Critical Timescales
We are awaiting clarification of timescales for some key elements of the tender from SUPC. This section will be updated once these have been received.
- Publication of Contract Notice – 18.11.24
- Deadline for sending clarification questions to SUPC for SQ – awaiting timeframe from SUPC
- Submission of Stage 1 – SQ – 06.01.25
- ITT publication date – awaiting timeframe from SUPC
- Deadline for sending clarification questions to SUPC for ITT – awaiting timeframe from SUPC
- Submission of Stage 2 – ITT – Anticipated 24.02.25
Other Key Information Regarding the Contract
Contract duration – 2 years + option to extend for a further 24 months.
Existing framework expires on 30th December 2024.
The new contract is anticipated to go live in April or May 2025 (date to be confirmed).
Geographical Coverage
Please note that while this tender is being run by SUPC, it covers the whole of England & Wales. The following organisations purchase under this framework:
- Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC)
- Higher Education Purchasing Consortium, Wales (HEPCW)
- London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC)
- Northeast Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC)
- Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC)
- Northwest Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC)
Lotting Structure & Services
This tender will cover temporary and permanent recruitment services (including interim, fixed term and temp to perm). Bidders may offer temporary or permanent recruitment services, or both.
Lot 1 – Non-Specialist Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to: administration, general office staff, non-professional roles
Lot 2 – IT Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to Database developer, MIS manager, E-commerce advisor, IT helpdesk operative/manager, Content manager, Software engineer, IT manager, IT project/programme manager, Business analyst, IT trainer, SITS contractor, Solutions Architect, Web Developer
Lot 3 – Commercial Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to Accountant, Payroll manager, Finance manager, Procurement/purchasing officer/manager, Category Manager, Procurement analyst, Lawyer, Solicitor, Project Manager, Facilities Manager, Surveyor, Asset Manager
Lot 4 – Executive/Senior Leadership Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to Director, CFO, CEO, CIO, Dean
Lot 5 – -Medical/Veterinary Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to Health and Social Care, Non-Medical Helper, Veterinary staff including vet, nurse, and receptionist
Lot 6 – Academic Roles
Indicative roles include but are not limited to Lecturer, Assistant Lecturer Teaching Fellow, Senior Teaching Fellow, Assistant Teaching Fellow, Tutor, Professor, Assistant Professor, Research Fellow, Research Assistant
Lot 7 – Recruitment One-Stop Shop
Provision of Recruitment Managed Service, across role specialities
Tender Procedure
This is a “restricted procedure” which means that there is a qualifying stage followed by a tender stage in this process:
- Stage 1 – SQ: This is the first stage of the process and is designed to establish if bidders are eligible to tender (see qualifying criteria below).
- Stage 2 – ITT: Only those agencies that are successful in stage 1 will be invited to submit a formal tender during Stage 2 – ITT. Anyone failing the SQ stage will be rejected from the process.
Qualifying Criteria
TO BID, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING QUALIFYING CRITERIA:
Have the following insurance cover:
- £5m Professional Indemnity Insurance
- £5m Public Liability Insurance
- £10m Employers Liability Insurance
By submitting a bid, you are agreeing to the T&C within the draft Contract (Framework Agreement – Schedule 1).
You must meet the economic and financial standing criteria or your bid will fail. You must had a very low, low or moderate risk identified by Credit Safe. This means that you must had a risk indicator on Credit Safe or 30 or more. If you have a risk indicator lower than this your bid will fail.
You must also have been profitable in each of the last 2 financial years (defined as earnings before interest and tax in your accounts).
Furthermore, you must have an acid-test ratio equal or higher than 1.00. This ratio is calculated using a Credit Safe report at the time of ITT evaluation. The acid-test ration can be calculated as: (Cash + Accounts Receivable + Short Term Investments) divided by (Current Liabilities).
You must provide up to 3 contract examples in respect of services carried out within the last 3 years – and you must obtain permission from the referees before including them in the tender. To pass this question, your contract examples must:
- Be of a similar overall contract value to this tender.
- Have been providing the service to the client for a minimum of 12 months of continuous service.
The documents state you must have the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. A clarification has been put in to confirm if Cyber Essentials will suffice or whether plus is required. Interestingly there does not seem to be a question in the SQ asking bidders to confirm their Cyber Essentials accreditation status which is unusual.
ITT (Award Stage) Requirements & Evaluation Criteria (Info Only)
PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT COMPLETE THIS PART OF THE TENDER UNTIL SUPC HAS EVALUATED THE SQ AND CONFIRMED YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THIS SECTION IS THEREFORE JUST FOR INFORMATION.
The evaluation breakdown is:
- 70% for the quality response
- 30% for the pricing response
If you do not achieve a minimum total score of 30% in the Quality Section, your whole tender will be excluded.
We have asked a clarification question regarding the number of bidders that SUPC intends to award per lot. This section will be updated when this clarification has been answered.
Registration for the Tender & Accessing the Documents
To access the tender documents, you must first register on the following link: https://ukstage.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=SUPC
You can then follow the instructions in the documents and on the portal.
Brunton Bid Writing Services & Pricing
- Stage 1 – SQ: £2,500 + vat
- Stage 2 – ITT: £6,500 + vat
