---
title: "Executive Agency Support for SCS3 Permanent Recruitment Campaign"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078710"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078710"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078710.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078710.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Department for Business and Trade"
published: "2026-10-14"
---

# Executive Agency Support for SCS3 Permanent Recruitment Campaign

Buyer: Department for Business and Trade  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078710

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078710.json)

## Summary

The Department for Business and Trade procured executive search and recruitment agency services to appoint its Director General Chief Operating Officer at Senior Civil Service level 3 (SCS3). The work covered sourcing candidates, carrying out due diligence, supporting interviews and administering the recruitment process. This is a specialist senior-executive recruitment requirement for a central government department, rather than general staffing or high-volume recruitment. The buying organisation is the Department for Business and Trade, based in London. The procurement records one completed lot for the recruitment services; the work relates to filling the department’s senior operational leadership post.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Korn Ferry. The department used a direct award below the public procurement threshold, without competition. The contract was signed on 13 October 2026 and runs from 13 October 2026 to 13 March 2027. Its value is £60,000 excluding VAT and £72,000 including VAT. The award is active and the contract is active. The procurement comprised one lot, covering the executive search and recruitment campaign. No evaluation criteria or competitive assessment basis are recorded; the stated route was a non-competitive direct award. The awarded scope is the appointment of the department’s SCS3 Director General Chief Operating Officer, including candidate sourcing, due diligence, interview support and recruitment administration.

This award demonstrates demand from the Department for Business and Trade for specialist executive search to fill a top-level civil service leadership role. Suppliers seeking to compete for comparable requirements would need credible experience sourcing senior executives, managing candidate due diligence and supporting structured interviews, alongside reliable administration of a sensitive recruitment campaign. The work calls for the reach and judgement to identify suitable candidates for a senior public-sector operational post, and the capacity to coordinate the stages of a focused appointment process. Korn Ferry, a large recruitment supplier, was selected through a direct award without competition; this procurement therefore provides evidence of the buyer’s requirement and its chosen route, rather than a tested comparison of competing offers.

## Notice

Provision of executive search and recruitment agency services for the appointment of the Department for Business and Trade's Director General Chief Operating Officer (SCS3), including candidate sourcing, due diligence, interview support and recruitment administration.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096791-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 13 Oct 2026 - 13 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £60,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Department for Business and Trade |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2DY |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Korn Ferry (UK) Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79600000 - Recruitment services

## Release History

- 14 Oct 2026 at 09:20 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096791-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096791-2026
  14th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078710. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078710.json.