Procurement Development Officers appointed to support Shire and City businesses

Two new Procurement Development Officers have been appointed to support both Shire and City businesses.

Julie Maclean and Nadine Jebali will help those local businesses in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen respectively which could supply the councils through direct or sub-contracting opportunities to bid for public sector contracts.

They will be encouraging the local supply chain to explore public sector opportunities to support the local and regional economy.

The officers’ roles will encourage local suppliers to tender for work, provide assistance and identify the barriers preventing them from tendering.

J​ulie Maclean and Nadine Jebali will help local businesses in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen.

Funding from this project has been provided by the Business Gateway flexible fund which supports projects within the region which support a more responsive, local and flexible manner to meet the evolving needs of businesses.

It is important that projects like these are there to support and grow local businesses which has greater economic benefits for the region.

Commenting on the appointments, Aberdeenshire Council Leader Cllr Mark Findlater said: “This project focuses on business support to ensure our local supply chains in both Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen are aware of the opportunities.

"In turn, we gain valuable feedback on the capacity of that same local supply chain.

“Taking the Aberdeenshire construction sector as an example, the economic systems surrounding the decarbonisation requirement requires rapid and ambitious upskilling and innovation.

"This industry is driven by relatively short-term contracts of which few to-date have involved the type of full decarbonisation which will be driven through regulation over the next decade.

"While a lot of the detail around the transition is unknown, we can provide leadership, confidence, and stability around the pipeline.

"Making even a 2 per cent increase in our procurement equates to £5million retained locally.”

If you have a query or would like to understand more about the planned programme, you can contact the Aberdeenshire officer, Julie Maclean, via [email protected] or call her on 0447425127107 for more information.