The Provision of Recruitment Services for the Government Legal Department

{
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-PPON-PGPQ-1671-NQQJ",
    "name": "Government Legal Department"
  },
  "date": "2025-12-16T09:43:22Z",
  "id": "083138-2025",
  "initiationType": "tender",
  "language": "en",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-050529",
  "parties": [
    {
      "address": {
        "country": "GB",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "locality": "London",
        "postalCode": "SW1H 9GL",
        "region": "UKI32",
        "streetAddress": "102 Petty France"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "bids@governmentlegal.gov.uk"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "description": "Public authority - central government",
            "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE"
          }
        ]
      },
      "id": "GB-PPON-PGPQ-1671-NQQJ",
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PGPQ-1671-NQQJ",
        "scheme": "GB-PPON"
      },
      "name": "Government Legal Department",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "tag": [
    "tenderUpdate"
  ],
  "tender": {
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "amendments": [
      {
        "description": "This notice has been changed to reflect the change in deadline for both clarification questions and the submission date.",
        "id": "083138-2025"
      }
    ],
    "awardPeriod": {
      "endDate": "2026-02-19T23:59:59Z"
    },
    "contractTerms": {
      "financialTerms": "Note there is a small  administrative cost that is related to the discharge of the model contract terms of a \u00a31 that will need to agreed prior to contract signature."
    },
    "description": "The Government Legal Department (GLD) is pleased to launch this major opportunity to partner with one of the largest and most influential legal organisations in the United Kingdom. GLD is seeking a highly capable, innovative and collaborative supplier to deliver end-to-end recruitment services that will directly support the attraction, assessment and recruitment of outstanding legal professionals for government. This contract represents a unique opportunity to shape the future of legal recruitment across central government and to influence the capability of the UK\u0027s legal system at the heart of public service.\nAs the UK\u0027s principal provider of legal services to central government, GLD plays a critical role in supporting the rule of law, advising on the policy agenda of the day, leading high-profile litigation, drafting and shaping legislation, and helping government departments deliver essential public services. With more than 3,400 employees-including around 2,600 solicitors and barristers-GLD is one of the largest legal organisations in the country. Our work touches every aspect of public life: from national security and international trade to employment rights, commercial agreements, public inquiries, constitutional matters and major public policy reforms.\nThrough this procurement, GLD seeks a recruitment partner capable of delivering a consistently high-quality, flexible and responsive service that can operate across a wide range of legal and cross-functional professional roles. This includes recruitment campaigns for qualified lawyers, senior legal specialists, commercial lawyers, employment lawyers, planning lawyers, public and private law practitioners, and a wide variety of specialist roles essential to the operation of modern government. The successful supplier will also support the recruitment of early talent, including legal trainees, pupillage candidates, legal apprentices and wider early-career colleagues entering the Government Legal Profession. These early talent routes are vital to the long-term capability of GLD and to the diversity and inclusiveness of the government legal workforce.\nIn addition to legal recruitment, the contract will include optional non-core services to support recruitment into cross-functional professional roles (such as HR, Digital, Finance and Commercial functions), Senior Civil Service (SCS) campaigns, and high-volume sifting or assessment activities where surge capacity is required. The successful supplier will therefore play an important role not only in shaping GLD\u0027s legal workforce, but also in supporting the organisation\u0027s broader operational capability and leadership pipeline.\nGLD is looking for a partner who shares our values and aims to deliver recruitment services of the highest quality. We are seeking suppliers who can demonstrate a commitment to excellence, innovation, equality, diversity and inclusion, and who understand the importance of building a transparent, fair and candidate-centred recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. The successful partner will be expected to provide insightful market intelligence, data-driven recommendations, skilled assessment and selection expertise, and high-quality candidate management throughout the process.\nThis procurement also offers suppliers the opportunity to work directly with GLD on long-term strategic workforce planning. GLD is undergoing significant organisational transformation, including enhancements to digital platforms, modernisation of HR systems, and the development of a national delivery model (\"A National GLD\") that reflects GLD\u0027s growing footprint across the UK. Our recruitment partner will have a front-row seat in shaping how talent is identified, attracted and selected for one of the most respected legal employers in the public sector. The successful supplier will be able to work collaboratively with GLD to introduce best-practice improvements, modern recruitment technologies, AI-enabled approaches (where appropriate), refined assessments, inclusive hiring practices and evidence-based attraction strategies that resonate with the modern legal talent market.\nThe contract term is 48 months, with the option to extend for up to 24 further months in 12-month increments. This provides suppliers with the stability and longevity to embed high-quality services, introduce meaningful innovation, and build deep relationships with the organisation. GLD values partnership working and is looking for a supplier who can act as a genuine extension of our internal recruitment team-bringing external expertise, insight and agility to complement GLD\u0027s strategic HR and operational functions.\nTUPE may apply to this contract. GLD will make anonymised staffing information available to shortlisted bidders to support due diligence and pricing considerations. Compliance with data protection, confidentiality requirements and the highest standards of information governance will be essential for all bidders wishing to engage with TUPE information.\nThe successful supplier will be required to:\n\u2022 Deliver high-quality recruitment and assessment processes across all core legal and early talent routes\n\u2022 Provide targeted attraction strategies, particularly for hard-to-fill and specialist roles\n\u2022 Design and deliver high-quality assessments with regular analysis of adverse impact\n\u2022 Provide insight, MI and market intelligence to support strategic decision-making\n\u2022 Offer surge capacity for high-volume or urgent campaigns\n\u2022 Deliver optional services for cross-functional professional recruitment and Senior Civil Service roles\n\u2022 Operate in compliance with Cabinet Office controls, Civil Service Recruitment Principles, GLD systems and data governance requirements\n\u2022 Continuously improve services throughout the contract through innovation, technology, candidate experience enhancement and collaborative partnership working\nThis is a prestigious opportunity for a supplier to work at the heart of the UK legal system and support one of the country\u0027s most respected legal organisations. We welcome bids from suppliers who can bring creativity, capability, robustness and a genuine appetite for partnership. GLD is committed to running a transparent, fair and open competition in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and encourages all interested suppliers to engage actively, ask questions early and submit a strong, compelling and high-quality tender.\nTo express an interest and seek all the procurement documents please request this from bids@governmentlegal.gov.uk",
