The North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) has announced the appointment of Michael Murray as lead for NEPRO, a compliant route for the UK public sector to appoint and manage specialist professional services.
Having joined NEPO four years ago, the new role will see Michael work closely with NEPRO delivery Partner, Bloom Procurement Services.
Michael steps into the newly created position, having previously been responsible for NEPO’s corporate services category, leading procurement solutions with an annual value of over £200 million, including NEPRO, Payment Card Services and an Early Payment Solution.
Established in 1976, NEPO works in partnership with North East local authorities and the wider public sector to ensure public sector spending delivers value and drives positive outcomes. NEPO procures a wide range of goods and services, which means its solutions feature suppliers of all shapes and sizes, from SMEs to large multinationals.
Michael said: “This is the first time the company has appointed a NEPRO lead and it is a very exciting opportunity.
“Over the last four years, I have worked with delivery partner Bloom to deliver NEPRO, a compliant route for the UK public sector to appoint and manage specialist professional services. NEPRO has grown significantly in this time, with over 350 contracting authorities now using the framework to deliver a wide range of projects.
“As a result of this growth, NEPO has created a new role entirely dedicated to extending the benefits of NEPRO to the public sector. NEPRO is a faster, compliant, alternative route to traditional public sector frameworks for specialist professional services and consultancy.
“It’s a managed service approach developed by NEPO that brings benefits to buyers and suppliers of a wide range of professional services, available across the UK. I am looking forward to working closely with Bloom to grow and enhance the framework.”
Nicola Shelley, managing director at NEPO said: “Michael’s extensive experience in professional services, together with his vision for developing NEPRO, resulted in him being appointed to this exciting new role. In partnership with Bloom, we have achieved year-on-year growth as the public sector takes advantage of the vast range of pre-approved suppliers able to meet public sector requirements. Michael’s appointment reflects the commitment that we have to ensuring NEPRO continues to grow and delivers exceptional social value and return on investment.”