A Career in Army Programmes

Hi, I’m Lydia and I currently work in Army Programmes for the MOD. I first joined the MOD in 2022 working as administrative officer in the recruitment space.

After 6 months I was temporarily promoted to a recruitment manager role managing all recruitment for the business area. In October 2023 I applied to a bulk project delivery campaign and was successful in securing the role, which was a substantive promotion for me at the time.

I didn’t have any experience or qualifications in project delivery, but this wasn’t a barrier to me applying or securing the role. The learning and development opportunities on offer are amazing and you’ve got the option and support to gain professional accreditations too. The team is great and really helps build your skills and capabilities.  I’ve had lots of great opportunities so far. I’ve been able to go on visits to industry, attend conferences, and watch trials, really showing how my work on the programme impacts the end user – the Army and its soldiers.

As well as my civilian role, I’m also an Army reserve. My team and manager are supportive of my reserve commitments and the MOD offers a number of special paid leave days that I can use to go on my reserve training and should I be called to deploy there’s support for this too. I was a reserve before I joined the MOD as civilian, so I’ve always had an interest in defence and I find both roles complement each other.

Outside of my work, I’m also part of Project board and the MOD encourages staff to use the volunteering days on offer to take part in volunteering activities like this.

I’d say the best thing about working in programmes is the variety in what you do day to day. You’re able to engage with other programmes and I can really see how my work fits into the bigger picture. The work is innovative and fast- paced and the support from my team, both civilian and military, is great. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in project delivery to go for it! The opportunities you’ll get working for the MOD are incredible.