HomeSafe Alliance is a KBR-led joint venture to manage all household goods moves for the U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Defense (DOD) civilians, and their families. Beginning this fall, HomeSafe is managing a small number of moves and will gradually ramp up services over the next two years until the company manages all domestic and international military and DOD civilian moves.
HomeSafe is already 100 employees strong and plans to continue hiring hundreds more over the next two years, in jobs ranging from finance and operations to customer service and claims representatives. To meet this hiring need, HomeSafe recently joined the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP). MSEP is a DOD program that connects military spouses with partner employers who have committed to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses.
“Military spouses face high unemployment and underemployment due to their frequent moves with the military,” said HomeSafe CEO Al Thompson. “We’re in a position to create a win-win for military spouses and HomeSafe. Most of our jobs can be worked remotely, and military spouses are already deeply familiar with the ins and outs of military moves. We see our participation in MSEP as a natural fit.”
HomeSafe will serve as a global system integrator and work with a network of subcontractors to manage moves through a platform called HomeSafe Connect — an end-to-end solution for military or DOD moves.
“All HomeSafe jobs are posted on the MSEP website, which is part of Military One Source, an information hub and support center for military life” said Jene Harper, human capital director with HomeSafe Alliance. “The MSEP is a major part of our recruitment efforts, and we’re structuring our teams to leverage remote work as much as possible.”
HomeSafe Alliance is the first KBR business to enroll in the MSEP, but there are potential opportunities for expanding this partnership across KBR.
“HomeSafe is the perfect first step for KBR’s involvement in the MSEP,” said KBR Chief People Officer Jenni Myles. “We plan to use what HomeSafe learns working with MSEP to expand this partnership into other parts of KBR.”
Underemployment is an ongoing problem for military spouses. Many spouses are highly educated and have specialized expertise that could translate to successful careers in the private sector, given the opportunity. Due to frequent moves, however, these spouses often must settle for whatever job is available in their geographic area, which could be a rural area or smaller city with limited employment opportunities. HomeSafe hopes to provide meaningful career opportunities to spouses regardless of where they are stationed.
“We want military spouses to know they can have more than just a job with HomeSafe,” said Thompson. “We’re offering career track opportunities in IT, finance, logistics, human resources and other fields. Military spouses can apply for any job within HomeSafe, from entry to executive levels. And if they’ve been out of the workforce for an extended period due to frequent moves, we have a number of opportunities to start a career with HomeSafe.”
