Team Insights Archives - Bramble Hub | Connecting Private & Public Sector Organisations

Meet Peter Duschinsky – Framework and Compliance Manager at Bramble Hub

Posted on 28 February 2018 - 13:17 by Bramble Hub

I have two key roles at Bramble Hub: writing and managing the bids that get us onto government procurement frameworks and making sure we are following best practice in the way we conduct our business.

The Bramble Hub business model is to gain access to the frameworks, sign up partners and pass them the tender opportunities to enable them to secure contracts. So getting on to the frameworks is the bedrock of the company’s success.

We may be working on one or more framework bids at the same time – we have no control over when they come out – so it’s always a scramble to get the case studies, write perfect answers and get the bids in on time. But I can’t relax in between bids either…

We run two catalogues, G Cloud, RM 1557 and Local Authority Software Applications, RM1059. I manage the drafting, uploading and updating of partner entries and with over 500 entries across the two catalogues, that’s an ongoing task.

I also organise the Bramble Hub partner networking events. These are held twice a year and its always a challenge to find a great new venue that partners will enjoy coming to. The next one will be at the House of Commons on 22nd June and we expect around 120 partners to be there, on the terrace, sampling the canapes and having a drink with us. The events are a great opportunity for partners to meet our team and to exchange experience with one another. Organising these events is an enormous amount of work, but we know that they are very well appreciated and many on-going collaborations have started as a result.

And then there’s the recruitment, due diligence checking and registration of new partners, either because they come to us as a route to securing public sector business, or where we have identified a capability gap in our partner network – for example, if we are planning to tender for a new framework.

This is definitely the part of my role that I enjoy the most: working with companies that need our access to the frameworks, making sure they embody the values we espouse and can deliver to the high standards we depend on to maintain our reputation in the market.

I help them understand the way we work and the value we can add; take them through a rigorous due diligence process to become an active partner; then make sure that the rest of the team is fully briefed and have all the information they need to match the new partners’ skills with incoming opportunities.

All that still leaves me time to take responsibility for a wider compliance role within Bramble Hub, ensuring that we adhere to the highest quality, security and information management standards. That means carrying out internal audits and getting us through the ISO quality, environmental and information security management assessments and audits.

When Richard Archer contacted me over 4 years ago and asked me to come and help him with a framework bid, I never imagined that I’d still be here, commuting into London (something I swore I’d never do again when I set up on my own 20 years ago!) and enjoying every minute.

I like working with the Bramble Hub team and I really like Bramble Hub’s business model – its win-win: we help smaller companies find their way through the framework minefield and win business from the public sector… and we help government manage their relationship with the smaller companies they need to work with – something they find really difficult.

I have been working in or alongside the public sector for most of my career and I am interested in the way that the public sector and small businesses do not talk the same language. Working as interpreter and facilitator, we can help make the relationship happen.

So I believe the work we are doing at Bramble Hub is really important. We do some real good by giving the best companies the opportunity to work with Public Sector organisations who otherwise would not be able to buy their services.

That’s worth getting up in the morning for!

Meet Harriet Davies, Group Commercial & Legal Director

Posted on 30 November 2017 - 09:35 by Bramble Hub

Harriet Davies worked with Bramble for 2 years and left following a move to Yorkshire in Spring 2019.
This interview took place when Harriet had been with Bramble for 6 months in November 2018.
On joining Bramble Harriet quickly her position at Bramble was very different to her recent, more corporate-style roles at Computer Sciences Corporation and NHS Digital.

In her words; “It is really nice to have direct access to your MD rather than have to go through lots of processes just to be heard.”

“The most useful business tip that I was lucky enough to pick up early on in my career was that absolute clarity is essential for good contracts and documentation. When everyone involved knows exactly what, how and when they are expected to deliver, and what the payment terms are, things go so much more smoothly. That’s what happens here at Bramble.”

“I started work in the legal sector almost 20 years ago and worked as a solicitor specialising in commercial law, but changed direction about five years ago and moved into commercial management, which suits me much better. I really enjoy being more hands-on at Bramble. Instead of being a lawyer who merely gives advice, I’m embedded into a strong team and it’s my job to help to pull everything together. I make sure our contracts and documentation make sense and work as they should, and my legal background means I understand the significance of the way things are structured.”

“What matters to the team at Bramble, and to me, is the development of good, open, long term relationships with our partners and customers, the thing that motivates and directs everything we do. It’s vital to explain the commercial reasoning behind what we’re asking our partners and customers to sign, and to answer their questions in the right level of detail. I make sure they recognise their commitments and ensure that contracts and tender documents are fair and unprejudiced from everyone’s perspective. I also help identify risk right at the beginning of a contract, making sure all the relevant issues have been considered.”

