ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Sounds like shopping for a living.
Procurement means purchasing goods and services. In simple terms, I look after how housebuilder Lovell spends its money.

In my national role, I promote best practice across the business; this means taking an overview of all our supply-chain solutions, improving existing ones and creating new ones as necessary. I deal with virtually all the companies that provide us with goods and services, from construction industry subcontractors to the people who supply our office equipment and stationery. I have to understand the needs of the business today and what will be required in the future, particularly with the changes to the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Regulations and planning law in the pipeline.

What gets you up in the morning?
Negotiating an agreement that improves our position and benefits all parties, then seeing that working through the business and delivering added value.

Lovell's mix of work – new build and housing refurbishment – is fascinating for me, as the two areas have very different needs but both require the same products and services.

What keeps you awake at nights?
It's difficult to reserve sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet our needs for large-scale refurbishment projects. Maximising labour productivity on site by specifying the right products needs careful handling.Planning policy guidance PPG3's requirements for high-density, low-repeat housing have to be reconciled with the off-site manufacturers' need for bulk production runs, which is proving to be a challenge, as is organising flexible supply chains that leave room for local businesses to work and expand with us.

What do you need to succeed?
You have to have technical skills, to know about the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Regulations and understand how buildings are put together, but you need people skills too. There's a lot of negotiating, which doesn't just mean driving a hard bargain: it's about building relationships and seeing things from the other side, although sometimes I have to be hard-nosed. You also need a good grasp of detail. Being a natural bargain-hunter helps, I'm always looking for the best deal.

Long days on the, er, shop floor?
They call me Arkwright – open all hours.

There’s a lot of negotiating, which is about building relationships, but sometimes I have to be hard-nosed

But there's no such thing as a typical day.

I generally try to meet two suppliers, subcontractors or manufacturers each day for discussions and to exchange ideas and information.

I am also heavily involved in a strategic review of the off-site manufacturing sector, which is very interesting technically. Housing associations' drive towards the greater use of off-site means this is going to become an increasingly important area for our business.

Croesus or Bob Cratchit?
I earn enough to keep the kids in football boots and ballet shoes.

A trainee buyer going into the construction industry would start at about £12,000.