Focus on Procurement interview: Chris Dalton of Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Where are you from?

I grew up in Levin, going to high school in Whanganui.

What did you train in and where did you study?

I got my Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Victoria university where I majored in accounting and commercial law with a minor in taxation.

What attracted you to a role in procurement?

I have a solid background in commerce. So, once I moved back from the USA, where I had a job as a specialist working in derivatives, I was looking for a role that I could use my skills but found the job market difficult due to the Covid situation. I was given the opportunity to interview for a job as a procurement coordinator and I never looked back.

What advice would you give anyone considering a career in procurement?

Find some procurement networking events and talk to procurement professionals from different agencies. Private and public procurement look very different, and the process for each agency is also quite different so you can get many different perspectives quickly.

What are 3 things the public do not know about the role of procurement in their lives?

Before I started in government procurement, I had no concept of just how much work went into the decision-making process behind procuring things like public buildings, government software, and delivery of other public services.

Can you please detail your top 3 achievements from your time in procurement?

I’ve been the commercial lead on a procurement for a high-profile event that the NZ Prime Minister attended. I made the career jump from commercial coordinator to commercial advisor. I’m still particularly proud of a very pun-filled speech that I delivered on behalf of the Commercial Division to the rest of MFAT.

What is the most exciting thing happening in procurement right now?

Probably the impact of the current global fuel situation. We are all trying to get ahead of the curve, so we don’t get surprised with unforeseen rate changes and the impacts that those create.

In an ideal world where you were not confined by a budget, what would you introduce to procurement that could help the industry function and develop?

I would introduce open-source software to help agencies track their contracts, suppliers, and payments in a way that can produce reports and help find information to assist in quick business decisions. Being open-source is important so that agencies and businesses could make changes to the software to support their business needs, while keeping it affordable for small businesses.

Given how big and small the projects are that your team takes part in, and how some of those are quite reactive, are there any bits of advice you can give other procurement officers or people new to procurement who have to pick it up fast?

Always be inquisitive and if you feel like there’s something that hasn’t been asked, ask it. The best procurement specialists I’ve worked with have a knack for teasing out information that I didn’t even know was important.

What do you do to maintain a work life balance through these environments?

Thankfully procurement is the sort of job that, for the most part, is done during regular working hours and can be left in the office. I find procurement to be process and very writing heavy with so many spreadsheets, documents etc. to keep track of. I keep a lot of hobbies that give me something different to engage my brain with, whether it’s getting to be physical with Karate, or expressing my artistic side in cosplaying. Costume making means I get to try out many different ways to create such as leatherwork, 3D printing, painting, and sewing. I think self-expression plays a very important role in our lives which office environments often stifle in the interest of professionalism. I think it’s important to take time to do things that bring you joy outside of work no matter what that looks like.