| Date |
|---|
| 26th June 2024 |
Last Thursday our Head of SUPC, Gemma Payne, attended the Women in Procurement Conference, hosted by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) in partnership with Novo K Procurement Solutions. The conference, themed ‘Leadership in Action’ featured an impressive line-up of speakers, including keynote speaker Victoria Cope, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) for the Ministry of Defence.
Victoria Cope shared her inspiring career journey, highlighting how she leveraged her transferable skills to rise to the position of CPO within the Ministry of Defence. She emphasised the importance of mentorship and the crucial role of having a sponsor who actively promoted her within the sector.
Another notable session was led by Jason Roberts from Kaleida, who discussed building inclusive habits and understanding unconscious bias, providing valuable insights into creating a more inclusive procurement environment.
The conference also featured a presentation by Sam Wells, Head of Procurement at UKCEH, and Lucy Ball, Science Programme Manager, on their procurement journey for the Flood & Drought Research Infrastructure (FDRI) Project. This £38 million, six-year project funded by UKRI – NERC aims to enhance the UK’s resilience to floods and droughts by providing crucial observations of key components of the terrestrial water cycle and developing a complementary digital infrastructure.
Sam Wells highlighted that the FDRI project is a significant departure from UKCEH’s usual scientific research projects, focusing on creating infrastructure to improve measurement capabilities rather than solely delivering scientific outputs. The project is currently in the implementation phase, which involves extensive procurement activities across six identified work packages. These include land lease agreements for field research, finding a digital partner to host collected data, and procuring vehicles for field scientists.
Wells also mentioned the challenges faced by the procurement team as they navigate changes brought about by the Procurement Act and work towards introducing science-based targets to achieve Net Zero.
The Women in Procurement Conference was a resounding success, providing attendees with valuable insights into leadership, inclusion, and innovative procurement strategies.
If you would like to hear about upcoming SUPC events, please enter your details below to subscribe to our newsletter.