Social Housing Procurement Zone

There are 4 million households in the UK’s social rented sector, with more than half of those (2.5 million) controlled by housing associations, indicating the scale of the market in this ever-relevant sector.

Today, more than ever, procurement has a vital role to play in supporting and strengthening the social housing sector, and for all local authorities, housing associations and suppliers involved, tight control over budgets and resources remains a key priority, along with delivering on social value, sustainability and community engagement.

Supported by Clarion Housing Group, Peabody Trust, The Riverside Group, and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, the Social Housing Procurement Zone will play host to a range of training and skills sessions advising buyers and suppliers on the best procurement processes and frameworks to follow, and how to deliver social value and other benefits whilst keeping to regulations and budgets.

Click here for agenda

Confirmed speakers include

John Wallace

Director of Procurement

Clarion Housing Group

John Wallace

Director of Procurement

John began his career as a laboratory assistant before becoming a qualified Master Brewer. Having spent 10 years in brewing production, John moved onto various procurement roles in the industry prior to spending 2 years in the food industry working for one of the country’s leading chilled food producers. In 2006, he joined the NHS being involved in the growth and development of two regional procurement organisations before joining Anchor 2 years ago in the role of Head of Procurement and Purchasing.

Moira Skinner

Founder Director

ProcureCo

Moira Skinner

Founder Director

Moira Skinner is Founder / Director of ProcureCo – the pre-tender market engagement platform that directly connects buyers and suppliers in the public sector and social housing markets. Moira has extensive experience on both the buyer and supplier sides of the public sector procurement process – across the public and private sectors. She has worked for and with large corporates, SMEs and micro-businesses with a focus on SME engagement and social value. Moira is Director of community interest company 3D Change – the architects of the London Jobs Fairs and the Procurement Opportunities in Social Housing (POSH) programme, which harnessed the power of public and social housing sector procurement to create programmes contributing to social value. Working alongside a distinguished group of procurement professionals and industry leaders, Moira has drawn from her knowledge, insights, and influence to develop ProcureCo as a digital platform which responds to the Procurement Act (2023) and facilitates meaningful pre-tender market engagement between buyers and suppliers.

Tom Stanley

Commercial Agreement Manager

Crown Commercial Services

Tom Stanley

Commercial Agreement Manager

Tom is a Commercial Agreement Manager working Crown Commercial Services and specialising Cyber Security Services for the public sector. He has worked in a category/procurement role for the past 3 years and has a wealth of experience across a range of technology agreements.

Alan Heron

Chartered Director of Procurement

Places for People

Alan Heron

Chartered Director of Procurement

Alan Heron is a procurement professional with over 20 years’ experience across both the private & public realms and multiple sectors including IT, automotive, healthcare, and public sector markets. He has extensive experience of Public Procurement legislation, contract negotiation, and contract management. Recently awarded a fellowship to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Alan is an established and recognised procurement expert. He has been Director of Procurement with Places for People Group, one of the UK’s largest property management and Placemaking organisations since 2015.

Rebecca Rees

Partner & Head of Public Procurement

Trowers & Hamlin

Rebecca Rees

Partner & Head of Public Procurement

Rebecca Rees – Partner and Head of Public Procurement at the international law firm, Trowers & Hamlins. Rebecca is a leading national expert in public procurement law and has significant experience in advising clients in the public, private and third sectors on public procurement, subsidy control and building safety strategy issues. She advises clients on procurement strategy and structures, how to conduct flexible and compliant procurement procedures and compile objective and transparent evaluation models and guidance. With particular interests in value-led procurement, social value and building safety, Rebecca is a member of the Working Group 11 for Procurement Competency, DLUHC’s Procurement Advisory Group, and HACT’s National Social Value in Housing Taskforce. Rebecca is also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Construction Law at Dickson Poon School of Law at Kings College London and is currently undertaking a PhD in public procurement, focusing on price evaluation models at the University of Nottingham.

Gwen Beeken

Managing Director

Procure Plus

Gwen Beeken

Managing Director

Gwen left university with an engineering degree and started her career in boat building, working in Devonport Royal Dockyard, eventually managing the small boat workshops. On moving to the northwest she moved into construction, starting in high-speed retail and then in contracting, delivering office parks and schools, in a variety of roles including programme, site, project and contract management. Having worked all over the UK, in 2008 Gwen joined Procure Plus, a not-for-profit regeneration company, supporting housing providers to procure and manage refurbishment works alongside supporting people in those communities into work. The company has grown significantly and now supports over £200m of construction related works and, working in partnership with organisations such as CiTB, City and Guilds and the Ministry of Justice, helps around 750 people per year into training and employment. As Managing Director, Gwen is responsible for ensuring its continued success.

Dave Smith

Director of Strategic Partnerships

South East Consortium

Dave Smith

Director of Strategic Partnerships

David leads on South East Consortium's partnership programmes – ensuring its Members are well-served and that the brand message and tone of voice is consistent every time. His team drives forward a range of initiatives on influencing solutions for the sectors future and shortening the skills gap.

Darya Bahram

Research Associate at Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution

King’s College London

Darya Bahram

Research Associate at Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution

Darya Bahram RIBA, MAPM, MCIArb is a Research Associate at the King’s College London Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, Vice chair at Radcliffe Housing Society. She has held senior role at the Association of Consultant Architects as Secretary General, Head of Professional Appointments at Assael Architecture and is currently the committee member of the Construction Blockchain Consortium. Darya is a published author and speaker on a range of topics including ‘Procuring Net zero carbon construction’ , ‘Procurement strategies for incentivizing collaborative delivery to optimize whole-life outcomes’, ‘Blockchain and smart contracts’, ‘Disruptive technology and collaborative contracts’, ‘Modern methods of construction: contractual mechanisms supporting long term relationships’ and ‘Guidance on Collaborative Procurement for Design and Construction to Support Building Safety’.

Adam Bevan

Category Manager (Corporate Services) and Sustainability Lead

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing

Adam Bevan

Category Manager (Corporate Services) and Sustainability Lead

Adam a Procurement and Supply Chain professional with 5 years’ experience working across a range of industries and sectors. For the last 2 years he has worked for Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Association (MTVH), managing the Corporate Services category and £70m in annual spend. Adam is passionate about social housing and focuses on driving cost savings and value-add activities across his procurement projects, to ensure that MTVH can continue to provide affordable housing for residents across their property portfolio. He also leads on sustainability, working collaboratively to implement MTVH's sustainability roadmap and their 2030 action plan and beyond.

Matt Grenier

Business Development Director

The Housing Associations' Charitable Trust (HACT)

Matt Grenier

Business Development Director

As the charity of the social housing sector, we have supported the transformation and development of housing providers for over 60 years. We believe the provision of housing is about more than just bricks and mortar – it’s about enhancing peoples’ lives. To us, housing providers are at their most successful when focused on the social value they create and meeting the needs of their residents and investing in their thriving communities. We exist to help them do this.

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