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What are you most proud of in your career to date?

Thanks to the opportunity given to me at Pagabo, having the ability to recruit a team and design a procurement team structure that meets the needs of the business is something that I am very proud of.

Fortunately, I have a great team who work very hard and are very valued, so the whole process has been a big achievement.

What has been the biggest challenge of your career to date?

Before joining Pagabo, I worked exclusively in the utilities sector, so the biggest challenge was pivoting from a large company to a smaller-scale independent entity. In my previous role, the procurement and contract management team was 30 people strong, so it was quite the transition.

There was also a change in pace, but the switch has been great as it provided me with so many opportunities to influence change across both my own team and the wider business.

What is the most helpful advice you have been given?

In procurement, you should always be aware of the importance of stakeholder relationships and take care to maintain them. The key to success is knowing who the experts are in each business and working with them to get them to engage and leverage those relationships.

Also, always show a willingness to participate. There is a common misconception that procurement experts create barriers, but it is the opposite. We are there to facilitate what the client needs, so it is less around creating barriers and more about lowering them and challenging that perception.

What single piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in your profession?

As in my previous answer, it would be understanding the scope of what you are procuring while taking the time to build relationships with the stakeholders.

Understand the organisation you are working with, know who the experts are, leverage those professional relationships and your professional communities. The procurement contract regulations provide a framework for what a procurement department can do and opportunities for innovation come from speaking with the experts at your own company – in my case, there are people at Pagabo that have 20 or 30 years of knowledge and experience that can be tapped into.

What is it like being you (and doing your job)?

My role is split into two parts. One is providing consultancy on strategy, advice on how to get the most out of any opportunity, or guidance around procurement regulations – like the Procurement Act implementation this month – to deliver our procurement pipeline

The other is focused on mentoring and developing my team. I like to challenge my team to come up with solutions so they can build their skills and relationships to become independent in their decision-making. This means sharing guidance and knowledge, shaping their direction and offering peer support rather than traditional line management.

Another big part is future planning as we often have a six-year pipeline for framework projects. The reactive side of things comes when working with our clients and responding to their needs.

Do you have a life philosophy?

Not to set self-limiting beliefs – or limit yourself in general. There are so many opportunities out there so it is important to grab them, whether that is jumping onto a project you have experience of, or not.

There are so many transferable skills in procurement, so always look out for the next thing you can get involved in to grow your network and skills even more.

What do you think your best quality is?

Project management, time management and organisation skills, as well as thinking of the bigger picture. I am quite solutions focused.

What trait do you most dislike in yourself? And in other people?

A lot of our work does not sit in a neat box, so you need to be able to adapt and have new ways of thinking and working with stakeholders who understand this is important.

Name three things that you like

The opportunity to propose innovative solutions.

I like to see some challenges in a project.

Lots of data – I love working on a project that has a lot of data that you can really get stuck into.

Tell us about a secret skill that we don’t know you have

I would say I am a good cook.

What is your most prized possession?

My dog, Betsy, who is a cross between a Pomeranian and toy poodle.

Early bird or night owl?

Both! Depending on the season.

What is your favourite food?

Sushi… anything other than sashimi.

What would your superpower be?

To be able to turn back time and relive situations or specific moments.