Meet the Buyer - Maria Hadro

Name: Maria Hadro

Position: Category Buyer – Corporate and Financial Services 

How long have you been working for YPO? Five Years

What do you like the most about YPO?

YPO actually opened the doors for my personal development. This is not only a great place to work for but also a place where you can progress and learn. I am surrounded by passionate, skilled and professional people who are working towards same goals. YPO is a company that not only delivers high quality products and services to the community, but also looks to the future. It is amazing to be a part of the bigger picture and be able to respond to constantly changing conditions.

YPO, as a business, makes me feel that I am doing great things that are reflected in the savings made for Public Sector customers. Here at YPO, every day is never the same but it always ends with the same result – customer satisfaction. 

What are your main responsibilities?

I look after our Insurance Portfolio, including the Brokerage Framework, Insurance Placement DPS, Insurance Placement DPS for Housing Sector and Engineering Inspections Framework Agreement. I am responsible for supporting customers when it comes to the calling off procedure on one of our solutions. The busiest period for myself comes in the form of insurance renewals, which are either 1st of April or 1st of October.

I am also responsible for supplier management, market insights and marketing activities. All these activities allow  me to provide our customers with advice on market conditions and the best approach to the market when it comes to procurement exercises. Also, our annual series of webinars are successfully delivering a big educational piece when it comes to understanding the insurance and brokerage market. 

Additionally, I am constantly working on the growth of our solution’s portfolio. I am busy with the development of the new framework and DPS agreements which come to life by listening to our customers and suppliers, and responding to their needs. 

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part of my job is to be able to provide all our customers with the support they need. As I mentioned previously, in the procurement world each day is different which means that every single day I will be looking into different enquiries. There is no simple answer to Public Sector customers’ requirements, therefore I am constantly building up my knowledge and experience to be able support our customers throughout their procurement journey. 

Describe your role in three words:

Inspiring, satisfying, dynamic

How did you get involved in procurement?

I have always found working with people rewarding and satisfying. I was able to interact with our customers whilst working in the Customer Service department. That was the moment when I decided that this is exactly what I want to be doing in my life, and I applied for the role as Procurement Assistant in the Energy Department.  This was a huge milestone for me as I had never worked in procurement before, but in time it became a more and more fascinating experience. 

Tell us a bit about your procurement experience:

As mentioned above, I started my journey within procurement as a Procurement Assistant. During my time in the Energy Team, I discovered what procurement is and what we want to achieve for our customers. As the next step, I promoted to Further Competition Co-ordinator in Corporate and Financial Services. This is where, for the first time, I faced proper procurement exercises while managing further competitions on behalf of our customers. Within this role I also had the  chance to develop my knowledge, and eventually I have started taking on board more projects and responsibilities to be able to learn on the job.

I have been very lucky by having the opportunity to work with very experienced Buyers and Procurement Managers who shared their knowledge and experience with me. When the time came, I applied for the Category Buyer role, again in Corporate and Financial Services. As a new Buyer, this was the next step in my career path, where I want to one day become a qualified procurement professional. To be able to complete my goal, I am currently  undertaking CIPS qualifications as my journey has only just started and there is so much more to discover in the procurement sector. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I like to make sure that I do something for myself, such as nice walks as I really enjoy being out and interacting with nature. Also, I am a mum to 6-year-old cat – Lucy. In the evening I usually watch a good film, or I read one of the Stephens Kings’ books as he is my favourite author.  

If you enjoyed this read, you can find out more about our employee’s and how they found themselves at YPO, as well as their job responsibilities and progress throughout the business. Meet the YPO team now!