GDS will be the main beneficiary of the central department’s purchase of software and support from professional social network

Credit: Pxfuel

The Cabinet Office has signed a two-year contract with LinkedIn to help find suitable candidates for “specialist” government roles, including scores of digital professionals, as well as senior leadership positions.

During the first 12 months of the deal, which comes into effect on 3 December, the online network will provide 17 licences of its £7,275-a-year LinkedIn Talent Solutions software platform, as well as capacity for 144 posts to be advertised by Cabinet Office agencies via a collective ‘Job Slots’ arrangement.

The total cost to the department during the initial year will be £205,695.

The requirement volumes will be reviewed before the start of the second half of the engagement, newly published commercial documents reveal, with up to £600,000 being spent in total across the two-year lifespan of the deal.

The Government Digital Service will be one of the major beneficiaries of the contract, with six licences and 40 job postings allotted to the technology agency during the next year. 

The Government Recruitment Service accounts for almost half – 70 – of the deal’s Job Slots allowance. The GRS executive search function will receive five licences for LinkedIn Talent Solutions.

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Four licences will be used by the Government Commercial Function, which has been allotted 20 job listings; the Cabinet Office’s People and Places team and its Director General Workforce unit will each account for one licence and three postings for vacant positions.

Although the organisation itself will not receive any software licences, eight of the Job Slots allowance will be dedicated to positions at the Crown Commercial Service.

The company’s listing on the government’s Digital Marketplace platform indicates that “LinkedIn Talent Solutions is an extension to [the] Linkedin.com… online professional network platform”.

It offers users a range of additional features, including “advanced search filters and spotlights… smart suggestions for recommended skills, locations, titles, and more, [and the ability to] prioritise candidates who are ready [or] open to make a move”.

Customers can also use “personalised InMail Messaging” tools, as well as the notifications when “top candidates update their profile”, the product listing added.

The program also provides analytics reports and an applicant-tracking system.

According to the contract, the Cabinet Office requires “access to a large diverse UK-based candidate pool of 10 million-plus” people, as well as the “ability to target both the active and passive candidate market when posting jobs and conducting candidate search activities”.

The department also needs the “ability to strategically post [and] advertise jobs to specific candidates in the target market area whose skills and experience are best suited to the roles being advertised”. 

“This is particularly useful in recruiting to the more specialist roles in government,” it added. “The tool must provide insight into the most relevant target market [and] geographical locations for the job listing.”

LinkedIn’s Digital Marketplace listing claims that the Talent Solutions platform provides subscribers with “an intuitive, AI data-driven set of capabilities”.

“With LinkedIn Recruiter you can gain access to the full member network and reach talent you won’t find anywhere else,” it adds. “A hire is made every 10 seconds on LinkedIn. Job Slots give you the flexibility you need to fill roles as they open and reach the candidates you won’t find anywhere else.”