VALOUR Network Manager (North of England)

Job summary

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), within the Ministry of Defence (MOD), is responsible for coordinating the delivery of the Veterans Strategy. The strategy sets the government’s new vision for veterans and challenges the whole of society to think differently about those who have served in the Armed Forces, their offer and their potential.

The framework is grounded in three core themes, each an equal and vital part to ensuring the best outcomes for both veterans and the UK. Together, they represent a powerful new approach to recognising veterans as one of the UK’s great strategic assets, underpinned by this government’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. The long-term framework sets the commitment to these themes, and shapes how OVA’s work is prioritised in terms of investment and effort.

In May 2025, the government announced VALOUR – the first ever UK-wide government-led approach to veteran support. Building on successful existing provision, this programme, backed by £50 million of funding, will provide ex-Service people with easier access to services across health, housing and employment.

This is an exciting time to join the OVA to join a dynamic team to support the VALOUR initiative, which will attract Ministerial and media attention. As a leadership role within VALOUR HQ, the VALOUR Network Manager will play a central role in embedding the VALOUR operating model in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West, and the North East.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week and will involve travel across the patch.

Job description

This is a unique opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of veterans and their families, and in due course the wider Armed Forces community. You will become part of a team of passionate, committed, innovative and forward-thinking colleagues and be able to draw on a wealth of expertise to drive this ambitious programme forward. You will be able to make your mark by supporting VALOUR to transform the UK’s veteran support landscape.

Blending leadership, strategic engagement, operational delivery and change management, the VALOUR Network Manager (North of England) role will coordinate the gathering of insight and intelligence through the VALOUR Field Officer network to inform service delivery and policy design and strengthen central understanding of local networks. Working collaboratively with statutory partners, voluntary organisations and VALOUR Recognised Centres, the role will shape and oversee activity that encourages strategic coordination, and which facilitates the sharing of good practice across the north of England and beyond. Working closely with the VALOUR Network Manager (South of England), the position will support greater alignment of local effort and strategic plans across England with national initiatives like the Veterans’ Strategy and Armed Forces Covenant Duty.

As VALOUR Network Manager (North of England), you will lead a team of 7 VALOUR Field Officers based in and operating across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and the North East. These Field Officers will bring together strategic stakeholders (including local authorities, ICBs, DWP Armed Forces Champions, voluntary organisations, and other relevant services) to ensure that veterans, and in time the wider Armed Forces community, receive coordinated, timely and effective support, including via MOD Veterans’ Services case managers. As a leader within VALOUR HQ, you will consider how existing and developing local and regional networks can be linked into VALOUR and inform national VALOUR system governance.

You will play a critical role in establishing and embedding this new model, ensuring your team works consistently and effectively while also supporting wider system transformation and Defence initiatives. You will help shape processes, feedback mechanisms, and team culture to ensure long-term sustainability. Regular travel across the north of England will be required to support your team, engage senior partners, and promote the growth and success of VALOUR. Ultimately, this role offers the opportunity to directly influence the evolution of support services for veterans and the Armed Forces community in the UK.

Key work areas

• Provide visible and inspiring leadership to your Field Officer team, setting clear expectations around culture, quality and performance
• Develop and maintain trusting and effective relationships across the North of England with regional and local stakeholders providing services to the Armed Forces community.
• Maintain and evolve existing stakeholder networks and help facilitate effective sub-regional strategic forums that convene all relevant local stakeholders, ensuring clear channels for communication.
• Identify opportunities for taking forward action on defined strategic priorities and drive collaborative implementation across local government led partnerships
• Contribute to VALOUR system improvements by aiding visibility and understanding of the veteran support ecosystem at the regional and local level and sharing best practice across maintained partnerships.
• Promote awareness of statutory services and initiatives and influence regional strategies to improve outcomes for the Armed Forces community.

Please note that this role is likely to evolve to respond to priority changes to the Armed Forces support landscape and a degree of flexibility is expected, as well as a willingness to travel regularly.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Proven experience of leading or line managing geographically dispersed teams, including through periods of change or transformation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience managing relationships with a range of stakeholders in different sectors and at differing levels of seniority.
• Strong communication skills, both verbally and written, including proven presentation skills, with confidence to speak in public to a range of audiences.
• A proven track record of stakeholder management, working collaboratively, developing or supporting forums, and being able to adapt to changing scenarios.
• Confidence navigating complex operating environments, including strong and demonstrable problem-solving abilities, the ability to make sound decisions at pace, and to translate insights to action.
• Confidence working remotely, acting on initiative, and being self-starting.
• Proven organisational skills and ability to prioritise and plan workload efficiently.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and complexity while keeping people engaged and focused.
• Knowledge of the development and application of the Armed Forces Covenant, the challenges of military service, and transitions to civilian life.
• Familiarity with veterans’ support services or similar delivery landscapes.
• Understanding of local government, devolution and decentralisation, including local government reorganisation.
• A full UK Driving Licence and/or willingness to undertake frequent travel (predominately local and regional, and to a lesser extent UK wide).

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of operating within the Armed Forces community support landscape.
• Experience of local government structures.
• Experience in policy and strategy development across government.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,040, Ministry of Defence contributes £13,337 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and working from home as part of a non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. All office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to site capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of office attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this and other flexible working arrangements may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and qualification details.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability in no more than 500 words.

Important tip - please ensure that your statement includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification”.

At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of suitability and the following Behaviour:

• Leadership

Should a large number of applications be received, the sift will be conducted in stages. An initial sift will be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to the second sift stage based on their CV and the lead behaviour (Leadership).

At interview, you will be assessed against your Strengths and the following Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving

Further information:

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : OVA Planning Team
• Email : people-ova-planning@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 25kB)Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)