19 February 2009 | Emma Clarke

With more purchasers than ever leaving private enterprise for jobs in the public sector, Emma Clarke looks at life on 'the other side'

Another week, another swathe of jobs lost in the private sector. More mergers, closures and liquidations, but as companies lay people off in record numbers, recruitment in the public sector appears stronger.

And interest in working in the public sector is growing. In January, the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) reported a 49 per cent rise in enrolment enquiries since November, compared with the same period last year. In November, cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell told The Daily Telegraph the number of applications to the civil service fast stream programme had increased by 22 per cent in the past year. And according to National Statistics, the largest rises in annual earnings in the quarter to November were in the public sector (4 per cent).

A flick through the jobs pages of recent editions of this magazine reveals more advertisements for posts in local authorities, NHS trusts and central government departments than in corporate procurement teams. As far as procurement is concerned, Pat Law, managing director of recruiter Hays Purchasing & Supply, says the private sector is still recruiting but far less than it was six months ago. Redundancies are now a reality for purchasers across the manufacturing, engineering and service sectors, so the private sector is no longer dominant in terms of the jobs on offer. So what can buyers expect if they are considering a dash to the public sector? Are jobs really safer? Just how bad is the pay? And is the bureaucracy too much to bear if you've spent years working in a fast-moving commercial environment? What do the purchasers who have made the switch think?

Change programmes

There are a number of reasons why buyers would consider a move to the public sector, says Law. One is the greater opportunity for jobs and employment security. Others include traditional perks such as excellent pensions, flexible working hours and generous holiday allowances.

And increasingly there are opportunities by public sector organisations going through change programmes as a major attraction.

Last April, David Rowell left TUI Travel, where he was head of aviation purchasing, to join the Metropolitan Police Service as director of category management. "Over the past few years I had seen an appetite within the public sector - and specifically the Metropolitan Police - to become more commercial in the way it thinks and operates. For that reason I saw a big opportunity." The BBC's ambition to drive change in procurement lured Sarah Ellis away from Visa International back in 2001. Eight years on, she is head of sourcing for BBC procurement. "I saw a great opportunity. Procurement was small but could have a far greater reach and I saw the political climate was ready for change. Having met people such as procurement director Beverley Tew, I realised tremendous energy exists within the BBC."

High-profile change programmes are under way across a number of public sector bodies, including the Home Office, Transport for London and London Fire Brigade. Many expect to see further transformation projects following the Procurement Capability Reviews being carried out by the Office of Government Commerce to assess purchasing activities and abilities at each central government department. And with transformation comes recruitment.

The Department of Health's 'world class commissioning programme', which aims to transform the way health and care services are bought, is also likely to fuel a surge in purchasing recruitment. Nathan Johnson, head of supplies and procurement at University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS), explains: "Commissioning of care services is largely untapped by the procurement profession and in the next three to five years there will be huge opportunities in the form of well-paid and challenging jobs."

Big projects

Large-scale, one-off projects are also attracting talent from the private sector. The BBC's relocation to Salford, as well as its move to high definition technology, have helped Ellis's team attract some high-calibre buyers from diverse backgrounds.

And the enormity of the London 2012 Olympic Games lured Morag Stuart away from BAE Systems in 2006 to become head of procurement. "I don't think I was even conscious of the difference between the public and private sector," she says. "But I was aware that it would be a massive procurement opportunity and it was something I wanted to be part of."

This fitted with Stuart's professional experience in project, rather than functional, procurement. For example, she worked on massive ventures such as establishing a $1 billion (£525 million) programme to supply the US Marines with lightweight howitzers at BAE.

"There are opportunities for project procurement in both sectors," she says, "but you are only likely to find projects with the size and the budget of the Olympics in the public sector."

The set-up at the Olympic Delivery Authority - that brings together internal staff with a team from its delivery partner, CLM - also makes for a dynamic working environment. "Everybody is from different backgrounds: I came from defence, there are people from construction, services and from the public sector."

Some have made the switch for altruistic reasons. Before Richard Jowers joined Essex County Council as supplier relationship manager, he was a senior consultant at buyingTeam, and prior to that he worked at Ford.

"Sourcing and negotiating vehicle electronics is useful, but putting together a strategy that might enable your nan to live in a home longer is even more satisfying," he says. "We are working on projects for schools, support functions, childcare and highways that are about as real-life as you are going to get."

Bureaucracy

The one major drawback, however, that is cited time and time again is that life in the public sector isn't always as liberated as its private counterpart. The bureaucracy and restrictions created by legislation such as EU procurement directives are a common cause of complaint. A number of purchasers admitted to SM that EU rules can cause frustration, especially when buyers are trying to move fast to capture goods and services such as new technology. They do, however, approach the restrictions with a sense of pragmatism, accepting that some element of visibility and accountability is to be expected when handling public money. Some go as far to say the regulations help them in their work by ensuring best practice.