    "documents": [
      {
        "description": "Not published",
        "documentType": "conflictOfInterest",
        "id": "conflictOfInterest"
      },
      {
        "description": "Bidders guide for the procurement",
        "documentType": "biddingDocuments",
        "format": "application/pdf",
        "id": "A-8443",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-8443"
      },
      {
        "description": "Service Specification",
        "documentType": "biddingDocuments",
        "format": "application/pdf",
        "id": "A-8445",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-8445"
      },
      {
        "datePublished": "2025-12-16T09:43:22Z",
        "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "tenderNotice",
        "format": "text/html",
        "id": "083138-2025",
        "noticeType": "UK4",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083138-2025"
      }
    ],
    "enquiryPeriod": {
      "endDate": "2025-12-22T12:00:00Z"
    },
    "hasRecurrence": true,
    "id": "GLD027 2025",
    "items": [
      {
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "description": "Recruitment services",
            "id": "79600000",
            "scheme": "CPV"
          }
        ],
        "deliveryAddresses": [
          {
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom",
            "region": "UK"
          }
        ],
        "id": "1",
        "relatedLot": "1"
      }
    ],
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "scheme": "UKPGA",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
    },
    "lotDetails": {
      "noLotsDivisionRationale": "Our decision is based on proportionality, market evidence, and governance practicality. Supplier engagement revealed significant capability overlap among Tier-1 providers, while smaller firms favoured lotting primarily for SME access. Multiple lots would add complexity and risk thin competition without added value. A single-lot approach ensures integrated data, accountability, and efficiency, while maintaining flexibility for specialist interventions when needed, as well as provision for bigger ticket items such as systems support/ATS (Applicant Tracking System)."
    },
    "lots": [
      {
        "awardCriteria": {
          "criteria": [
            {
              "description": "The Authority will award the contract to the Most Advantageous Tender using a Price per Quality Point (PQP) model. Only bids meeting the qualification criteria and minimum acceptable quality scores will be considered. The whole-life price submitted in the Pricing Schedule will be divided by the bidder\u0027s total weighted quality score to generate a cost per point of quality. The tender offering the lowest cost per point of quality will be ranked as the Most Advantageous Tender in accordance with Section 19 of the Procurement Act 2023.",
              "name": "Most Advantageous Tender (PQP Model)",
              "type": "price"
            }
          ],
          "weightingDescription": "The Authority will award the contract to the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) using a Price per Quality Point (PQP) model, as described in the Bidder\u0027s Guide. All bids must first meet the qualification requirements and minimum quality thresholds. Quality responses will be scored and weighted in accordance with the published criteria. The total tendered whole-life price will then be divided by the bidder\u0027s overall weighted quality score to determine the cost per point of quality. The tender with the lowest cost per quality point will be deemed the Most Advantageous Tender."
        },
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2030-05-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2032-03-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2026-06-01T00:00:00+01:00"
        },
        "hasOptions": true,
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "id": "1",
        "options": {
          "description": "These can be seen in the specification but include surge support."
        },
        "renewal": {
          "description": "The Authority reserves the right to extend the Contract where it is operationally necessary to ensure continuity of service, maintain stability during periods of organisational change, or secure continued delivery of high-quality recruitment support. Extensions may be exercised to accommodate fluctuations in demand, align with wider strategic workforce planning activity, support transition to new systems or organisational structures, or where the Authority considers that an extension offers the most efficient, effective and value-for-money means of meeting its requirements at that time. Any extension will be made at the Authority\u0027s discretion and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Contract and applicable procurement legislation."
        },
        "selectionCriteria": {
          "criteria": [
            {
              "description": "Not applicable",
              "type": "economic"
            },
            {
              "description": "Where specific certifications, standards, or qualifications are referenced, the Authority will accept demonstrably equivalent alternatives.",
              "type": "technical"
            }
          ]
        },
        "status": "active",
        "suitability": {
          "sme": true
        },
        "value": {
          "amount": 9827044.14,
          "amountGross": 11792452.97,
          "currency": "GBP"
        }
      }
    ],
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
    "procurementMethod": "open",
    "procurementMethodDetails": "Open procedure",
    "recurrence": {
      "dates": [
        {
          "startDate": "2029-07-01T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      ]
    },
    "specialRegime": [
      "concession"
    ],
    "status": "active",
    "submissionMethodDetails": "Clarifications and submissions must be submitted by email to bids@governmentlegal,gov.uk\nhttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department",
    "submissionTerms": {
      "electronicSubmissionPolicy": "allowed",
      "languages": [
        "en"
      ]
    },
    "tenderPeriod": {
      "endDate": "2026-01-12T12:00:00Z"
    },
    "title": "The Provision of Recruitment Services for the Government Legal Department",
    "value": {
      "amount": 9827044.14,
      "amountGross": 11792452.97,
      "currency": "GBP"
    }
  }
}