HR and Payroll System Supply and Implementation for Northern Ireland Assembly Commission

The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission is seeking a specialist human resources and payroll solution provider to supply, implement, and support a modern system for approximately 1,200 employees across multiple employing bodies. This is a separate procurement from a planned finance system procurement, following a best-of-breed approach. Key Requirements: The HR solution must manage the complete employee lifecycle including recruitment, onboarding, absence management, learning and development, and employee relations. The payroll system must handle multiple independent payrolls and pay groups, support concurrent employment contracts, manage statutory and occupational calculations, process HMRC submissions, and administer Northern Ireland Civil Service pensions, Assembly Members' Pension Scheme, and other applicable pension schemes. The system must accommodate the Assembly Commission's unique parliamentary operating context with appropriate data separation and access controls for staff, Assembly Members, Members' support staff, Party staff, and Policing Board staff. Scope includes system configuration, data migration and validation, integration with other corporate systems, testing, user training, go-live support, and ongoing maintenance. The solution must provide secure self-service functionality, comprehensive reporting capabilities including equality-monitoring requirements, role-based access controls, audit trails, and document management. Estimated Contract Value: £1.4M (excluding VAT) for an 8-year contract covering licensing, implementation, support, maintenance, and training. Procurement Process: The Assembly Commission will use a three-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure. Stage 1 requires evidence of participation conditions and relevant experience with a high-level solution description. Stage 2 includes written responses and supplier demonstrations. Stage 3 requires final submissions in recorded format. Evaluation will be based on Quality (60%), Cost (30%), and Social Value (10%).