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LinkedIn Recruitment Platform

OFSTED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

23 Sep 2026 at 14:57

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Ofsted procured access to LinkedIn’s recruitment platform for its human resources team. The service supports recruitment by enabling staff to source, identify and engage with potential candidates. It is a recruitment software service, rather than a general software supply, and is intended for Ofsted’s HR recruitment activity. Delivery covers England, across the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. The requirement was bought as a single package through the G-Cloud 14 framework. The selected supplier was LinkedIn Unlimited, which provides the platform access.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to LinkedIn Unlimited. Ofsted signed the contract on 23 September 2026; its value is £53,280. The source records the award as active and the contract as active. The procedure was a limited award without a prior call for competition, using the G-Cloud 14 framework. Ofsted’s stated rationale was that intellectual property or exclusive rights meant only a particular supplier could provide the required service and there were no reasonable alternatives. Price was the stated award criterion. One bid was recorded for the requirement, and the contract includes an optional one-year extension. The tender lists the lot as cancelled, but the award and signed contract are recorded as active; the process outcome is therefore an active contract award.

This award shows demand at Ofsted for a specialist recruitment platform that gives HR staff tools to find and engage candidates across the organisation’s English footprint. A credible competitor when this requirement returns would need to demonstrate a platform with comparable candidate-sourcing and engagement functionality, suitable for sustained use by a public-sector HR team. The award was made on price, so clear and competitive pricing would matter alongside the product’s ability to meet the stated recruitment need. Ofsted used the G-Cloud 14 framework and justified selecting a particular supplier on intellectual-property or exclusive-rights grounds, rather than running a competition following a published call. Suppliers seeking to compete in future would therefore need to establish that their platform is a viable alternative and address any relevant rights or exclusivity claims.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

LinkedIn Recruitment Platform

Notice Description

Access to the LinkedIn Recruitment Platform, which is an essential tool used by the HR team to support recruitment activities, including sourcing, identifying and engaging with potential candidates. This contract was awarded via G-Cloud 14 Framework

Lot Information

Lot 1

Access to the LinkedIn Recruitment Platform, which is an essential tool used by the HR team to support recruitment activities, including sourcing, identifying and engaging with potential candidates. This contract was awarded via G-Cloud 14 Framework

Options: Optional 1 year extension available

Procurement Information

Section 41, Schedule 5 - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS/EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS Due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0778c9
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090221-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£53,280 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
OFSTED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MANCHESTER
Postcode
M1 2WD
Postcode Area
Manchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD33 Manchester
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Manchester
Electoral Ward
Piccadilly
Westminster Constituency
Manchester Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

LinkedIn Unlimited

Further Information

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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