After some years as a Norad official in Namibia and civil servant in Tromsø he was hired as a financial consultant in Kristiansand municipality in 1982.
[1][2] In 2000, Kristiansand municipality sold stocks in the power company Agder Energi, and 1.7 billion kr of the sales fee were funneled to a new cultural foundation, Cultiva.
As chief administrative officer Valvik was one of the architects behind the foundation, together with prominent local politicians such as Bjarne Ugland and Tore Austad.
[3] In early February 2004, Valvik was selected as chairman of the Southern Norway Regional Health Authority.
[6] Valvik remained chairman until 2006, when a new policy was decided to select active politicians as board members to a larger degree.