PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MONTH
Bold possibilities start with your development.
Take charge of your professional development with practical insights, honest career conversations and fresh perspectives from procurement leaders across Australia.
DATE
Friday 27 November 2026
TIME
Make your next move with confidence.
The procurement profession is changing quickly. Technical expertise remains important, but long-term success also depends on adaptability, leadership, communication and the confidence to take new opportunities.
Personal Development Day brings together procurement leaders, career specialists and professional development experts for a focused online programme designed to help you assess where you are, strengthen your capabilities and prepare for what comes next.
Shape your development plan
Identify practical priorities for your personal and professional growth.
Learn from experienced leaders
Hear honest lessons from procurement professionals with varied career paths.
Prepare for what is changing
Explore leadership, workplace conflict, professional accreditation and the impact of AI.
Build evidence of your development
Collect CPD points and demonstrate your commitment to continued professional growth.
One Day. Practical ideas for the career ahead.
Career growth and transferable skills
MCIPS pathways and professional recognition
Leadership advice for small procurement teams
Strategies for managing hidden conflict
Procurement trends shaping 2027
Career resilience in the age of AI
Practical guidance for AI-assisted job applications
Online networking with procurement peers
Your day of bold possibilities.
8.00am
Virtual platform opens
9.15am
Re-potting yourself – a personal growth seminar with a top procurement leader
The end of the year is a common time for us to reassess and reset goals for growth. Yet sometimes the biggest risk to your career isn't taking the wrong opportunity. It's staying in the same container for too long.
In a rapidly changing procurement environment, technical expertise alone is no longer enough. Drawing on a career spanning contract management, procurement, supply chain, commercial leadership, transformation and executive roles well outside her comfort zone, Sharyn County explores how embracing change, building transferable skills and taking opportunities before feeling fully ready can unlock unexpected career growth.
Careers rarely follow a linear path and this session offers a fresh perspective on how to continually adapt, grow and remain relevant in an evolving profession.
Learn from one of our top procurement leaders, a WCC Board member, author of a new book, which was launched last year and presented at the PASA Women in Procurement event last March, and has been nominated for a BOOK CHOICE Award.
Sharyn County, GM Procurement, Property Projects, APA Group, Melbourne
9.45am
How to achieve MCIPS – and will I really earn more?
MCIPS is the full membership grade of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) widely considered as the global peak body for procurement, with a busy local offices in Melbourne and Auckland.
The classic exam route to achieving MCIPS can take 15 exams to complete – but other ways beyond self-study, CIPS study centres, endorsed degree courses, TAFE channels or even the experiential route (MER) or Corporate Award all exist as pathways in ANZ – so which is best for you, and why?
CIPS surveys commonly point to enhanced salary levels for holders of MCIPS and highlight the attractiveness of candidates holding MCIPS.
10.15am
Coffee break and online networking
10.30am
Elevating Your Impact and Progression in Procurement
In this practical and thought-provoking Procurement Pivots session, Donna Bowden and Laura Sellers will explore how to strengthen your influence, make your impact more visible and take greater ownership of your development and progression, with practical ideas you can put into action straight away.
Donna Bowden and Laura Sellers MCIPS – The Procurement Pivots Podcast (UK)
11.00am
Managing hidden conflict in organisations
Inevitably, despite all best intentions, it falls to procurement practitioners to manage hidden conflict with two key groups who too often seem to have conflicting objectives with procurement : Stakeholders and suppliers.
Stakeholders often are most interested in quality, delivery, speed, choice and flexibility. Procurement more in cost, risk, compliance and certainty. Suppliers perhaps price, profitability, service-levels and future orders …. Not always such a tight Venn diagram maybe?
So, how to spot lingering resentment, hidden conflict and festering ill-feeling within your organisation? Crucially, how best to manage it and what are the common traps, myths and pitfalls for the unwary?
PASA CONNECT members will get two more 1 hour sessions on this topics area offering suggested language, tolls and strategies for busy buyers to deploy in managing silent conflict. A short ONLINE masterclass training course is also planned for anyone to attend in April – through PASA.
Barbara Clifford – The Hinwood Institute (Alice Springs, NT)
11.30am
Procurement’s professional agenda in 2027
WHAT did we learn about procurement this year and how should you prepare as a procurement professional for 2027?
Ask the author of GORDON’S WINDOW – the key monthly column within THE INSIDER weekly PASA eNews bulletin each Tuesday. Gordon’s window summarises all relevant global procurement research each month – so you don’t have to.
