Ministry of Defence as employer

The Ministry of Defence is a civilian organisation whose management style is the same as in any other central government agency. Our work is challenging and covers a wide range of issues. The work itself is of societal relevance and forward-looking. 

Working at the Ministry provides an excellent view of central government, an opportunity to be involved at the forefront of societal and international changes and, in particular, it offers tasks at the heart of defence policy and national defence related matters. Public officials in the Ministry of Defence can apply for the defence administration’s international positions, for example in the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU and the Mission of Finland to NATO.

You can apply for vacancies at the Ministry of Defence via Valtiolle recruitment service. More details on how to apply can be found in the advertisement for each position. 

We believe that trust builds on openness, appreciation and high quality. If you wish to have socially and internationally meaningful work and we share the same values, pay attention to our job advertisements on our home page, in the social media channels and at the address Valtiolle.fi.

Employment relationship and salary

Employment relationships at the Ministry are fixed-term positions. The terms of employment relationships are governed by the national legislation concerning public officials and the Collective Agreement for State Civil Servants and Employees Under Contract.

The Ministry has its own pay system where positions are divided into difficulty classes. The pay is made up of the task-specific pay component based on the difficulty of the job and the individual pay component based on the employee’s performance at work.

The Ministry of Defence uses flexible working hours and the possibility of partial remote work. We invest in competence development and support wellbeing at work, for example, by means of comprehensive occupational health care and sports and cultural benefits.

Personnel at Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence offers diverse and interesting tasks for example to the following personnel groups:

• Senior specialists in legal affairs, ministerial advisers, special advisers and experts who deal with the preparation and presentation of their tasks and work as experts in their specific sector. International cooperation is an integral part of many tasks.
• Communications experts who are in charge of the Ministry’s external and internal communications.
• Assistants and administrative assistants who are in charge of secretarial and assistant  services, and other assisting officials who are in charge of the assisting tasks in the context of units, divisions and the Ministry.

Personnel in numbers

The Ministry employs about 150 people, of whom about 20 hold military posts. Women account for 55 per cent and men for 45 per cent of the personnel and the average age is about 46 years.

The Ministry of Defence is an expert organisation where public officials generally hold a degree from a higher education institution or university, or have a lower-degree level tertiary education or secondary education. Many of the employees hold following degrees: Master of Laws, Master of Social Sciences, Master of Administrative Sciences, Master of Military Sciences and Officer’s Degree. There are also employees with Master of Arts, Master of Science (Econ.), Bachelor of Business Administration (University of Applied Sciences) and Master of Science (Tech.) degrees who work in expert positions. A number of Bachelors of Business Administration work in administration, for example as administrative assistants.

Personnel in general happy with their work

The job satisfaction of the Ministry’s personnel is measured every other year by means of a survey designed for the entire personnel, with the main focus on leadership and managerial work, the content of work and opportunities to influence, pay, competence, learning and career development, the workplace culture, working and operating environment, interaction and communications, and the image of employer. 

In the 2022 job satisfaction survey, the overall job satisfaction index was 3.94. On a scale of 1 to 5, this result can be considered very positive.

The personnel has been particularly happy about the content of work and the possibility to make an impact through work. Many have been highly satisfied with the workplace culture and the opportunities to develop one’s skills and expertise.

Inquiries: Special Adviser Anniina Melasniemi (the email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi).

What personnel thinks of the work in the Ministry

"People here are open and innovative, all the time striving to develop things further and find new solutions"

“We realised that the best results do not come from a one man show but through cooperation”

“What I appreciate in my colleagues is that they dare to play full out.”

“It is difficult to appreciate oneself if you don’t receive appreciation from others. That’s why we are active in giving feedback and commending others.”

“Showing good manners, treating everybody equally and appreciating colleagues.”

“People who work here are fair and highly skilled, we have a humane culture here.”

“Trust is a source of motivation to me.”

“It is safe to say one’s opinions here and to disagree.”

“We will not leave anybody to struggle alone.”

“You can have a safe night’s sleep knowing that colleagues will not disappear when problems occur. On the contrary, they support you and problems will be solved together.”

"Everybody carries their responsibilities and what has been agreed on makes a good progress.”