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Officers Association “The session was outstanding, both for the professional guidance and advice and for a profound understanding of where I should be pitching myself based on my experience, knowledge and qualifications.”
Barry Jessel, Squadron Leader
Each transition is different and presents its own unique challenges, which is why a tailored consultation with an OA expert can be an essential step to achieving your individual career goals.
Our career consultations are:
We work with civilian employers to help them source officer talent to fill their hiring gaps. An OA career consultation will enable us to proactively match your skills and experience to a rewarding civilian career.
"Be bold. Be as bold as you dare. Shoot for the stars and surprise yourself with how successful you can become. It's totally within your grasp. And remember, the OA is there to help guide you."
Ben Farrell MBE, Former Commanding Officer, Partner and Head of Operational Support & Stock Flow, Waitrose and John Lewis
Inductions
Full consultations
CV reviews
LinkedIn reviews
Industry advice
Interview guidance
Pre-decision consultations
Fiona is a qualified HR professional, her focus having been on learning and development, talent management, succession planning and recruitment. She is also an experienced coach and mentor.
After an eight-year career as an Army officer, Fiona joined the John Lewis Partnership where she recruited and trained staff for new department store openings, as well as running outplacement programmes for staff being relocated, made redundant or taking early retirement.
More recently Fiona has worked in the third sector, first in a training and recruitment role for the charity Voluntary Services Overseas and then as a Career Consultant for the OA. A few years ago, she supported many officers being made redundant because of defence cuts. This year she has worked with two of her colleagues designing and delivering an outplacement programme for staff at the Union Jack Club in London.
“The career consultation, CV advice, network and job opportunities Fiona supplied rapidly reduced that anxiety level. It was replaced with a clear vision, reinforced with confidence and some exciting job opportunities to chase.”
Lisa started her career as an Army officer, serving in locations such as Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, the British Embassy in Paris and in Afghanistan. This career gave her an excellent foundation in people development and management.
After almost 10 years’ service Lisa joined a major US investment bank, where she ran their Listed Derivatives Client Services team. Here she was involved in a number of recruitment initiatives, including graduate and internship programmes as well the growth and development of her team.
Upon joining the OA as a Career Consultant, Lisa was immediately involved in helping Service leavers through a large redundancy programme which took place over 3 tranches, involving 11,000 personnel over 4 years. She also helped to deliver an external outplacement programme for a military related charity in 2020. Lisa is training to be a qualified coach and mentor and has a wealth of experience on which to draw, including being made redundant herself.
“I’ve had a rocky start to the year and lost some direction. Lisa’s sessions are brilliant at bringing me back into focus and helping me to regain perspective.”