Importantly, after five years of the SAP/The Economist Impact Survey, commissioned by Gordon, the largest global survey of CPOs now, what are the trends we can pick from 2021-26 – and what should we focus on in the near future to direct our career best?
Listen to our own Gordon Donovan, the global head of procurement research for SAP, and voted the #1 procurement influencer in the world in 2023, explain it all.
Gordon Donovan FCIPS, Global Vice-President Procurement Research, SAP (Melbourne)
12.00pm
Lunch break and online networking
12.20pm
The Procurement Insider
A lightening fast 5 minute video introduction to the PASA weekly e-News bulletin THE INSIDER which is published FREE to the PASA community every Tuesday – what does it include exactly and why subscribe, even if it is FREE?
What were the TOP 5 biggest stories in 2026 and the Top 5 most attractive procurement jobs advertised in 2026 - with the most clicks? Understand the best features of our weekly eNews : What have you missed this year, and how can it help you?
Samantha Webb, Editor, The PASA Procurement INSIDER eNews (Brisbane) (Melbourne)
12.30pm
How to lead a small procurement team - by an award-winning procurement team leader
What does it take to be a leader nowadays in the context of small procurement team? Ask Adam Blower, who a PASA NIGEL award as Team of the Year in 2024 and is a leader with a background as a manager of procurement in the military, a not-for-profit organisation, the private sector and the public sector.
But what is the secret? How do meet everyone’s needs and still balance that with strategic needs and corporate goals? How do you manage a team WFH, navigate the procurement challenges we all see, and still hit targets?
What are the hard-won tips of a day-to-day procurement manager, and how can you apply these into your approach?
Adam Blower – Procurement Manager, RWWA (Perth)
12.50pm
Built to Last: How to Future-Proof a Career in Procurement
Procurement careers are being reshaped by changing organisational expectations, evolving commercial risks and AI.
This session examines the career challenges unique to procurement, the roles and capabilities likely to become more valuable, and practical ways professionals can build resilience.
It will also consider whether AI is a genuine threat or a powerful enabler for those who know how to use it.
Kendall Richardson FCIPS, Director – Mindset Procurement (Adelaide)
1.15pm
How to prepare your application using Gen AI – the Do’s and Don'ts
Today, recruiters have been using AI to help filter and shortlist the best candidates from typically dozens of applications for any role.
Yet, AI knows this, and candidates using AI position themselves against role-criteria …. So how will this work in practice now? And how do candidates put their best case forward now?
Tune in to learn how to get the best out of yourself … and shape your own candidate value proposition to be a better candidate in your next interview for a promotion, or any new role, using Gen AI – or not? The big 5 DO’s and DON’T’s ….
Christine Armadass, Manager - Executive Search, Procurement, Finance, Permanent & Contracting- Six Degrees Executive Recruitment (Melbourne)
1.40pm
Close of the event
1.45pm
Online event ends
Programme and speakers are subject to change.
Learn from people who know the profession.
Christine Armadass
Manager - Executive Search, Procurement, Finance, Permanent & Contracting, Six Degrees Executive Recruitment
Melbourne
SESSION
MC & How to prepare your application using Gen AI – the Do’s and Don’ts
Sharyn County
GM Procurement, Property Projects, APA Group
Melbourne
SESSION
Re-potting yourself – a personal growth seminar with a top procurement leader
Donna Bowden
Host, Procurement Pivots
UK
SESSION
Elevating Your Impact and Progression in Procurement
Laura Sellers MCIPS
Host, Procurement Pivots
UK
SESSION
Elevating Your Impact and Progression in Procurement
Barbara Clifford
Facilitator, The Hinwood Institute
Alice Springs
SESSION
Managing hidden conflict in organisations
Gordon Donovan FCIPS
Global Vice-President Procurement Research, SAP
Melbourne
SESSION
Procurement's professional agenda in 2027
Samantha Webb
Editor, The PASA Procurement Insider
Brisbane
SESSION
The Procurement Insider
Adam Blower
Procurement Manager, Racing and Wagering Western Australia
Perth
SESSION
How to lead a small procurement team
Kendall Richardson FCIPS
Director, Mindset Procurement
Adelaide
SESSION
Built to Last: How to Future-Proof a Career in Procurement
Invest one day in what comes next.
Join procurement professionals from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond for a focused day of learning, reflection and practical career development.
