Why did you choose to join Heads?
I had a career working for a FTSE250 corporate recruiter and did that for about seven years.
I really enjoyed my time recruiting finance professionals across the south coast, but felt like I wanted to change.
I’d always wanted to work for a smaller company that was ambitious and had growth plans and Procurement Heads was certainly that.
Essentially, they were on a scale-up and needed somebody with my experience to come in and help grow the team as a result.
What resonated with me when I did a bit of research was how well known the brand was in the marketplace.
I think you’re disillusioned when you work for a big corporate that they’re the only brand name that counts.
Rupert had built a stellar reputation in the market over the last 10 years with his network and I also liked the way procurement and finance are intrinsically linked because quite often procurement reports into finance.
So, I felt I could add value and understand how both of those functions knit together.
How has the company changed?
It’s changed massively.
We’ve had a pandemic, obviously.
When I started, we were kind of a small operation with an office in Winchester.
We had our best trading financial year-end in March 2020 and had moved office – then, Covid hit, so we had to adapt to different ways of working and certainly working remotely, although we had already operated a hybrid model.
It wasn’t such a huge shift for us and we’re now at 17 people.
When I joined there were about five or six of us, so the growth has been incredible.
We’re just about to sign another office.
Overall, it’s been a huge transformation.
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How has your role changed?
It’s changed quite a lot.
I joined as a Senior Manager with a clear remit and market, but I joined on the proviso that I always wanted to be a Director in the business and really help grow and shape it.
My strength beyond just traditional recruitment was very much operationally led. So, how to make sure our processes, procedures and systems all talk to each other and add value where possible.
I then had to grow, train and develop the team, put in new systems, put in new processes, and I’m now the Group Operations Director as a result of that transition.
What three words would you use to describe Heads?
So it’s the three Cs for me…
- Connected.
- Collaborative.
- Curious.
What are some of your best memories?
On a professional level, there are probably three key things for me.
I was asked to head up our ED&I pillar, which is a personal passion of mine, and I was really proud to be asked to do that.
We’ve supported CIPS South of England on a number of career fairs, and that’s going beyond your day job, and encouraging people to join the procurement profession.
Lastly, I pioneered Procurementor, which is a mentoring scheme for procurement professionals that want to develop their careers.
And it’s that for me, it’s not just the recruitment piece, it’s actually caring about the subject you recruit for and being able to affect that change daily on a personal level.
We’ve also had some incredible away days as a team, whether that’s a day and night out in London, a rib-boat ride over to the Isle of Wight or beach cleaning in Warsash – we have a lot of fun and there’s a lot more to come in the next year or so.
Why would you suggest someone joins Procurement Heads?
I imagine it depends on what you’re looking for, really.
I reached the point where I felt I’d achieved all I could with the business that I was in and wanted to do something different.
I think if you are of an entrepreneurial mindset, whether you’re new to recruitment or decades plus and you want to recruit in a different way, in a more professional, services-led way, then we are absolutely an environment where you can thrive.
It’s like running your own business but being part of a bigger brand and you get that autonomy to drive your business forward on a daily basis.
It’s not just recruitment, you do your own marketing, you do your own operations.
So, if you’ve got that mindset and you want to almost be like a business owner supported by a fantastic brand and then this is the way for you.