“At Bramble we’re completely transparent in our process. We don’t want anyone to sign contracts they don’t fully understand. Our role is to create workable contracts so both parties are completely clear about their commitments and know what is expected of them right from the start. I see my job as collaborative, but having worked as a litigator for five years previously, I am quite happy to challenge unfair terms or flawed procurement processes in order to achieve a fair result. It’s more about delivering great quality service than a cheap, quick deal.”

“I think the Bramble model is unique in that we really do have our partners’ and customers’ best interests at heart. The Crown Commercial Frameworks have built in safeguards for all parties and if necessary I can assist in protecting interests by working in partnership to make use of these. The thing I love most about working here is that everyone in the multi-disciplinary team is smart in their own field. They work together really well with an emphasis on getting things done in the best possible way. The whole team is extremely approachable and if partners or customers have any queries or concerns, they know they can raise them with one of us and get useful, relevant answers.”

“Like me, a lot of the people at Bramble started off doing other things. Because of this they have a good, deep, broad understanding of the business landscape and how it works. I learned early on in my career that working with knowledgeable people with an open door policy means you enjoy access to huge amounts of experience, industrial expertise and technical knowledge, and at Bramble all these varied skills are put to great use.”

Meet Abi Selvarajah – Senior Accountant – Bramble

Posted on 12 September 2017 - 14:02 by Bramble Hub

Abi came to us from the Daily Mail, where she was an Accounts Assistant. She has a First Degree in Accountancy & Finance and has recently passed her ACCA qualification.

In her four years with the Bramble Group she has kept our cash flowing, and is our main liaison with partners’ and customers’ accounts teams.

“I did Accountancy and Finance at University and didn’t want to carry on with studying straight away. Having chosen my modules very carefully and taking my Degree into account, I only had five final professional levels to achieve. Last year I was promoted to senior accountant at Bramble”

“Life was pretty busy. I was working full time at Bramble, studying in the evenings and taking classes on Saturdays. Occasionally I had a mock exam in the middle of the week too – the MD and founder of the Bramble Group, Richard Archer, and Ian Budden, the group’s Finance Director, were really supportive and allowed me to take the time out and do the exams. And they gave me study days too, vital when I’d decided to take the five exams one at a time over a 2 year period.”

“When you’re working, it’s really tough to try and concentrate on your work plus exams. When I first started studying it was a bit of a shock to realise how much work I had to do, but I soon settled into it. I soon discovered how important it is to be able to focus and not get stressed about things you can’t control.”

“Luckily I’m pretty good at managing my time, and having the support of my work colleagues, my family, and particularly my husband, who took over practically everything while I was studying, really helped me focus. My mum was amazing, bringing ready-cooked dinners over to our place to make sure we ate properly. And Bramble were really good too. Some days I would get in early, bringing my books so I could study before and after work. Ian would always find the time to help me if I had any questions. While I took things at my own pace it was still pretty intense, and I didn’t really have a social life even though there was a short break between completing one exam and starting revision for the next, which gave me some much-needed freedom!”

“Having real-life examples and seeing how things actually work really helped me to understand why things work the way they do. It makes so much more sense than trying to understand complex financial matters in the abstract. Everyone in the company knew I was doing my exams and they were all behind me, very supportive. If I had to miss a day to do an exam, they’d handle everything that needed to be done, so I could relax and focus on passing. Luckily working hard at weekends meant I didn’t miss too much. I enjoy doing things myself, and doing them well.”

“Many of my peers came out of university and took their ACCA exams immediately. My three year study break worked perfectly for me. One of the benefits of taking a study break was being able to choose the perfect qualification for me, rather than rushing into something without the experience to know whether it was going to be the best option. I chose the ACCA because it fits really well with the work I do now and the career I want to continue with. It’s really important to know what you want to specialise in before you take qualifications that might send you in a different direction.”

“My family are really proud that I have got my qualification, and I can highly recommend studying for a qualification when working full time. It isn’t easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Since qualifying I have been given a lot more responsibility at work. Now I do our month end and year end reviews and file our VAT reports, working closely with Ian and our new team member Sandra. Every week it feels like I’m taking on more responsibility and learning more. Ian consistently guides me through things to make sure I fully understand what I’m doing. Over time I take over the responsibility myself. If I have any questions, I ask.”

“I would like to say a big thank you everyone at Bramble, particularly Ian and Richard. They’ve been so wonderfully supportive over the past two years and I really couldn’t have done it without their help. It’s great working for an organisation that really does value my qualifications, is genuinely invested in my future and enables me to take my career in the right direction.”

“Everyone at Bramble applies the exact same level of dedication to our clients’ businesses, something I am proud to be a part of. I hope to be here for many years to come!”