I have been a part of APUC since September 2019, and I can honestly say that I still look forward to coming to work every day. While many of my friends and family express their frustrations about their jobs, I find it hard to imagine not enjoying mine. I currently work in the HR Team, coordinating our sector training events, arranging employee wellbeing activities and assisting with the recruitment, selection, and induction of potential new members to APUC. So, if you are considering applying for one of our exciting opportunities, it will likely be myself who will help you with the recruitment process and get you settled into the role.

Here are the top three reasons why I love working at APUC:

1. My Colleagues: The supportive, friendly, and kind nature of my colleagues. From senior management to my fellow team members in the office. They make it a safe and enjoyable work environment.

2. Flexibility: The hybrid work model allows us to work 9 days per fortnight, giving us a long weekend every second Friday. This arrangement for me strikes a good work life balance, as I benefit from the valuable support and development opportunities in the office while also enjoying the options of working from home when I need to. (Our Stirling office is also dog friendly!)

3. Continuous Improvement: APUC is an ambitious organisation that is always evolving and striving for excellence. The commitment to development keeps the work exciting and motivates me to grow alongside the organisation.

Overall, APUC is genuinely a great place to work, and I am grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.

As part of the Edinburgh Region Procurement Team, I and two colleagues manage the IS and Professional and Campus Services categories for Edinburgh Napier University. This is my second engagement with APUC, having first joined in 2017 when I was based at The University of Edinburgh, running the Laboratories and Medical Category Team.

APUC (and its subordinate company Universities & Colleges Shared Services - UCSS) is one of six regional purchasing consortia covering the UK Higher and Further Education landscape. However, it's breadth of engagement with UK and Scottish governance; it's financial and other career development support for staff from trainees through to leadership roles; and its general professionalism and productivity make it a standout organisation.

We have an enviable reputation both as an employer, and as a contributor to the financial and procurement governance wellbeing of our client institutions. This is witnessed by the continued organic growth of APUC, as more and more institutions rely on APUC staff to deliver their procurement function; plus, the large and growing number of commercial agreements put in place and managed by its Category Teams. Its eSolutions systems team are also busy rolling out their HUNTER contracts database and supply chain management solutions across the regional consortia. Without the support of APUC, I think Higher and Further Education institutions would face an impossible procurement and statutory reporting workload.

Finally, it's a fun place to work, with plenty of wellbeing support and the feeling of being part of a large and supportive family, especially at the quarterly plenary 'Away Days' and wider Procurement Networking Conferences where representatives from the whole sector (and beyond) get together, not forgetting the upcoming 2025 Conference on University Procurement (COUP) which APUC are organising. I have no hesitation recommending APUC/UCSS as an employer to anyone considering a career in procurement.