Below are the contacts for our main commodity areas and procurement teams:

Recruitment services

The Department recruits mainly permanent staff. There are times when we need to employ temporary staff via agencies, or engage specific expertise from specialist organisations. Many of the Department’s teams are responsible for their own personnel needs, so there may be specialist short-term opportunities within specific policy areas that we are not aware of. If you are interested in working with the Department to supply temporary or specialist resources, please contact:

For temporary agency staff enquiries: Recruitment and interchange unit; T: 01928 794345

For specialist opportunities (such as consultancy services): Professional services and commodities category unit; T: 01928 794494

For work in a particular area (such as academies, research and so on) telephone the public communications unit: 0870 000 2288

For all other recruitment enquiries: Personnel helpline; T: 01928 794144

The Department’s commercial and procurement services team undertakes its recruitment exercises with support from human resources. We do not employ specialist procurement recruitment agencies.

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Directorate team for children, families and young people

Jason Skill, T: 0114 259 3367
Neil Oxley, T: 01325 392655

This team is the procurement and commercial business partner for children and families directorate and young people directorate. It provides strategic procurement and commercial advice and professional support for major education and children's related policy initiatives.

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Directorate team for schools

Mike Meredith, T: 020 7925 4781
Rachel MacAleese, T: 01325 392919

This team is the business partner for schools directorate and takes the lead for the consultancy-focused reforms across the Department. It provides strategic procurement advice and professional support for major education-related policy initiatives undertaken by schools directorate.

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Professional services and commodities category unit

This team has contract management responsibility on behalf of the Department for category management areas of business travel (covering rail, air and car hire) hotel and conference bookings, and desktop stationery. These framework agreements have expiry dates of 2010 and once expired, the Department will be collaborating with other government departments, including OGC (Office of Government Commerce), to unitise existing or new public sector agreements. The team is also responsible for advising the Department on existing compliant DCSF or other Government department (including Buying Solutions) frameworks that are in place for the engagement of professional services (including consultants and skilled interim personnel). Where frameworks are not in place, individual business units will be responsible for undertaking tailored procurements to meet their requirements, advertising in the Official Journal of the European Union or elsewhere, as appropriate.

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Business development unit

Kelvin McBride, T: 0114 259 1334

The purpose of this team is to improve the Department's competence in its management of delivery partnerships so that it can deliver effective policy outcomes. The team responsibilities include developing the Department's supplier management intelligence strategy and arrangements, running the DCSF/NDPB Procurement Forum, developing policy on contract management, and coordinating OGC statistical returns.

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IT category unit

Richy Smith, T: 01928 794802

The aim of the ICT category unit is to ensure that the Department's bought-in information and communications technology, systems and services meet the business need; fit our technical environment; provide best value for money and are bought and delivered, regularly and properly. This includes hardware and software; corporate and administrative systems; network and infrastructure products and services; voice, video and telephony products and systems, and related maintenance and support. Information on how suppliers can be included on these frameworks can be found on the OGC website.

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Research intelligence team

Dave Harp, T: 0114 259 4118

This team is responsible for ensuring that all research and evaluation is commissioned in line with Departmental and Treasury procurement requirements and offer a fully comprehensive commissioning service for all projects funded by the Department, from the research budget or programme funds. They are also responsible for the approval of all research funded by the Department which will be carried out under a contract with an external organisation; this includes policy evaluations and consultancy that includes external research.

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Media category unit

Currently, we have a range of contractual arrangements in place which cover a wide range of media areas including our own contracts and framework agreements or arrangements to access other government department contracts/frameworks. The Department is developing a category management approach to procurement which will result in realigning and brigading our media supply.

Initially this has resulted in the award of a six-year contract for a Publishing Delivery Service (an end-to-end managed service producing and delivering both hard copy and e-copy publications to our external audiences). This contract utilises a third party supply base, so while the Department will not be re-tendering until at least 2014 (we have the option of a two-year extension), the contractor is keen to engage with prospective new suppliers.

You can offer your services by registering your interest via their website. The website provides useful information and includes a helpful list of frequently asked questions.

The next stage of our category development approach is focusing on creative services, including PR, complex design and branding, exhibitions, conferences, video, film, photography and writing services – plus the underpinning digital infrastructure required to achieve an innovative and sustainable solution that delivers value for money for the Department and its partners. We have been working with a number of other government departments and COI (Central Office of Information) to scope the market and develop our procurement strategy.

The DCSF, in collaboration with its partners, is seeking a supplier/consortium/partnership arrangement as an Integrated Service Provider to provide and manage a range of creative media services to support marketing campaigns and communication activity across multi-channels. Further information regarding this tender (and any future requirement) can be found on the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) website where all departmental tenders are advertised or by looking on the Department’s website.

Key Dates:

For advertising services (national and regional TV, radio, press advertising, media buying and strategic campaign consultancy) we will continue to use the Central Office of Information (COI).

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Commercial policy team

Lois Devey, T: 01325 392666
Jack Salter, T: 0114 259 3453

This team provides general commercial policy, procurement and contract advice, assistance and support. They are responsible for undertaking procurement initiatives on behalf of the Department and liaising with the Office of Government Commerce on Government-wide initiatives.

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Approaching local authorities

The simplest approach is to contact the authority directly and ask for details of their methods and requirements. The Municipal year book on the Localgov website, lists the major consortia, providing contact points in councils throughout the country. General queries on local authority tendering issues can be addressed to:

Local Government Competition and Quality Division
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
5th floor
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
Tel: 020 7944 4145

Mr Rehan Haidar
Companies, Trading and Procurement Branch
Local Government Capacity and Modernisation Division
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Zone 3/H6
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
Tel: 020 7944 5157

Further information can be found on OGC’s Supplying Government site.

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Other enquiries

If you would like to contact a policy team directly to enquire about potential contract opportunities or have a general enquiry not covered by any of the above, please email the Public communications unit; T: 0870 000 2288 or F: 01928 794248.

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