Johnson believes the law forces buyers to follow process and procedure, whereas purchasers in the private sector have the ability to deviate from rules. "We have no choice but to follow tendering processes. This means we must always plan ahead and embed a degree of project management into our skill set."

And the rules aren't that bad, he adds. Before joining UHNS, Johnson worked in the food, engineering and construction industries, most recently at Tarmac. "The bureaucracy in these companies was just as prevalent because you can't spend their money without going through due diligence."

New skills

Overcoming bureaucracy, negotiating rules and dodging resistance to change are common challenges in the public sector, say buyers, but not necessarily ones to fear. These tests can also present opportunities to build new skills.

Matthew Jones left his role as assistant property director at the Salvation Army in early 2007 to join the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) as its head of procurement for the community services department. Since charities operate like private businesses - with no EU public procurement regulations to follow - this was quite a switch for Jones. The first task he set himself was to re-organise his team. It was "a baptism of fire", he says, and a slow 12-month process of overcoming an "entrenched culture" within the department and working with unions, politicians and senior management. "I was shocked at how much alliance-building you have to do to push through a such a radical change."

Success also relied on becoming acquainted with the culture and language of the department. "The typical corporate mantra doesn't work very well in social care. So it was a case of getting my head down, shutting up, listening and observing."

While he found this more measured approach frustrating at first, after a while he realised he had to "up his game" in terms of his ability to persuade and influence. "As a result, I have broader communication skills," he adds.

Because of their persistence, buyers such as Jones and Jowers have been successful in establishing commercial concepts such as negotiation into their councils' procurement processes.

Jowers says: "We have mini competitions each year between suppliers in framework agreements. As a result we are negotiating with suppliers but within the boundaries of the EU procurement rules." In an opinion piece in SM last month (8 January), Jones said when he arrived in the public sector he was told "we don't negotiate here!" He was sure he could introduce better commercial skills into procurement so taught his team a couple of negotiation courses. "Providers think councils are powerful buyers but we fail to exploit that position because of a lack of commercial training," he wrote.

John Watts, director of procurement at University College London Hospital (UCLH), agrees there is an opportunity to make improvements. He joined UCLH NHS Foundation Trust in September from Alliance & Leicester, where he was head of group procurement. Without the competition that drives private sector firms, Watts believes there can be a tendency towards an inward focus and silo mentality. The bureaucracy and regulations can also be "stifling". He sees his role as procurement director to overcome these issues and to use his 18-year private sector experience to improve processes.

An initial step has been to secure buy-in from the finance director so procurement can now take ownership of the requisition-to-pay process. And with his ability to take control of the operational as well as strategic direction of the team, he hopes to forge further transformation. "I am enjoying it probably more at the sharp end here."

Remuneration

And lastly we come to the all-important issue of salaries.

No public sector buyer would claim the pay is as generous as in the commercial world. That said, as bonus pools in the private sector shrink and as public bodies wake up to the value that better packages can bring, the gap is beginning to close. Last autumn a survey by Hays Purchasing & Supply found public sector pay for procurement managers to be £42,197. This was higher than the average for counterparts in manufacturing (£41,857) but less than that of peers in the services sector (£44,453).

"One of the attractions of this job was that it was reasonably well paid," says Watts. "They also made it a director post with the status and authority to drive a change agenda through." Rowell at the Metropolitan Police is realistic that public sector buyers will never command the very best salaries, but adds: "Organisations such as ours recognise that to attract talent we have to match more closely what the market is doing."

As the pay gap closes, however, expectations also increase. "In the past, public sector procurement may not have been one of the most well paid jobs, but expectations weren't that high," says Jowers.

Culture Shock

But that has all changed. "This is no longer a job for life. There are clear expectations to take a more sophisticated approach to taking cost out of the supply chain."

One of Jones's biggest shocks when he arrived at LBHF was the workload. "I was one of the senior leaders in the Salvation Army UK; I had 81 staff and I thought I was busy. People have this image of councils of people turning up at 10am and going home at three - what a joke. In a community services department, there is no sitting around."

But neither should buyers expect the public sector to continue hiring at the same speed. While some departments are recruiting, others are expected to scale back on recruitment over coming months. A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) last month found one in seven local authorities in England had axed jobs as a direct result of the credit crunch and nearly a quarter have frozen recruitment. Cuts were necessary, the LGA said, as councils balanced a drop in income against a determination to keep council tax increases down.

"The public sector will start to feel the pinch now," says Watts. "Even though we are in a reasonably good position as a foundation trust, we will still be set some efficiency targets. "In some respects procurement helps the cost-cutting process so it is silly to take out people. But I know we will have to find other ways to economise by re-adjusting staff or not filling vacancies."

Nevertheless he does not expect jobs to fall at the same rate as in the private sector. And despite a squeeze in public services, there is a general feeling the sector is the safest bet for recruitment opportunities during a recession. Rowell says: "It is perfect timing to be coming into it when there is greater pressure on public spending, because procurement comes into its own when the squeeze is on."

* Emma Clarke is a freelance business journalist