Anne Smales
Head of Procurement and Supply Chain at Bouygues UK Ltd
Be brave and have confidence.
I joined the construction industry as an administrator at 19. Through a combination of motivation, tenacity and a strong work ethic, whilst studying part time, I was able to progress into a professional role.
It is very satisfying to now add value to a business, manage a great team and work within one of many great career paths in construction, where with the right skills and mind set there’s every opportunity to succeed.
About Anne...
Who am I?
"Yes I am happy that the personality types are a good match.I am motivated when working and coaching others to achieve positive outcomes. I also very much enjoy the opportunity to review and improve process and strategy whilst maintaining and developing core skills such as communication and negotiation. I also enjoy the challenge of new situations and environments."
What do I do?
"I manage a team of procurement and supply chain professionals who are specialists in strategic trades such as mechanical and electrical, envelope / façade, and ground works and structures. As a team we procure these strategic trade subcontract packages for our new build construction projects, mainly based in London, South East. We also manage the relationships with our supply chain. The job also involves being involved in industry forums to improve the way we deal with certain aspects for example up skilling and prequalifying our supply chain. In addition I work with internal stakeholders to improve our internal processes and systems, often leading on particular projects. Finally I sit on our Welink (women's network) committee, initiating events and improvements in our EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) strategy. We are just about to launch a mentoring programme and I will be one of the mentors in the 6-month trial phase."
How did I get here?
"I went to University to study Spanish but found that university life didn’t suit me and took a year out during which time I started working for a Construction company. Long story short I then studied a Construction Management Degree, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Quantity Surveying, both were part time whilst working and very rewarding albeit hard work! I would never have thought that I could acheive what I have professionally and am very proud of this. One of the biggest achievements of my career was being a finalist in the 2018 WICE Awards."
The life I live
"I have two boys aged 6 and 3 and as a result don’t have much time for anything else when I’m not at work, however I enjoy reading and running and catching up with family. I am a farmer’s daughter so try to get back to that environment whenever I can. I have been known to do some Amateur Dramatics and used to sing in a band (when I could cope with the late nights that come with gigging!)"
My typical day
"Responding to emails, Skype and face to face meetings with my team, internal stakeholders and members of the supply chain. I spent a lot of time drafting strategy and process documents, presentations and supply chain agreements. I also get to attend discussions which focus on how we can improve the industry."
My qualifications
"Spanish, French, English A Levels."