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Current tender opportunities

Title: Delivery of 320 overseas volunteering placements for 320 graduates which will offer the opportunity for participants to develop skills which are valued by graduate employers, particularly team working and leadership.

Description:

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) is inviting proposals to deliver 320 overseas volunteering placements for 2009 and 2010 graduates who have received full means tested support during their final year at university (eligibility to be validated via the Student Loans Company via BIS officials). All placements must have commenced by October 2010.

This scheme is designed to enable recent graduates, who would not otherwise be able to afford to take part in overseas volunteering placements, to access these opportunities to build the soft skills which will boost their employability in the eyes of graduate employers.

The successful contractor will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies:

• previous experience of operating volunteering placements of this kind
• the ability to deliver placements which are well-organised, well-structured and will enable participants to exercise the skills which are valued by graduate employers, specifically team working and leadership,
• the ability to support, advice and protect volunteers before, during and at the end of their placements to ensure they are able to make the most of the experience in a safe environment;
• the ability to provide a robust application process for the scheme, which will ensure that participants are selected on the basis of specific competencies
• a proven background in delivering placements which are of a sustainable nature, which are genuinely required by, and will be of real benefit to, the host community which will be conducted responsibly with due regard to environmental, social and local issues;
• a commitment to cooperating with local and national government, non-government and community groups in the host country(/ies);
• the ability to create value for money by creating a funding model which keeps the amount of supplementary funding required from the graduate (such as flights, administration costs, visa etc) to a minimum.

Estimated total value over life of the Contract is £320,000.

Deadline for receipt of tenders: 12 noon on 18 December 2009

Download Invitation to Tender:

Invitation to tender for the provision of volunteering opportunities for graduates (269KB)