Melbourne | Embracing social procurement - Benefits, pitfalls and meaning

The Panel:

Melissa Raby 

As national Social Procurement and Inclusion Manager for the Building business unit in John Holland, Mel is passionate in her advocacy within the disability community. She manages and implements the Victorian Social Procurement Framework in accordance with the projects' contractual targets and the broader John Holland strategy.

A key element to Mel’s success is her ability to inspire and motivate construction project teams. Through bringing the team on the journey and connecting people with personal stories, Mel is able to inspire action beyond her presence being required. She connects with clients and community to promote and support the use of local content, workforce development and social procurement objectives. She has strong relationships with industry bodies where desired outcomes of policy and practical application can be discussed and challenges are addressed.

Mel brings a unique perspective to see a situation through the eyes of a worker. For over 11 years she has been interpreting the actions and amplifying the voice of her son who has a disability to ensure inclusion, so this passion stems from seeing his experience and her deep desire for all to be included.

Richard Butt

Richard is the Group Commercial Manager at TVN On-Country Pty Ltd. His interests include Indigenous procurement services to help builders meet their targets on large projects, and training of Indigenous cadets.

Jacob Craven

Jacob has extensive experience in the development and delivery of transport infrastructure across the full project lifecycle. He brings a strategic focus to problem solving, combined with a detailed understanding of both commercial and technical aspects of major infrastructure projects.

Jacob’s technical experience includes advice on design, methodology, and disruption planning, to ensure quality and on time delivery of infrastructure projects. His success in multi-disciplinary teams has also equipped him with the ability to understand and manage multiple stakeholders and interfaces across the sector.  Jacob has demonstrated experience in project development and procurement phases, delivering business cases, managing critical transaction activities, and implementing continuous improvement programs to improve the efficiency and efficacy of infrastructure delivery models. 

Moderated by Meg Lee, of Hall & Wilcox.