As a procurement professional, your expertise is urgently needed on school and trust boards. A critical aspect of governance is ensuring that public funds are spent effectively, and with your experience, you can provide invaluable oversight. Your skills will help support schools to make informed decisions, ensuring that every penny of public money is used to benefit the students in their care.
In 2024-25, the total funding allocated to schools for 5–16-year-old pupils, was £7,690 per pupil. Schools and Academy Trusts manage multi-million-pound budgets to deliver an education system that ensures all children reach their potential. To ensure this money is well spent, they need procurement skills on their boards. These skills can also help schools and trusts to comply with procurement rules, as well as consider social value and sustainability requirements.
DfE are collaborating with CIPS and the Government Commercial Function to engage more people with this skilled-volunteering opportunity and are working with Governors for Schools, the governance recruitment charity, to match you with vacancies on school and trust boards.
Governors for Schools are a leading education charity, working with state funded schools across England and Wales to address the shortage of school governance volunteers. They appoint over 2,000 volunteers just like you every year, providing ongoing support to help them have the greatest impact in their roles. Your skills and experience are directly relevant to the governance role, and you’ll also need the passion and drive to improve the prospects of children.
In return, you get the opportunity to develop skills in areas such as strategic planning, financial planning and oversight, and senior leadership, as well as helping to make sure that children are given the best possible start in life and the chance to achieve and thrive.
Having procurement and commercial expertise on a board can unlock tremendous value. At Nexus Multi Academy Trust, procurement has been a catalyst for change, from achieving the globally recognised Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Procurement Excellence Award to embedding innovations like biophilic design in our estate. These initiatives have not only delivered savings and helped us to unlock resources but also have created educational environments that are fit for purpose, inclusive, and tailored to the needs of our students and communities.
For individuals with procurement or commercial skills, volunteering as a school governor or academy trustee is deeply rewarding. It offers a chance to leverage your expertise to deliver great governance to projects that directly impact young people’s futures. It’s a role that challenges you professionally while providing the satisfaction of knowing your contributions help deliver the very best for children and families. Procurement, when aligned with the needs of education, is far more than a function, it can be a game-changer.
Gillian Askew FCIPS, Academy Trustee at Nexus Multi Academy Trust
School governors and Academy Trustees are unpaid, but incredibly important, volunteers who have 3 main responsibilities:
By developing a strong and supportive relationship with the leadership team, governance volunteers challenge existing processes to drive school improvement.
Volunteering as a school governor or academy trustee takes about 7 hours per month. Although taking on the role requires drive and commitment, you’ll enjoy many professional and personal rewards, including career development opportunities and the chance to support young people’s futures.
School governors offer strategic guidance to schools. They sit at board-level, ask questions and provide challenge to the senior leadership. Find out more about the role with our ‘become a school governor’ pages and how you can apply for the role.
Read Gillian Askew’s article detailing why school governance is a great way to support education and how the role can be incredibly rewarding for those with a procurance background. Gillian shares her experience as someone with over 26 years in her career.
View this episode of the Go4Growth podcast where host Gill, an academy trustee of a multi-academy trust, joins Lana, the Head of Business Transformation at Nexus, to discuss the transformative role of procurement in education.
Unsure whether you want to take on the role? Want to find out more about why you should consider volunteering your time?
From career advancement, to the self-fulfilment gained from helping the next generation thrive, there are many benefits of becoming a school governor. This blog, created as part of our ‘School Governors:’ blog series explains them in more detail.
We’re proud to have been finding school governors, and helping schools build exceptional boards for 25 years.
In this time, we’ve developed a process that ensures you’re placed into a school that’s right for you. This page explores the application process, and how our dedicated recruitment teams work to find you a school in your local community.
If you’re ready to start your governance journey, please don’t hesitate to apply online today. We’ll process your application as quickly as possible.
Find out more about how to find a school governor and register your vacancy below.