Official UK procurement notice
Executive and Senior Specialist Search and Associated Recruitment Services
Authority: APUC Ltd (Public body)
What is being bought6 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority is seeking Contractor(s) for the provision of Executive and Senior Specialist Search and Associated Recruitment Services to the higher education (HE) institutions and further education (FE) institutions (and affiliated bodies) in Scotland. A list of the Institutions can be found in Appendix E. In addition, the following purchasing consortia and their respective members have agreed in principle to participate in the Framework Agreement:
London Universities Purchasing Consortium and its members (LUPC) – Lots 3, 5 and 6 only
North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium and its members (NWUPC)
Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium its members (SUPC) – Lot 6 only
NHS National Procurement and its members
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
NHS Education for Scotland
NHS Golden Jubilee
NHS24
Scotland Excel and its members
Scottish Ambulance Service
Scottish Government
The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
The framework agreement will be available for use by the Scottish Ministers (including Agencies), Scottish Non-Departmental Public Bodies, offices in the Scottish Administration which are not ministerial offices, cross-border public authorities within the meaning of section 88(5) of the Scotland Act 1998, The Office for the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, councils constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, , bodies registered as social landlords under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Scottish health boards or special health boards, Student Loans Company Limited, the Commissioner of Northern Lighthouse operating as the Northern Lighthouse Board, Scottish Futures Trust, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Business Stream Ltd, the Business Gateway National Unit at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, further or higher education institutions being fundable bodies within the meaning of section 6 of the further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005, any public body established by or under the Scotland Act 1998 or any Act of the Scottish Parliament, any association of or formed by one or more of the foregoing, bodies financed wholly or mainly by one or more of the foregoing, bodies subject to management supervision by one or more of the foregoing and bodies more than half of the board of directors or members of which, or, in the case of a group of individuals, more than half of those individuals, being appointed by one or more of the foregoing. In addition to the contracting authorities listed, the framework agreement will be available to charities entered on the Scottish Charity Register and voluntary organisations entered on the Membership Database of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Information about agencies of the Scottish Ministers, Scottish Non-Departmental Public Bodies and offices in the Scottish Administration which are not ministerial offices are listed at
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/pu… ↗
Overview of the governance structure of public procurement for Scotland, including the Public Procurement Group.
- Recurrence: June 2030
CPV: Recruitment services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 36 suppliers
Lots and requirements (6)Procurement structure
6 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Recruitment related servicesRenewal UK, Scotland
This lot is for recruitment related services to support the recruitment activities of the institutions. The activities that may be included would be:
Succession planning
Board reviews
Salary and remuneration benchmarking
Skills audit
Candidate market scoping
Panel training
Unconscious bias training
Access to Recruitment Technology.
The pricing for this would be on an hourly, half day and day rate basis however fixed fees may be agreed on call off for a prescribed piece of work before this work is conducted.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service this lot. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
Lot #2Executive Search – NorthRenewal UK
This Lot relates to the provision of search and selection services for executive roles based in Scotland and the areas represented by NWUPC, including Northern Ireland. The Contractor shall be responsible for identifying, assessing, and presenting suitably qualified candidates in accordance with the Authority’s requirements.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service this Lot. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Lot #3Executive Search - SouthRenewal UK
This Lot relates to the provision of search and selection services for executive roles based in England and the areas represented by LUPC. The Contractor shall be responsible for identifying, assessing, and presenting suitably qualified candidates in accordance with the Authority’s requirements.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service this Lot. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
Lot #4Senior Specialist Search – NorthRenewal UK
This lot is for the search and selection of highly qualified candidates for senior specialist level roles based in Scotland and the areas represented by NWUPC, including Northern Ireland. The Contractor shall be responsible for identifying, assessing, and presenting suitably qualified candidates in accordance with the Authority’s requirements.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service each of these lots. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
Lot #5Senior Specialist Search – SouthRenewal UK
This lot is for the search and selection of highly qualified candidates for senior specialist level roles based in England and the areas represented by LUPC. The Contractor shall be responsible for identifying, assessing, and presenting suitably qualified candidates in accordance with the Authority’s requirements.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service each of these lots. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
Lot #6Chairs of Court and members of governing committees and boardsRenewal UK
This lot is for the search and selection of highly qualified candidates for Chairs and members of governing committees and board roles based in the UK.
The Authority is seeking to appoint a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 Contractors to service each of these lots. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Technical: 60%
- price: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: 60%
- Price: 40%
- Condition of participationno text publishedMinimum: Please refer to Question 4B.5 of the SPD and Economic and Financial Standing section of the Contract Notice. Tenderers must confirm that they can provide the following supporting evidence prior to award: Employers Liability: 5,000,000 GBP Public Liability: 5,000,000.00 GBP Profes…
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Executive and Senior Specialist Search and Associated Recruitment…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 36 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · June 2030
- First published
- 21 Oct 2025, 10:44 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 13 Apr 2026 – …
- Authority reference
PFB1048 AP- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-020525- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d080Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
Submission of Management Information following commencement of the Framework Agreement, the Contractor will provide a performance report to the Authority on a quarterly basis to include spend by Institution under the Framework Agreement for the reporting period. Contractors must provide the information on a quarterly basis, within 10 working days following the start of each quarter. Data must be uploaded to the website: ucsp.ac.uk ↗.
Publisher note: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The following should be submitted prior to award. It is for information only and will not be scored. Form of Tender Please confirm that you will be in a position to submit prior to award “Appendix A – Form of Tender” in the Technical Questionnaire in PCS-Tender. Freedom of Information Please confirm that you will be in a position to submit prior to award “Appendix B – Freedom of Information” if applicable in the Technical Questionnaire in PCS-Tender. Sustain Supply Chain Code of Conduct Please confirm that you will be in a position to submit prior to award “Appendix D – Sustain Supply Chain Code of Conduct” in the Technical Questionnaire in PCS-Tender. For Information only List of Institutions - Appendix E The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 31279. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363 Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/ A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: Leadership and governance career‑pathway awareness sessions Executive‑level mentoring or coaching for emerging leaders Support for return to leadership or senior‑career returner programmes Mock interviews and application support for senior or specialist roles Pro bono strategic recruitment advice (succession planning, senior hiring, workforce strategy) Workshops on inclusive executive recruitment and reducing bias at senior levels Access to leadership, governance, and strategic HR eLearning modules Guest lectures or talks on public‑sector leadership and senior career development Diversity and inclusion initiatives focused on leadership representation Volunteering or pro bono support for boards, charities, or governance groups (SC Ref:824413)
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 13 Apr 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 13 Apr 2026, 15:00 BST
Timeline
15 Jan 2026 → 13 Apr 2026 · 4 dates- Next notice expected286 days ago15 Jan 2026
- Notice published235 days ago6 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMT
- Admission / appointment period ends198 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown13 Apr 2026, 14:00 BST
- Bids opened198 days ago13 Apr 2026, 15:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Mar 2026- Published value updated to £12,000,0006 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMTwas £28,000,000
- Status changed to active6 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMT
- Procurement method changed6 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMT
- Deadline published: 13 Apr 2026, 14:00 BST6 Mar 2026, 15:12 GMT
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Sheriff Court HouseReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.