3S_26 Strategic HR and Recruitment Services

contractFind a TenderRef ocds-h6vhtk-0505abProcurement Act 2023SME suitablepending

Estimated value

Awarded value

£1.2bn

Awarded 01 Jun 2026

Suppliers

524

385 SME

Lots

4

4 awarded

Published

10 Jun 2026

Description

THIS NOTICE IS TO CAPTURE THE CONTRACT AWARD AND STANDSTILL FOR LOTS 1-4. The procurement has been undertaken as per UK4 Tender notice identifier: 2025/S 000-074685; Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-0505ab. ESPO are establishing a national framework that offers a range of strategic HR services relevant in the public sector, including; executive and managerial interim recruitment, executive and managerial permanent recruitment, multi role temporary recruitment, multi role permanent recruitment, assessment & testing services, outplacement & career transition services, professional coaching, HR business process outsourcing and 'Recruit - Train - Deploy models'. The Framework is divided into 8 lots: Lot 1. Executive and Managerial Interim Recruitment • 1a. Admin, HR & Business Support • 1b. Blue Light & Emergency Services • 1c. Commercial (Finance, Procurement and Legal) • 1d. Education • 1e. Health & Social Care • 1f. IT, Digital, Media & Marketing Lot 2. Executive and Managerial Permanent Recruitment • 2a. Admin, HR & Business Support • 2b. Blue Light & Emergency Services • 2c. Commercial (Finance, Procurement and Legal) • 2d. Education • 2e. Health & Social Care • 2f. IT, Digital, Media & Marketing Lot 3. Temporary Recruitment (sub £45k) Lot 4. Permanent Recruitment (sub £45k) Lot 5. Assessment and Testing Services Lot 6. Outplacement and Career Transition Services Lot 7. HR Business Process Outsourcing • 7a. Recruitment Process Outsourcing • 7b. Applicant Management • 7c. Onboarding • 7d. HR Administration • 7e. Payroll Management • 7f. Employment screening and background checks • 7g. HR Consultancy • 7h. Statement of Works Lot 8. Future workforce • 8a. Workforce Planning and Demand Management • 8b. Recruit - Train - Deploy (RTD) • 8c. Professional and Career Coaching Services • 8d. Professional and Career Skills development

Scope

Reference
3S_26
Commercial tool
Standalone contract
Contract dates
06 Jul 2026 to 06 Jul 2028
Possible extension to 06 Jul 2030

The framework agreement has the option to extend for up to a further 24 months (under normal circumstances this will be completed in full or in 12-month periods, and is subject to the performance of the framework). Total estimated values captured in this notice include the option to extend the framework as noted above.

CPV classifications
79600000
79632000
79633000
79634000
79635000
79630000
79610000
Contract locations
North East England, United Kingdom
North West England, United Kingdom
Yorkshire and the Humber, United Kingdom
East Midlands, United Kingdom
West Midlands, United Kingdom
East of England, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
South East England, United Kingdom
South West England, United Kingdom
Wales, United Kingdom
Scotland, United Kingdom
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Award criteria

Criteria the buyer will use to evaluate bids.

NameDescriptionTypeWeighting
Priceprice40.00%
Non-Pricequality60.00%

Participation

Conditions suppliers must meet to bid.

Refer to the tender documents for conditions of participation (note: the Procurement Specific Questionnaire including Conditions of Participation questions, is captured as a Question set in the eProcurement Portal, ProContract, and is completed online there once a response has been started).

Submission & procedure

Procedure
Open procedure

Award details· 4 awards

Awarded supplier(s), contract period and value as published in the award notice.

Awarded value

£291.7m

Award date

01 Jun 2026

Contract start

06 Jul 2026

Contract end

06 Jul 2028

Awarded to

Lots · 4 total

Divisions of the contract. Each lot can be awarded separately.

View all →
LotTitleEst. valueStatus
1Executive and Managerial Interim Recruitmentcomplete
2Executive and Managerial Permanent Recruitmentcomplete
3Temporary Recruitment (£45k)complete
4Permanent Recruitment (£45k)complete