Lea Ryf, specialist area Communications, competence sector Resources and Support

Which area do you work in and which tasks does your daily work include?

I work in the specialist area Communications. My tasks are very diverse and can vary quite a bit from day to day. The main part of my work is to manage armasuisse’s website. The Intranet and Internet are the main information sources for employees as well as citizens. The contents must therefore always be up to date, which means that the website needs to be maintained on a daily basis. Visual, internal and external communications are other work areas in which I participate every day.  

What was your motivation in applying to armasuisse?

As a competence centre for procurement, technology and real estate, armasuisse is exposed to a great deal of political and public interest. The area of Communications therefore plays a particularly important role, as it forms the bridge between the administration and the public. My interest was above all the question of how Communications is mastered in the field of political tension in which armasuisse is situated. I have not been disappointed and have had some interesting insights.

How do you categorise your daily tasks in the overall picture of armasuisse?

In the specialist area Communications, we are the focal point for all kinds of information. This means that we are always up to date and it is one of our many important tasks to prepare and publish information in an appropriate format for the recipients.  These can be either internal or external. I see my role as a supporting and distribution function. At the end of each working day, I can also see the outcome of my work, which has a satisfying effect. And in addition, it’s really cool if video or photo projects on which I have personally worked are taken up and published by the media.

What experience have you gained so far at armasuisse?

My graduate internship has brought me closer to the world of corporate and administrative communications. I have been able to learn a lot of new things in the area of digital, internal and external communications. In addition, my graduate internship has awakened in me my interest in visual communications. Over the course of the internship, I was able to take on various work and projects in this connection. I developed my skills in writing and editing texts at all levels of complexity and was thus able to fill my rucksack with further experiences.

What have you learned from your graduate internship at armasuisse?

I was able to learn a lot for myself personally. The biggest insight is that in the specialist area Communications, we are controlled from the outside. At any time, something can happen which needs to be handled with top priority. You therefore have to be very flexible and able to adapt easily. The same applies for multimedia work. You can never be sure what exactly is going to happen at a shoot or whether a shoot might be cancelled at short notice (smiles). I was also able to benefit from an open working environment based on trust and get to know the various different aspects of communications.

Where do you see yourself in three years?

First of all, I will remain at armasuisse, as my employment has been extended on a temporary basis. I would like to continue with further training in the area of visual communication in the near future and focus more on this activity professionally. I don’t know yet exactly where I will work. But one thing is certain:  In my free time, you will still be able to find me on the football field or at Lake Biel on a fishing or bathing trip.