Active Zones

When the going gets tough, the tough need shopping (and feeding). This is where you’ll come in. Joining NAAFI’s Expeditionary Force Institutes (our voluntary military unit that’s officially part of the Territorial Army), you’ll be following British Forces into operational areas. At the moment we’re only active in Afghanistan, but we never know when this might change. The support you’ll provide will make sure service personnel get a taste of home no matter where they are in the world. It really is life support on the front line.

As you’d expect, you’ll need to pass a few fitness tests and there’ll be some basic training. You can join us as a uniformed member of the Territorial Army (in which case you’ll be given an army rank) or as a civilian employee. Either way you’ll be given a bonus at the end of each six-month tour. It’s rewarding and exciting work. Many people find it a life-changing experience.

Roles
Information
Q&A
A Day in the Life

Roles

Are you ready to test yourself and experience something completely different? These jobs aren’t for everyone, as the retail environments (clubs, bars and shops) are uniquely challenging. But they’re more rewarding too.

Site Managers

This is your chance to be passionate about a business like it’s your own. You’ll develop and motivate your team – ensuring the delivery of excellent customer service and, of course, profits. These are varied and challenging roles, so you’ll need proven management and retail experience.

Supervisors

Setting the standards for customer focus and productivity, you’ll ensure your team are motivated, properly trained and inspired to deliver a great service. Given the variety of your role, commercial awareness, supervisory experience and a firm belief in high standards of customer service will be vital.

Customer Service Assistants

Wherever you work, you’ll join a great team and give our customers the best possible service. Maintaining a great environment for your customers will probably be your biggest challenge. If you’re a team player with a passion for service and customer rapport, our training will give you the other skills you need.

Information

Supervisors and Managers

The rotation plan for our Supervisors and Managers consists of approximately four months in Afghanistan, and a combination of six weeks leave and four weeks training in Grantham.
You’ll be trained in a range of soft skills, including leadership and motivation, time management, performance management and how to handle disciplinary and grievances. The training package also includes book keeping, record keeping and equipment servicing.
When you return from Afghanistan you will go through a decompression course in Grantham, which currently includes identifying stress, managing change, post tour presentations, team tasks and an evening of fun introducing you back to UK life.
The rate of pay for Supervisors is £26,775, and for Five Step Supervisors is £28,783.
The rate of pay for Managers £31,549, and for Five Step Managers is £34,107.

Assistants

The rotation plan for Customer Service Assistants is a six-month tour with two weeks’ Rest and Recuperation (R&R) in the middle of the tour, twelve days’ end of tour leave and twenty six days’ leave.
You’ll attend a three and a half day pre-deployment training session.
Contracted hours are forty eight for all staff.
The rate of pay for Customer Service Assistants is £21,032, and for Five Step Assistants is £22,610.

Generic

We provide a Five Step Training Academy which offers a pay increase on the completion of step five on all levels.
Dress standards for civilians include polo shirt and cargo trousers. Military employees wear standard issue military uniform. In some locations it is uniform twenty four hours a day.
No alcohol policy.
No mobile phones – these can be taken for use while en route but will be secured in the safe when arriving in theatre.
Accommodation is free and may include tents or a purpose-built building. You will be sharing with other members of staff.
Food is provided in the ‘cookhouse’ and is free.
Your employment is on a permanent mobile contract within EFI, which means you can be moved around Afghanistan on the needs of the business.
The currency in Afghanistan is Dollars and you have the option of Local Cash Drawings (NAAFI paying you a cash sum in dollars in Afghanistan at the beginning of the month and deducting this in sterling from your salary at the end of the month).

Recruitment process

The first step is a telephone interview.
If successful, you’ll then be invited to attend an open day presentation or an assessment centre.
Assistants and Supervisors need to pass a numerical test at the open day.
All applicants need to pass a physical examination undertaken by their GP before being accepted and have all the appropriate vaccinations for Afghanistan.*
You’ll also need to make an appointment with your dentist and be certified dentally fit before being accepted.
You’ll need to have SC security clearance before being accepted.
We also require two good work references.

