Hull has a great energy, people smile at each other on the street

Neha Sharma’s life has changed a lot in last couple of years, having moved to the UK from Mumbai in India where she grew up, to getting married and starting work as a Buyer, here at KWL.

With 8 years of experience in procurement from the Chemical, HVAC & Pharma industries. Her last tenure was as an Assistant Manager for western region of India at Blue Star Ltd., an Electro Mechanical Plumbing Business in Mumbai.

This role within the service sector included working directly with internal and external customers and completing projects at stringent deadlines. This has helped Neha to adapt to the working culture in the UK. A buyer has to be nimble, acting fast and drawing on excellent working relationships to make things happen. New enquiries come in to the Procurement office each day and the team supports all of the works that are carried out by operatives around the city, maintaining, repairing and refurbishing some 23,000+ properties.

Neha loves learning and with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, an MBA in Finance she is now working towards CIPS – Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

It hasn’t all been plane sailing, the pandemic interrupted her plans to get married and move to the UK where her husband had been living for a number of years. In 2019, the family mapped out the wedding and all was set, Neha left her job but within a few weeks of leaving her post, the world went into lockdown, preventing her soon-to-be husband from travelling to India for the wedding, but also preventing her from finding another job in the meantime. Not knowing when travel might resume, Neha waited 18 months to get married and come to live with her husband in the UK.

Eventually in 2021, the newly weds flew to the UK and straight into quarantine for 11 days, in a very small hotel room in London, where food was delivered sporadically to the door by stressed hotel staff. The couple were relieved to be at home in Hull and start their lives together.

Shortly after, Neha found the buyer vacancy at KWL and promptly started work. She explains:

“I love living in Hull. The UK is so lucky to have so many parks and gardens. Hull especially is very green and beautiful. Every evening, in all weathers, we take a walk to visit the parks in all the different areas of the city.

“Coming from a family of Architects, this is something I am very interested in – The UK has amazing architectural beauty and the history associated with it. It’s a fantastic country.

“At the weekend, my husband and I explore the local countryside and visit other places. I love the Cotswolds and cities such as York, London and Manchester and the coast is wonderful – walking at Flamborough’s North Landing has been a wonderful experience. This country has so much variety and lots to offer.

“I also love to cook, I am passionate about photography and poetry writing.

“What strikes me about local people is that everyone is happy and smiles at one another in the street. It couldn’t be more different to Mumbai – with a population of almost 21 million, it’s so busy and bustling — everyone is always in a rush to get from A to B just like London. Here people have a good energy and a general feeling of contentment. I expected to feel homesick, but instead I really feel at home.”

Day-to-day Neha manages the purchasing process for KWL’s building materials.

“Everyday we manage a number of requests from the operatives and supervisors. Our inbox is full of requests, and each have their own priorities. This is why I enjoy the role; it keeps me on my toes.

“I work closely with the supervisors while they are out on site, the stores manager and also our suppliers. It’s all about building good relationships and trust. This is very important, as a buyer we rely on them so that the work can be done on a timely basis. If materials are delayed it can hold everything up, which in-turn adds extra costs to the business.

“The pandemic continues to affect prices for building materials; everything has increased in price and now with the terrible war in Ukraine, some items are difficult to procure. Part of our role is to work out a perfect balance to ensure we have just the right amount and not too much taking up room in the stores. This is a challenge, but that’s what makes the job fun. There has to be challenges to make life interesting, right?”