Procurement Intelligence

Find a TenderAwarded

Published 30 Oct 2024, 16:06 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

ID 4993870 AFBI – Provision of Temporary Workers, Fixed and Permanent Recruitment, Executive Search and Recruitment Advertising Services

Official notice

Authority: Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (Central government)

Framework agreement9 lotsServicesOpen procedureSME suitable

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)

Framework ceiling (notional)£45,000,000total for 9 lots · framework ceiling, not attributable revenue

Submissions closed 5 Dec 2024awarded 8 Aug 2025

Lots 9see the lot list below

What is being bought9 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)

has a requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision

of skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

CPV: Advertising services · Placement services of personnel · Recruitment services · Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

How this framework works

From the published notice

Places: up to 23 suppliers · 15 bids on the busiest of 9 lots (0.7 per place) · 8 appointed

Lots and requirements (9)Procurement structure

9 lots · all with a published value · evaluation weights differ by lot

Every one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £4,005,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.

Lot #1Health and Safety, Waste Management and Estates ManagementAwardedPublished value£1,602,000

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #2ScientificAwardedPublished value£22,027,500

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #3Information TechnologyAwardedceiling above

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #4Business SupportAwardedPublished value£4,806,000

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #5People and Culture and Legal servicesAwardedPublished value£1,602,000

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #6Financial Administrators and Qualified AccountantsAwardedceiling above

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months eachVariant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #7Industrial staffAwardedPublished value£2,002,500

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months eacH.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #8Executive SearchAwardedPublished value£2,700,000

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Lot #9Recruitment AdvertisingAwardedPublished value£2,250,000

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has a

requirement for a multi-supplier framework for the provision of

skilled workers across a variety of specialisms using temporary

agency workers, fixed term and permanent placement and executive

search. There is also a requirement to appoint and advertising

agency to advertise AFBI’s recruitment competitions. This framework

will provide the following services:- 1. Provision of temporary

workers 2. Recruitment for fixed term workers 3. Recruitment of

permanent workers 4. Provision of an executive search service 5.

Provision of a recruitment advertising service

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: There are two options to extend for any period up to and including 12 months each.Variant bids: not allowed

79341000 Advertising services 79610000 Placement services of personnel 79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.

Lot	Quality	Price	Social value	Split
1 · Health and Safety, Waste Management and Estates Management	59.5%	30%	10.5%
2 · Scientific	70%	30%	—
3 · Information Technology	59.5%	30%	10.5%
4 · Business Support	59.5%	30%	10.5%
5 · People and Culture and Legal services	59.5%	30%	10.5%
6 · Financial Administrators and Qualified Accountants	59.5%	30%	10.5%
7 · Industrial staff	59.5%	30%	10.5%
8 · Executive Search	59.5%	30%	10.5%
9 · Recruitment Advertising	59.5%	30%	10.5%

What this means for your bid

Price carries 30 points on every lot: a 10% discount moves about 3 points.
“ID 4993870 AFBI – Provision of Temporary Workers, Fixed and Permanent…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 23 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: Awarded
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
First published: 30 Oct 2024, 16:06 GMT
Last source update: 29 Aug 2025, 10:54 BST
Award evaluation window: 5 Dec 2024 – …
Authority reference: 4993870
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-052335
Classification (CPV): Advertising servicesPlacement services of personnelRecruitment servicesSupply services of personnel including temporary staff
Delivery area: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04b2b2 Find a Tender

Review and risk notes

Review procedure: CPD will comply with the Public Contracts. Regulations 2015 and, where.... appropriate, will incorporate a. standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point. information on the award of contract.. is.. communicated to. tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the. award decision. This provides time for the.. unsuccessful.. tenderers. to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into...

Publisher note: The successful Suppliers' performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with the tender documentation. Suppliers not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a supplier fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance can result in the Supplier being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of. three years from the date of issue.

How it was run

Official notice

Appointment period ends: 5 Dec 2024, 15:00 GMT
Submission channel: {"written"}
Accepted languages: en
Bids opened: 5 Dec 2024, 15:30 GMT

Timeline

5 Dec 2024 → 29 Aug 2025 · 4 dates

Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown
5 Dec 2024, 15:00 GMT
Bids opened
5 Dec 2024, 15:30 GMT
Bids must remain valid until
5 Mar 2025, 23:59 GMT
Notice published
29 Aug 2025, 10:54 BST

Notice history

1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender

Status changed to complete
29 Aug 2025, 10:54 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Suppliers appointed 8admitted to the panel · see the list ↓

Bids received 153 from SMEs · busiest of 9 lots

Contracts signed 9latest 8 Aug 2025

9 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.

Contracts

All 2 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £4,005,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.

Lot 1- Health and Safety, Waste Management and Estates Management
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£1,602,000
Status
active
Lot 2- Scientific
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£22,027,500
Status
active
Lot 3- Information Technology
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
ceiling above
Status
active
Lot 4- Business Support
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£4,806,000
Status
active
Lot 5- People and Culture and Legal services
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£1,602,000
Status
active
Lot 6- Financial Administrators and Qualified Accountants
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
ceiling above
Status
active
Lot 7- Industrial staff
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£2,002,500
Status
active
Lot 8- Executive Search
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£2,700,000
Status
active
Lot 9- Recruitment Advertising
Signed
8 Aug 2025
Value
£2,250,000
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Lot	Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1 · Health and Safety, Waste Management and Estates Management	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	2	—	—
2 · Scientific	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	2	—	—
3 · Information Technology	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	2	—	—
4 · Business Support	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	2	—	—
5 · People and Culture and Legal services	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	3	—	—
6 · Financial Administrators and Qualified Accountants	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	2	—	—
7 · Industrial staff	15bids · 15 electronic · 3 from abroad	1	—	—
8 · Executive Search	15bids · 15 electronic · 1 from abroad	0	—	—
9 · Recruitment Advertising	15bids · 15 electronic · 1 from abroad	1	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Agri-Food and BioSciences Institute

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentBody governed by public lawGeneral public services 18a Newforge Lane, BELFAST, UK, BT9 5PXContact email Published organisation website ↗

Dispute resolution & review bodies

The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amendedReview body Belfast

Framework contractors & participating bidders

8 commercial parties on the notice

ANDERSON SPRATT GROUP LTDFramework contractor Anderson House, BELFAST, UK, BT4 2GUContact email, phone
APPLE RECRUITMENT SERVICESFramework contractor CAUSEWAY TOWER, 9 James Street South, BELFAST, UK, BT2 8DNContact email, phone
CPL RESOURCES PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANYFramework contractor 8/34 Percy Place, Dublin, IE, 2Contact email, phone
HAYS SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTDFramework contractor 250 Euston Road, LONDON, UK, NW1 2AFContact email, phone
MCS PERSONNEL LIMITEDFramework contractor 10th Floor, The Ewart, 3 Bedford Street, BELFAST, UK, BT2 7EPContact email, phone
PLATINUM RECRUITMENT NI LTDFramework contractor 112A Market Street, Downpatrick, UK, BT30 6LZContact email, phone
Staffline Recruitment NI Ltd.Framework contractor 49 Queen's Square, BELFAST, UK, BT1 3FGContact email, phone
The UK Recruitment Co LtdFramework contractor 33-34 Soho Square, London, UK, W1D 3QUContact email, phone

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria