Department seeks a range of expertise

Credit: Pxhere

The Department for Work and Pensions has signed a multimillion-pound deal for short-term support with digital projects.

The deal, which is worth £4.1m and runs from 5 July until 31 March 2022, has been awarded to FDM Group.

The professional services firm will be tasked with delivering “support on a range of projects across DWP Digital” over the coming months. This will include providing staff with a variety of “project delivery… and business change or analysis [skills], operating within agile, waterfall and cloud-based environments”.

This will include professionals from disciplines including “technology delivery, software development, project management… business management, data services, infrastructure engineering and information security”.

The support provided by FDM will be detailed for in individual statements of work for each project.

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“The supplier will provide a ‘pool’ of candidates when the customer requires additional resources,” the contract said. “The customer can then interview and select the required candidates. Once the customer has selected the candidates the on-boarding process for that particular order form will be agreed between the principle contact and other representatives of the customer and the account manager for the supplier.”

Once the chosen staff have been brought on board, they will work “under the direction of DWP managers and receive day-to-day direction. 

“The process of service requisition will be managed by the DWP Digital People and Recruitment team,” the contract added. “All statements of work and order forms issued will require appropriate approvals from the DWP business areas, finance and commercial business partners.”

Services provided by FDM will, in the short-term, be delivered remotely.

The department added: “This situation will be monitored and, if there is an opportunity for safe working from a DWP hub site, the services will be delivered to all DWP Technology Hubs – to include Manchester, Newcastle, London, Leeds and Blackpool – and any other DWP locations where agreed and should be able to move between hub locations, if required by the buyer.”

Once the support work is concluded, FDM will be expected to work with the DWP to “to ensure knowledge transfer occurs and that any handover of service is carried out effectively”.

“In addition, FDM will work with the buyer to highlight and support any additional needs that may have arisen throughout the engagement,” the contract said. “FDM service delivery managers will also be available during the offboarding process to provide guidance on options for future developments of the buyer’s cloud-based technology or as new cloud technologies or services become available.”

Although the deal only lasts for nine months, the contract provides for two additional extensions of 12 months each, if required.