Rouages: “Outlining an economic and social context”
Laure Vailhé is the head of the Procurement and Contracts Department. Together with Natacha Seling, one of the six public procurement officers on the team, they implement the University’s procurement policy within the Office of General and Institutional Affairs. They discuss this role with us this month in the “Rouages” series produced by UM.
We’re filming this new episode of Rouages on the second floor of the Biology Institute in downtown Montpellier. In this row of offices, which houses part of the Procurement and Contracts Department, twelve staff members are working to implement the procurement policy approved by the UM Board of Directors.
Under the auspices of the General and Institutional Affairs Directorate, Laure Vailhé, head of the department, coordinates operations with a focus on continuous improvement:“The Procurement and Contracts Department was one of the first to receive ISO 9001 certification in 2013. Continuous improvement is truly in our department’s DNA,” explains this lawyer, whose 19-year career in the civil service has taken her through: the Maison des Examens in Paris; the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne; and finally the procurement unit of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, and Research joining the University of Montpellier in 2018. “After these positions in central administration, I wanted to return to hands-on work… and to Montpellier, where I’m from.”
A purchasing budget of 80 million
In this new challenge, the goal is nothing less than to provide the equipment and services essential to the University’s smooth operation and to offer expertise and advice on procurement strategies.“We have three types of procurement,” explains Laure Vailhé. “Recurring purchases that cover the University’s needs—such as maintenance, security, office supplies, and IT equipment; one-time requests, such as the purchase of scientific equipment or service contracts; and the facilities management component, which includes building construction and maintenance.”
All of this amounts to a total annual procurement budget of around 80 million euros.“And even though my department handles ‘only’ purchases over 40,000 euros, that still represents quite a few contracts,”the manager remarks with a smile. So in her department, the watchword is clear: planning!“We’re subject to regulatory deadlines, which often involve lengthy procurement procedures, and my role is to plan this activity while taking the workload into account.That requires flawless organization! ”
Complete a purchase
To meet the needs of the academic community, Laure Vailhé has assembled a team of six public procurement specialists, including Natacha Seling. After ten years as an executive assistant and medical information technician at a private clinic; a stint in the medical archives at Necker Hospital; and a position as head of facilities management at a nursing school, she left Paris in 2016 to join the University of Montpellier. First came Polytech, then the staff training department at the HR division, and finally the procurement and contracts department after passing a competitive exam.“It’s a position that requires a lot of curiosity and quick thinking. You have to take a step back to get the big picture of every need and address it as effectively as possible,” she explains.
As a procurement officer, her main responsibility is to help those with a need to complete their purchase.“I work closely with project leaders to develop a coherent set of specifications with them.” Price, warranties, potential maintenance services, contract duration… Everything must be meticulously documented to publish the notice that will make the public contract accessible to future bidders.“We have to be concise, extremely transparent, and precise enough so that companies understand our needs and can submit a suitable financial and technical proposal. Above all, we mustn’t forget anything, because anything not written into a contract cannot be implemented!”
Adaptability
This role may even involve reviewing applications and bids if the procurement and contracts department is identified as the lead agency. Price, technical proposals, delivery times, and service delivery terms are all factors evaluated to establish a ranking and select the “right” candidate. “We manage many contracts at the same time;it takes a great deal of adaptability and organizational skills to handle them all simultaneously…”emphasizes Natacha Seling.
For services shared by the entire university community, such as catering and security, Laure Vailhé and her team have been conducting user satisfaction surveys for some time now. “These surveys allow us to better monitor service delivery so we can adjust our requirements when drafting the next contract,” adds the public procurement officer. This monitoring takes place both downstream and upstream during the sourcing phase:“We meet with companies to ensure that our specifications align with reality and that what we’re asking for is feasible for them, ” explains the department head . “These meetings also allow us to discover new offerings that we can then try to leverage.”
Openness and Adaptability
For Laure Vailhé and Natacha Seling, it is this exposure to the business world and society at large that is the main appeal of the profession they have chosen.“You have to be able to anticipate and project economic and social trends over the next three or four years. We see companies that look financially sound on paper but end up in bankruptcy, and in those cases, you have to be able to bounce back to ensure service continuity,” explains Natacha Seling. The integration of environmental and social clauses has also significantly transformed and enriched the profession, as Laure Vailhé points out:“We’ve moved from a very legalistic profession—where we drafted specifications with penalties, termination conditions, and so on—to a profession that constantly seeks to adapt to the realities of today’s world. It’s much more intellectually stimulating!”