Making DE&S a great place for our people
I’ve worked in the Operational Delivery function for 23 years. As a People Lead, my focus is on capacity and capability, which is essentially the recruitment, retention and training across the function. It’s something I’m really passionate about because I get to create change that supports and motivates our people, and makes them want to keep working here. As Deputy Head of Function, I also work on the delivery side, driving teams to deliver their best for our military.
I really enjoy both roles and find them very rewarding. Working on the delivery side supports our frontline commands, but I also get to look after the people within our organisation and I feel very fortunate to be able to work across both.
“I’m passionate about creating change that supports and motivates our people.”
– Sarah, DE&S People Lead and Deputy Head of Function (Operational Delivery)
A wide range of support to progress
I joined the organisation after doing my GCSEs, unsure of what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any specific skillsets at the start, however I’ve had many different roles throughout my career and I feel like I’ve found something that I’m good at and enjoy. I’ve always been surrounded by people who are supportive and would encourage me to succeed – people believed in me before I believed in myself. The encouragement to try new things has helped me grow my knowledge as I’ve progressed.
Here we have Functional Development Officers, who are assigned to you from Day 1 and are here to help guide and support your career development – I think that’s something that’s unique to this organisation. I’ve found that the network you can build here is phenomenal too, and really supports your growth and understanding.
I’ve never felt limited here and I’ve been given so many opportunities to undertake training and study. The organisation really supports your development and even funds professional qualifications. This is a great place to consolidate your experience, develop skills, and keep taking your career to the next level.
“This is a great place to consolidate your experience, develop skills, and keep taking your career to the next level.”
Apache: my proudest moment
I think there’s so many things you can be proud of when working at DE&S, knowing that the work you’re doing is helping to keep our armed forces and our nation safe. My role working on the Apache helicopter is one that stands out for me. We were just procuring it when I started here, so it was really new and exciting. When I went to Yeovil and saw the trial aircraft taking off – that was a truly fulfilling moment. Being able to go to the airfield to see a real tangible output of my work, and knowing I was a part of delivering that platform, was really exciting. When it was deployed, I volunteered to be on 24/7 call out while they were doing snow trials, and I absolutely loved it. When you hear stories of how they’ve been used to save someone’s life, it’s a very proud personal moment for me.
Bringing my whole self to work
Here, I really feel like I can bring my whole self to work. I think there is a misconception that everyone who works in the Civil Service can be quite serious or ‘stuffy’, but that’s definitely not the case. We don’t all think the same and we all have different backgrounds and experiences. And we have fun too! I’m not afraid to be a leader and show my personality. I laugh, I smile, and I can absolutely be myself.
By bringing our whole selves to work, I think it allows the organisation to have a much richer culture and encourages people to test new ideas. We’re not perfect, people do have flaws and people make mistakes. But that culture allows us to be open and honest with each other, and I think that style of leadership will encourage and inspire other people to feel they can be too.
“I think there’s so many things you can be proud of when working at DE&S, knowing that the work you’re doing is helping to keep our armed forces and our nation safe.”
A supportive place for working parents
DE&S is a brilliant place to work, particularly for people with children. Parents in the team have found it a very supportive environment, especially thanks to flexible working. If somebody wants to change their working pattern, a lot of the time it’s possible and it helps us recruit a range of talented people because we can offer something that other organisations can’t.
My top tip to new starters
My number one tip to new starters is to always be proactive and seize opportunities: go and meet people, build those networks – because that’s what will help you achieve your ambitions later on.
