Who we are

Fiona Sharp

Fiona has been part of the Procure Plus team since July 2008. Prior to this, Fiona was involved in front line policing and was part of the police public protection unit. Following seven years in the police, Fiona made the move to public sector change management, where all of her roles have since been partnership and multi-agency focussed.

With a background in policing, Fiona specialises in social enterprise and tenant
involvement, and helps registered providers foster positive community relations in their neighbourhoods.

Ann-Marie Hopkins              

Ann-Marie joined Procure Plus in April 2011 as Equality and Diversity Manager (this post is part funded by ESF). Ann-Marie worked for one of Procure Plus’ partners, GMEC, for eight years where she was responsible for ensuring that local businesses use their business leadership and job opportunities to improve the career prospects of local people, especially those furthest from the labour market.
Ann-Marie has particular responsibility for developing relationships with employers who are outside of our framework in order to develop mutually beneficial partnerships which will provide further opportunities for our communities. Ann-Marie also ensures that Procure Plus is at the forefront of local and national policy making in the sectors in which the CSR team operate.

Kate Parker

Kate has been part of the team since May 2009. Prior to this, Kate managed publically funding training and skills provision for a northwest training provider, having also spent time working in economic and community development overseas.

Kate oversees the management and development of the Sense of Place fund, which helps Procure Plus’ clients to make a significant contribution to the activities of local community groups. Kate also manages the training opportunities resulting from the works carried out via Procure Plus’ frameworks. This involves liaising with employers, colleges, housing providers and contractors to ensure that local people really do benefit from the creation of local employment opportunities.

Mark Wilson

Mark has been part of the team since June 2009. Having had a successful career in retail and training, Mark joining Procure Plus from a national training company where he specialised in delivering management training programmes in a variety of sectors.
Mark looks after the day-to-day running of our skills and training programmes, working closely with contractor’s training managers, colleges and the trainees themselves to ensure the excellence of the training experience. Mark also works with client’s worklessness/economic development teams to ensure that local people are given opportunities to benefit from local employment.

Clare Meachem

Clare joined the CSR team in April 2011 as Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator (this post is part funded by ESF), having previously worked for many years in the charitable sector managing projects working with ex-offenders. Clare works closely with our community enterprises, ensuring that appropriate candidates are passed to them from various agencies for employment. Clare also works with employers outside of our framework, supporting them in employing those who are furthest from the labour-market.

Ellen Whittle

Ellen is a tenant with City South Manchester, one of Procure Plus’s member landlords, and has been the chair of our Tenant Involvement Panel since November 2010. Ellen has a particular interest in how landlords work with disabled customers and as well as being the Procure Plus tenant chair, also attends the Audit Committee, ensuring tenants are at the heart of all we do.