Planning

Recruitment Services

OXFORD CITY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

07 May 2025 at 13:54

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

01 May 2025 at 16:48

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Oxford City Council is in the planning stage of a procurement process to establish a new recruitment services framework. Under the title "Recruitment Services", this initiative falls within the services industry category and is aimed at reshaping recruitment agency partnerships to meet modern labour market needs. The process is currently in the planning phase with significant engagement activities scheduled, including webinars on the 20th and 22nd of May 2025 and one-to-one supplier sessions in early June. The council, based in Oxford, United Kingdom, intends to publish the invitation to tender on the 4th of August 2025. The planned contract period for the new framework is from 1st December 2025 to 30th November 2029. The total value of the procurement is estimated at £10,000,000, with provisions in place for a competitive flexible procedure under a framework agreement.

This tender presents substantial opportunities for businesses, particularly those specialised in sectors such as ICT & Digital, Legal, and Housing Services, among others. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to participate, reflecting the council’s commitment to supplier diversification. The multi-lot structure aligned by job function is designed to provide more tailored opportunities, enabling specialist firms to leverage their deep sector knowledge. Engaging early, especially through the scheduled market engagement activities, will allow businesses to influence the direction and framework of the tender, potentially leading to long-term partnerships fostering growth through collaboration with a progressive public sector entity.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Recruitment Services

Notice Description

1. Introduction Oxford City Council (OCC) has ambitious plans to accelerate the delivery of affordable and council-owned housing, improve public services, and lead the way in sustainability and inclusion. We are proud to serve a diverse community and work collaboratively to reduce inequality, improve wellbeing, and respond proactively to the challenges facing our city. We are a values-led organisation, committed to: * Delivering service excellence * Acting with accountability * Fostering innovation and inclusion * Communicating with honesty and respect As part of our ongoing transformation and future workforce planning, we are reviewing our approach to recruitment agency partnerships and would like to invite providers to engage with us at this early stage. You can find out more about our work and strategic priorities at: Oxford City Council Website 2. Strategic Context Oxford City Council's Strategy 2024-2028 outlines five key priorities: 1. Good, affordable homes 2. A strong, fair economy 3. Thriving communities 4. Zero carbon Oxford 5. A well-run council Key planned activities include: * Accelerating the development of affordable housing * Tackling health inequalities and supporting young people into employment * Improving the condition and management of 8,000+ council-owned homes * Continuing to deliver core statutory services such as waste collection, housing, licensing, planning, and regulatory services Our People Strategy underpins these ambitions, focusing on building a high-performing, inclusive, and agile workforce. It also addresses challenges such as: * Mental health and wellbeing * Cost-of-living pressures * Technological advancement and changing legislation * Financial constraints and a competitive talent market Vision: To be a high-performing, agile, and inclusive organisation delivering value for Oxford's citizens. Mission: To secure the Council's future success by attracting, developing, and retaining a talented, diverse, and committed workforce. 3. Procurement Overview: What We Are Looking For As part of our upcoming procurement exercise in 2025, we are seeking to refresh and reshape our recruitment agency framework to better reflect the needs of the organisation and the modern labour market. The council's annual agency spend is 2.5 million pounds per year. In accordance with public procurement regulations we will be launching a new tender for recruitment agency services. Current Framework Overview Our current recruitment framework consists of two lots: * Lot 1: Professional and Business Support * Lot 2: Housing, Property and Regulatory Services Work is currently distributed across four agencies, primarily supporting temporary staffing needs. Future Vision Going forward, we propose a more tailored and specialist structure, with individual lots aligned by job function rather than service area. This is aimed at: * Enabling greater flexibility * Encouraging supplier specialisation * Supporting hard-to-fill and business-critical roles Proposed Lots * ICT & Digital * Legal Services * Planning and Regeneration * Finance * Regulatory Services & Housing * Professional and Business Support * Property & Surveying We are particularly interested in engaging with specialist agencies that have deep sector knowledge in areas such as surveying, legal, and housing services. Proposed Framework The proposed lots may be structured either as a fixed four-year framework or as an open framework. We are keen to hear suppliers' views on these options before finalising the approach, and this will be a key topic of discussion during the Industry Day. 4. Key Objectives for the New Framework * Increase access to diverse and qualified candidates * Reduce time-to-hire and recruitment delays * Address skills shortages in key technical and professional roles * Improve market responsiveness for permanent hard-to-fill vacancies

Planning Information

We are inviting suppliers to participate in our upcoming engagement activities to help shape the new framework: Activity Date Market Engagement Webinars 20th May @ 14:00 & 22nd May @ 10:00 One-to-One Supplier Sessions W/C 2nd June 2025 "Proposed" Invitation to Tender Published 4th August 2025 Please complete the attached Expression of Interest (EOI) form to select your preferred market engagement session. A confirmation with joining instructions will be shared ahead of the event. 6. Expression of Interest (EOI) We invite you to register your interest in participating in the engagement process. Please complete and return the attached form indicating: • Your preferred session date • Your areas of specialist expertise • Any topics you would like to see discussed on the day https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=OQ89nyteiE-dQ-k0T5qgLYenVTRKGG9Job1Mv7KYT61UNENBWFNNSThEQ1A1UVY5VjY4VEc3SFFGSy4u&route=shorturl or https://forms.office.com/e/d1i8bvX9Md 7. Contact Information If you have any queries or would like to discuss the upcoming procurement, please contact: Natasha Davis Recruitment Consultant Ndavis@oxford.gov.uk

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-050bda
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/019421-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79600000 - Recruitment services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£10,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 May 20259 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Dec 2025 - 30 Nov 2029 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
OXFORD CITY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@oxford.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
OXFORD
Postcode
OX1 1BX
Post Town
Oxford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC
Delivery Location
TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC
Local Authority
Oxford
Electoral Ward
Holywell
Westminster Constituency
Oxford West and Abingdon

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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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