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 Office (PMO) 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 Support Officer (PSO) within the PMO for nearly 2 years and then spent approximately 18 months as a Change Manager 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.
I have been in 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.
