Meet the team: Kate Gresswell-Pettitt

We’re excited to welcome Kate Gresswell-Pettitt to the NHC Procurement team as our new Marketing Manager. In this Q&A, Kate shares insight about her career journey so far, what makes our team stand out, and who she would swap roles with for a day.

What’s your role, and what does a typical day look like for you? 

I’m the Marketing Manager at NHC Procurement, covering for the wonderful Chloe Holmes during her maternity leave. I joined the organisation in November, and I’ve been made to feel like part of the team from day one. My colleagues here are some of the most knowledgeable and welcoming people I’ve had the pleasure to work with, and I’m excited to be part of such a growing and ambitious organisation.

As a Marketing team, our role is to bang the drum about what we do here at NHC Procurement, identifying opportunities to share our knowledge and value, and support our fantastic procurement and commercial teams to provide a seamless and expert procurement service.

As anyone in marketing will know, no two days are the same! From meeting with colleagues to map out our external communications strategy, to drafting newsletters and social media posts, planning events and building our brand, every day is different, with a huge variety of projects, challenges and opportunities to get stuck into.

What’s one project you’re really proud of in your career so far?

Prior to joining NHC Procurement, I worked in communications consultancies for 15 years, and I was lucky enough to work on some truly groundbreaking campaigns. However, it’s the campaigns with social impact that have really stuck with me.

In 2024, the NHS in the North East and North Cumbria launched a campaign to encourage vaccinations in pregnancy. Vaccination rates were dropping and potentially deadly infant illnesses like whooping cough were increasing. At the time, I had just had my second child, so it was an issue close to my heart, and I leapt at the opportunity to work with my colleagues to get the message out.

I was a case study for the campaign, featuring in the marketing materials used in healthcare settings, online and in the media to encourage pregnant people to take up their vaccinations. I was also interviewed by radio stations and TV presenters, ending up on BBC and ITV News with my little one babbling happily on my lap!

Since then, whooping cough vaccination rates increased from 59% to 70%, 70% of pregnant people received the new RSV vaccine during rollout, and COVID vaccination rates more than doubled. Knowing that I played a part in protecting public health was one of the most rewarding moments of my career.

If you could swap jobs with anyone within the team for a day, who would it be and why?

Alistair Merchant, our head of commercial, works incredibly hard to connect us with procurement professionals across the UK. He and his team are doing a stellar job in diversifying and streamlining our commercial strategy, and I’d love to try my hand at doing the same for a day, although I think everyone would very quickly realise that I can’t hold a candle to his expertise!

What’s one thing you think makes our team unique or strong?

The passion and enthusiasm of the NHC Procurement team is outstanding. Everyone on the team is such a strong ambassador for what we do, the value we offer, and how we can support procurement teams across sectors and geographies.

In an organisation with over 30 years of history, everyone here is constantly striving to provide the very best value to our members, to always look to grow and expand our offer, and to ensure that everything we do has a purpose and positive impact.

What three words would you use to describe working at NHC?

Impactful, progressive and principled.

Say hello! Get in touch with Kate, here – kate.gresswell-pettitt@nhcprocurement.org.uk