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Jobs and Career Services Call-Off Contract

Department for Work and Pensions

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

14 Oct 2026 at 13:44

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Work & Pensions commissioned social research services connected with its Jobs and Careers Service (JCS) pilot. The pilot is being run at three pathfinder research sites, with in-house researchers evaluating delivery models and gathering early findings. The work is therefore focused on evaluating employment and careers support service models, rather than delivering the services themselves. The procurement is classified as a service and identifies the United Kingdom as the delivery country; no more specific delivery locations are stated. The buyer is the Department for Work & Pensions.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to IFF Research Ltd. The award date was 18 September 2026, and the awarded value is £4,000,000. The contract period runs from 18 September 2026 to 17 September 2030. The requirement was procured through a selective call-off from a framework agreement. The stated evaluation is to test delivery models and gather early insights from the Jobs and Careers Service pilot; no separate award-scoring criteria are provided. The opportunity was marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. The tender submission deadline was 17 September 2026 at 12:00.

For firms that did not win, this award provides a clear example of the Department for Work & Pensions commissioning research to evaluate employment and careers support models during a pilot. A credible competitor for a future requirement of this kind would need to design and deliver robust evaluation across multiple research sites, assess differing service delivery models, and produce useful early findings for policy and operational decisions. Experience working with public-sector employment or careers services, sound research methods, and the capacity to coordinate work across several locations would be relevant. The selected supplier is a small business, and the procurement was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, indicating that a smaller specialist research firm can compete through the framework call-off route.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Jobs and Career Services Call-Off Contract

Notice Description

The Jobs and Careers Service (JCS) is currently being piloted through 3 pathfinder research sites, with in-house researchers conducting the evaluation to test delivery models and gather early insights.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-92d60819-56ee-4a43-8974-76c8bf9e7fec
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/60d1cbb4-f825-448b-be94-329019c7c548
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a framework agreement
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79315000 - Social research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£4,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Oct 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
18 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
18 Sep 2026 - 17 Sep 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Work and Pensions
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1H 9NA
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

IFF Research

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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