*NAAFI will re-fund any out of pocket expenses

Once we have received all the above, you will be invited to pre-deployment training held in Grantham which includes:

Induction training
Basic Shop Floor Training including HACCP
Step one workshop
A mile and a half walk assessment (which must be passed for deployment to Afghanistan)
Security Awareness/Threats
Counter IED awareness
Mines and explosive awareness
Basic First Aid
Afghanistan brief
Survive, evade, resist and extract presentation

At the end of this PDT training you will deploy to Afghanistan for your first tour.

Q&A

If you want to know what it’s like to work in an active zone, the best people to listen to are our staff. They’ve been there, they’ve done it and they’ve got the t-shirt. And they’re happy to share their experiences.

So what's it like to work for us in EFI?

Supervisor, Iraq

One thing's for sure, you won't have experienced anything like it before. But don’t take our word for it.

How long have you worked for NAAFI?

Three years.

What do you do day-to-day?

Run back office and help on shifts in the bar.

What do you like about your job?

Making sure the troops get a good and friendly service.

What's your base like?

We live in tents but it’s got everything you need.

What's the social life like?

It’s really good. We have bingo and pool tables, and Internet and DVD nights so you always have something to do. And you can always meet new people in the cafés on camp.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about joining NAAFI?

I would say that it’s a good job, as you learn a lot about different ways of living and you get to meet people from all over the world. You can also do a lot of courses to get where you want to be in the job. Most of all, it’s about helping the troops out there – giving them a good service and making them happy when they’re coming off the ground.

What's it like working in a different country?

At first it’s hard, but you’ll get used to it very quickly. If you’re in Afghanistan there are some places where you have to live in tents. And when there are rockets coming into camp, you have to wear body armour and a helmet. If you’re in uniform then you have to carry your weapon everywhere with you. And every day is different.

What do you think are the important things you need to remember when working for NAAFI?

Respect your team mates and others around you and deliver a good service to your customers. You have to have passion in your job, be honest with your customers and help them as much as you can.

A Day in the Life

Retail Assistant, Basrah

"A 6 o'clock start. Didn’t get the best night's sleep as the guy next to me gets back from his shift just after midnight, and no matter how quiet he tries to be, I still hear him settle in.

After fumbling around in the dark in a tent shared with 12 EFI colleagues, I go outside to the loos and showers to wash. Already the sun is up, bright and hot. Getting back into the tent, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to readjust to the darkness. I get dressed and wait for the mini-bus (first registered in the 60s?). "Trenchard Lines, please mate". Along bumpy desert tracks and off. Past the guards on the gates and into the bombproof Dining Facility (D.FAC) where I catch my first glimpse of the amazing coffee pod that will be my place of work for the day. Waterloo Station or Basrah Composite Operations Base? I could be anywhere - this coffee pod is High Street.

Power up, unlock, stock the pod and displays. Count the float. Perfect! Now I'm ready for the first customer. A Flight Sgt. Cappuccino of course! I'm courteous, wish him a good day, and off he disappears. Living the dream!

A slow start to the day gathers pace and by 11.30 the customers build up. The supervisor arrives to collect the cash and drop off stock, checks the HAACP file, and goes off on her rounds to the other D.FACs. Shelves to stock, tables and chairs to keep clean, check the water supply is topped up. There’s no running water in the desert, so everything is bottle-fed.

The D.FAC gets massively busy at lunchtime as the people working here come in for lunch. Time passes quickly and soon I'm cashing up at the end of the shift to hand over to Steve who is running the pm shift.

Taking out the rubbish as I go, I wait for the magic bus to take me back to 'Charlie' - the camp where we are living.

I catch up on my sleep, go to the Internet cabins to talk to the other side of the world, and then do some 'phys' in the gym - grunting Americans watching themselves lift weights in the mirrors; panting Brits running on machines or spinning on bikes. Shower and back to the tent. In ones and twos, others return from their shifts; we share stories about the day and go off for 'scoff'. Great choice of food eaten half hoping the alarms will go off, picking up an incoming IDF attack, for a bit of excitement. But tonight, like most nights, we eat in peace.

Back to the tent; laptop; iPod; sleep.