Official UK procurement notice
260094 Contract for Staff Payment & Management Services in Sub Saharan Africa
Authority: Queen's University Belfast (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionQueen's profile in the wider Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region continues to grow and the University has developed meaningful engagement with a number of key strategic recruitment partners. The SSA student population at Queen's has grown over the past 5 years, with the University first investing in a local presence in 2021 to engage with educational agents, high schools and our INTO Joint Venture partner locally and, critically, to support prospective students in their application journey.
Through our In-Country Regional Manager, Queen's has maintained a market presence in Africa for a number of years. To continue to support this arrangement, Queen's requires a supplier to continue to facilitate the employment of our Regional Manager and provide payroll services through a legally registered company in Nigeria. This will enable Queen's to maintain a visible market presence in Sub-Saharan Africa market, supporting the University's wider student recruitment and international engagement objectives.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 May 2032, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Recruitment services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£360,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Technical: Technical criteria is made up of the following sub-criteria: Operational Management 10% Credibility Assurance 10% Data and Security Management 10% Responsible Procurement 10%
- Price
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 May 2032
- First published
- 1 Jun 2026, 14:43 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Aug 2026, 14:40 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 10 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
260094- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-051454- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06aa73Find a Tender
- Risks
Risks that Queen’s considers could either jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the public contract, or may require a subsequent modification to the contract under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the Procurement Act 2023 are detailed within the Specification. The Specification forms part of the associated tender documents, which can be accessed via the link provided within this notice
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 26 Jun 2026, 16:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 19 Jun 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
1 Jun 2026 → 7 Aug 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published142 days ago1 Jun 2026, 14:43 BST
- Clarification questions by124 days ago19 Jun 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline117 days ago26 Jun 2026, 16:00 BST
- Award decision expected by102 days ago10 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent98 days ago15 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends88 days ago24 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts80 days ago2 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published75 days ago7 Aug 2026, 14:40 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Jun 2026- Tender notice published1 Jun 2026, 14:43 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published15 Jul 2026, 15:43 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete15 Jul 2026, 15:43 BST
- Contract signature expected28 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published7 Aug 2026, 14:40 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AfaraEdSME2 Aug 2026 – 1 Aug 2028 · up to 1 Aug 2032Extensions: The Contract shall be for an initial period of 2 years, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review. · Options: The Contract shall be for an initial period of 2 years, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review. The Contract includes right to additional purchases during its term, as set out in the associated tender documents. Risks that Queen's considered could either jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the public contract, or may require a subsequent modification to the contract under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the Procurement Act 2023 were detailed within the Specification, which formed part of the associated tender documents as provided via the Tender Notice. | £360,000 | 10 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
260094 Contract for Staff Payment & Management Services in Sub Saharan Africa · AfaraEdSME
- Signed
- 30 Jul 2026
- Value
- £360,000
- Period
- 2 Aug 2026 – 1 Aug 2028 · up to 1 Aug 2032 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The Contract shall be for an initial period of 2 years, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review
- Options
- The Contract shall be for an initial period of 2 years, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review. The Contract includes right to additional purchases during its term, as set out in the associated tender documents. Risks that Queen's considered could either jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the public contract, or may require a subsequent modification to the contract under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the Procurement Act 2023 were detailed within the Specification, which formed part of the associated tender documents as provided via the Tender Notice
2 agreed KPIs: Full compliance with local regulations · Zero complaints from in-house representatives
- Full compliance with local regulations
- Zero complaints from in-house representatives
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- AFARAED LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Tender documents can be accessed via the link provided within this notice
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender