Balancing Cost Pressures and Sustainability in School Procurement

Dave Smith, Director of Procurement and Trust-wide Projects, Osborne Co-operative Academy Trust

Dave has over 35 years of experience in education. As Director of Procurement and Trust-wide Projects at Osborne Co-operative Academy Trust, he oversees the procurement strategy, supports IT and AI strategies and monitors operations, and provides leadership in governance and GDPR. Previously, as Head of Partnerships and Events at BESA, he co-ordinated event programmes and facilitated partnerships, including attending Bett Asia and Bett Brasil. With over 25 years in computing, education technology, and online safety, Dave worked as a teacher and senior leader, providing school improvement, quality assurance and leading Traded Services as a Senior Inspector for the London Borough of Havering School Improvement Services. He contributed to the award-winning ‘Switched on Computing’ series and the Department for Education’s Workload Reduction Toolkit. Dave served on the Bett Advisory Group. He was Chair of the Board of Management of Naace and judged the Bett and Education Resources Awards. Dave has worked in Japan, the USA, the Middle East, Brazil, Thailand, and Europe. He has been a teacher/senior leader in three schools, is currently a Chair of Governors and Chair of Members in two MATs and has been a governor of five other schools. He is a qualified coach and has worked in marketing and ICT training at Anglia Ruskin University.