Procurement Pivot UK
Hi Folks,
I’m currently a Bid Manager based in Scotland and have been working in commercial roles for 10+ years. A lot of my career has involved tenders, frameworks, supplier/client relationships, account management and the wider client management process, so I have a working understanding of the procurement transaction from the supplier’s perspective. As a public-sector Bid Manager, that also includes the compliance side of things.
I’m in a stand-alone role at the moment and I’m suffering a bit from isolation and creative burnout. I’m now looking at moving to the other side of the procurement transaction, where I can hopefully work more closely with others and focus more on strategy and process, which are the parts I enjoy. I’ve just been invited to my first interview for a Procurement Officer role with a housing association.
I’m trying to work out whether procurement is a sensible long-term career move. If I got the role and built up a couple of years of procurement experience, are the opportunities generally good?
I’m not expecting to suddenly be earning £80k 😂. I’ve been in corporate roles for over 10 years and have never broken £45k, partly through bad luck with a TUPE and a redundancy that slowed things down, and I now work for an SME where bids are considered more of an admin function. I’m really looking for something that can match and hopefully exceed where I am over time, while also being a bit more enjoyable for me.
For anyone working in procurement, would you consider it a good career to move into at this point? And if you’ve moved into procurement from another commercial background, how did you find the transition?
I’d be particularly interested in hearing about the reality of progression, salary and how transferable the experience actually is between public, private and third-sector organisations.
Cheers!