VALOUR Scotland Field Officer - Central West

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 a unique opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of veterans and their families by becoming a VALOUR Field Officer. 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.

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. Additional information on VALOUR can be found at VALOUR: corporate information - GOV.UK.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

The VALOUR Field Officer is crucial to provide partnership and stakeholder engagement.

• You will work closely with a wide range of people and organisations, including local government and the VCSE Sector, to support, enhance and collaborate with existing networks across local, regional and national services, complementing their work and helping to strengthen connections across the sector.
• You will be a critical link into Defence for communities in your area on matters concerning veterans’ affairs, and a SME for Defence colleagues on the services, partnerships and networks operating within your area.
• You will identify and share insight, evidence, and good practice from across existing networks, ensuring that emerging themes, challenges, and opportunities are fed back to inform policy development and decision-making at regional and local levels.
• You will strengthen links between national, devolved and local partners, encouraging collaboration, knowledge exchange and shared learning, helping to build a more connected understanding of veterans’ needs and effective approaches to support and drive more consistent delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant and improved services for the Armed Forces community.
• You will champion innovation and continuous improvement, support the adoption of effective practice, and help partners across the veterans’ support landscape deliver better outcomes for veterans and their families.

Key work areas

• Develop and maintain trusting and effective relationships with regional and local stakeholders providing services to the Armed Forces community.
• Support and strengthen existing sub-regional forums and networks, helping to connect stakeholders, encourage collaboration and maintain effective channels for communication and information sharing.
• Identify opportunities to support the delivery of agreed strategic priorities, working with local government-led partnerships to encourage collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action.
• 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.
• Undertake other duties and activities as required to support the delivery of VALOUR and the wider objectives of VALOUR HQ and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs

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.

You may be expected to undertake other duties and activities as required to support the delivery of VALOUR and the wider objectives of VALOUR HQ and the OVA.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strong 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.
• Experience of stakeholder management, working collaboratively, developing, or supporting forums, and being able to adapt to changing scenarios.
• Confidence working remotely, acting on initiative, and being self-starting.
• Proven organisational skills and ability to prioritise and plan workload efficiently.
• Confidence navigating complex operating environments, including strong and demonstrable problem-solving abilities.
• Knowledge of the development and application of the Armed Forces Covenant, the challenges of military service, and transitions to civilian life.
• Willingness to undertake frequent travel (predominately local and regional, and to a lesser extent UK wide).

Desirable criteria

• A full UK Driving Licence.
• Experience of operating within the Armed Forces community support landscape.
• Experience or understanding of devolved and local government structures in Scotland.
• Knowledge of local Armed Forces support services.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 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.