Northern Education Trust makes new key appointment
Northern Education Trust (NET), the north’s largest multi academy trust, has made a senior appointment within its core team to lead its procurement function.
As NET becomes responsible for a growing number of academies (currently ten primary and ten secondary academies, spread throughout the North of England) the efficient procurement of all its support services is paramount to ensuring as much of the organisation’s funding as possible is directed to improving outcomes in the classroom.
Sarah Harty, the Trust’s new procurement adviser, is widely experienced within the public sector, having spent much of her career in the capital where she held a series of senior roles within various London boroughs, latterly working within the London Borough of Wandsworth.
As assistant director (planning and resources) at Wandsworth she was responsible for managing 65 staff engaged in the management of the capital programme, departmental and schools finance, HR, IT, schools traded services and contracts – experience which is ideally suited to her latest role with NET.
Sarah commented: “I was delighted to accept the role of procurement adviser with the Trust because it allows me to build on all my experience to date. It will be enormously challenging, but I relish the opportunity to build on my expertise.
“My short term goal is to review how all 20 academies are operating now and to better understand the issues involved. With such ambitious future plans, it is essential for the Trust to have a procurement strategy in place which supports value for money and quality services for academies.”
Ian Kershaw, NET’s chief executive, added: “Sarah is a very valuable addition to our core team. She brings a wealth of highly relevant experience to the Trust as well as the ability to build constructive working relationships and deliver practical solutions. We are pleased to welcome her to the team.”