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 because I wanted a role that offered me variety with stability. I attended an event focused on careers and reskilling for members of the Armed Forces Covenant and as a result secured a place on a Project Management course. Completing this led to me being offered an interview and then a role as a contractor working in the Project Management Office (PMO) team at the Home Office.
I have been in the Home Office for a little over eight years now. After a couple of years working in my contractor role as a Project Support Officer (PSO) I became a permanent civil servant. I then spent approximately 18 months as a Change Manager before being promoted into my current role working as a Product Manager.
I look after two products: the first is a case management solution and the second is a product which checks for those applying for an Irish Visa against Home Office data.
The case management solution is used by multiple Home Office teams as an investigative tool to detect, investigate and ultimately prosecute fraud as well as support live Police and Maritime Investigations. Being a commercial off-the-shelf product, it is my role to co-ordinate the activity between our Home Office users and work with the supplier to realise the benefits and features which are the best fit for our users and fall within Home Office policy.
We utilise the second product within the wider Home Office immigration infrastructure to check on the visa status and travel history of those wishing to apply for an Irish Visa whilst in most cases transiting through UK borders. Day to day, I will get involved with stand-ups, backlog refinements, sprint planning and service reviews.
As the Product Manager I guide these solutions along their lifecycle, taking my direction from the business and users, as well as the Home Office Product Community. I work with the business owners and delivery teams to achieve and maintain the product that the users want.
I have been in the Army Reserve as a Reservist for a little over 18 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.
I have mobilised twice for Operational tours to Afghanistan during my Reservist career, but only once since joining the Home Office. This was for Operation RESCRIPT. This was a MACA (Military Assistance to support Civilian Authorities) during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Home Office was extremely supportive of this, especially since I could only give them a week’s notice to leave work for three months. Though the Army paid my civilian salary during this time I had no loss of Home Office benefits or break in service and returned to my previous position within the Change team.
The Home Office is a large, structured 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, for example, 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 which includes Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, to more ‘office’ and project-based jobs like mine. If like me you’re someone with a service background that has developed the traditional military ‘can-do’ attitude, you will be more than capable to excel within any number of Home Office roles.
We advertise vacancies available across the UK. I’d encourage anyone considering a role with the Home Office to apply.
