To ask for your help to sort out my life

[OhNopleaseIInsist]

Hi everyone, shamelessly asking for help and advice on deciding what to do.
It may be a quater life crisis (I am 27) but I feel I am at a point where I have no idea the value or purpose I am bringing to the world.
I dont come from a background where women have careers but instead settle down and become homemakers - which is a wonderful life but not for me - not least because I have separated from my partner (leaving him was very difficult and dealing with the stigma of this in my culture is perhaps adding to the pressure to do well and be able to support myself).

I have a degree in one of the allied health professions however I did not practice after graduating and I know for certain it is not something I want to pursue. I am currently working in the civil service as a HEO. My concern is my current job doesn't allow me to progress except into managerial roles, which although I am open to are not what I would like to do.

I have realised that my ideal scenario would be to help create meaningful change and create facilities which empower people, particularly women, to live independently in a fairer more equal society.

I am interested in working in health however I would like to help write policies or develop services rather than deliver care. In the future I would love to work abroad, creating and developing health services however I do not know where these roles exist or what I would need meet the criteria.

I know this sounds a touch do-goodery? but I am willing to put in the hard work to get into a role where i can help achieve this.

I think my biggest obstacle is that I dont know what skills are required to achieve any of the above.

I am open to retraining/completing courses particularly if they help ensure more security in a career - I would like it to be a career and something I can progress in.

Sorry for the length of the post and thank you for your help

There are jobs in the civil service such as policy adviser, can you do an internal transfer to move to this within the dept of health?

You could do a line management position where you are first maybe while doing some kind of course in data analysis?

www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=cGFnZWNsYXNzPUpvYnMmcGFnZWFjdGlvbj1zZWFyY2hieWNvbnRleHRpZCZrZXk9NTA3MDAwMCZ1c2Vyc2VhcmNoY29udGV4dD05NzMwOTQ3NQ==

You can gain experience there before looking to move abroad?

What @LiveintheNow has said. You've got your foot in the door of the Civil Service. I'd really start investigating this internally. Whilst I know the CS is massive, you've overcome the first hurdle.

Go for it and good luck!!

www.vsointernational.org/volunteering/professional/jobs

Thank you all for your replies - do you know how much prior knowledge I would need in a topic to be a policy advisor or is it something you learn as you work?

Also do you know any courses that are geared towardsdata analysis

I second researching civil service roles.
You will have to be a manager to empower people and create wide spread change. So don’t be afraid of moving up the ladder.m
Since you like travel, you could always look into the foreign office or whatever civil service office does international aid projects.

I’d start by talking to whoever is your HR or Personnel Office. They will know the category of civil service job that matches what you want to do and all the qualifications and experience needed for those jobs. They may also run programs that cross train or retrain civil servants like you who are looking to switch career paths.

I would start on LinkedIn. Do a search for health policy advisor, NHS policy maker, etc. Look at the entry requirements.

Thank you everyone, I think one of my main problems is feeling that the roles are beyond my capacity - I guess self doubt gets the better of me.

I will research further and get working on my application.

If anyone has a background in any of those roles/fields I would love to hear your experiences

My DN is very interested in becoming a policy advisor in social care. Her route plan to achieve this is:
A relevant first class degree (she has this)
An internship in a relevant government agency (done)
A masters (currently doing)
Train in social work on a fast track and do some years of practice
Do a phd and apply for positions.

I think you really do need to have a solid base of knowledge and experience to work from as well as a very sound academic background.

That was my concern - you would need to be highly specialised in the topic and not something you can learn as you work

I’m in the civil service too (SEO). Not all roles above HEO are managerial. Many have management aspects as you do tend to run teams etc when you go higher up but I know G7’s who don’t have management. The civil service is a big place. I’ve been there 19yrs and I enjoy it, there’s so much variety and it’s very family friendly. My ex is in the foreign office and it’s took him all over the world (lucky him hey with no kids to look after 24/7), he’s currently stationed overseas for 3yrs and is now a senior civil servant. So many different positions available - keep an eye on the internal jobs to see what opportunities there are

When I was working in central government there was a women’s department - can’t remember the name of it now, but things like domestic violence / issues affecting women. Sure it exists still

You're in such a good position- HEO is relatively entry level for policy and strategy roles, so you won't necessarily be expected to demonstrate depth or subject matter expertise, so don't rule out roles on that ground alone.

Start having a look around your current department for expression of interest exercises in policy teams, or to support with Covid across government as a chance to start gaining some experience if you're not already in this type of role.

Otherwise, start having a look at the success profiles and seeing which behaviours or technical skills are most frequently requested in the departments you are most interested in and start thinking of strong examples which demonstrate the transferability of your skills.

Also, whilst it makes sense to target specific departments e.g health, don't forget lots of other departments will have health/women's policy initiatives that may be equally interesting e.g DCMS in the social and voluntary sector policy teams, or MOJ/NOMS on women's experiences in justice. Volunteering with organisations that align with your particular interest will help any application stand out, particularly if your current role isn't a natural fit with the role you're applying for. Good luck!

I'm a G7 in the civil service and I personally wouldn't encourage anyone to leave it unless they had a very specific niche job to go to as the benefits are so good - not necessarily something you will appreciate now, but one day you will. In addition, there are so many different departments that I can't imagine not being able to find something that you fancy. I take it you are registered for CS Jobs? Make sure you have the emails too.

Unless a job advert asks for specific essential criteria that you don't have, don't be too intimidated by adverts. I often think they make jobs sound a lot more complex than they are. And if in doubt, email the recruiting manager to ask.