before joining the Home Office, I also worked for The Army Reserve as a Reservist in 7 Rifles for nearly 17 years. The Army Reserve is maintained by those who have full-time civilian careers but train weekly and monthly to a level that compliments and back-fills the regular military on Operations.?

The Home Office is a large organisation like the Military. If ‘Service’ is your thing, you can feel part of something that is contributing to the country and our way of life. I was a small cog in the effort to expedite the processing of Ukrainian Visas last year, which although made for a very busy time, was ultimately very rewarding.?

There is a huge variety of roles within the Home Office, from uniformed front-line roles, including within Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, to more ‘office’ and project-based jobs. We advertise vacancies available across the UK. I’d encourage anyone considering a role with the Home Office to apply.?

For more information about the types of different Product roles that the Home Office recruits for, check out the?Product?page on the Home Office Careers website.