Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom

1. Title: PRODUCT OWNER FOR A SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITY – SHORT DEADLINE
2. Awarding Authority: Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), GB Email: Paul.Hayes105@mod.gov.uk.
3. Contract type: Service contract
4. Description: A Product Owner to act as an independent interface between the Military, awarding authority and a contracted software development team.
1. Independently assess service progression.
2. Attend and advise change boards.
3. Add depth to and ensure the delivery of requirements.
4. A dedicated POC for engagement with all project stakeholders.
5. CPV Code(s): 72000000, 72262000, 72212000
6. NUTS code(s): UKG, UKG3, UKG33
7. Main site or location of works, main place of delivery or main place of performance: West Midlands
Address where the work will take place: The exact working locations cannot be specified in this advertisement. The working location will predominantly be in the West Midlands with required travel to the South West. International travel will also be required, which will also be discussed further at interview.
8. Reference attributed by awarding authority: SPCFP/006-3
9. Estimated value of requirement: Maximum day rate: £1,200
10. Closing date for applications 25.6.2021 (23:59).
11. Address to which they must be sent: For further information regarding the above contract notice please visit
12. Other information: Deadline for asking questions: Tuesday 22 June 2021 at 11:59pm GMT
Specialist role: Product manager
Off-payroll (IR35) determination: Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply
Latest start date: Tuesday 31 August 2021
Expected contract length: 1 year 9 months, until 05 May 2023
About the work
Early market engagement
Who the specialist will work with 1. You will work for the Senior Product Owner (Technical Adjutant).
2. You will need to liaise closely with Military end users, DE&S, other government agencies and international software teams.
3. Daily contact will be with a mixture of Contractors, Crown Servants and Military Personnel.
4. The Contractor’s delivery team personnel will primarily comprise of software developers/engineers.
What the specialist will work on 1. Build strong relationships with the Military, the software development team and international organisations to deliver outcomes associated with the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) application set.
2. Remain objective and professionally critical of the work being conducted by the software development team and assess the quality of the requirements that are elicited from end users.
3. Ensure the software team are well motivated to achieve their aims, whilst putting the end customer needs first.
4. Engage with wider project teams who wish to use the same application, providing advice to help mitigate integration risks.
5. Continue the existing capability.
Work setup
Working arrangements: You are required to work 5 days a week, the normal working day is 09:00 to 17:00 with a 30 minutes break for lunch. A monthly summary of days worked will be maintained and signed by the Contractor and The Senior Product Owner.
Expenses for Travel and Subsidence (T&S) will be limited to £22,000 per annum.
Security clearance Developed Vetting (DV) Clearance must be in place prior to contract award (aimed to be 31 August 2021) and remain in place throughout employment/contract. The supplier must be UK based and must be able to provide a Cyber Essentials Plus Certificate prior to the start date.
Additional information
Additional terms and conditions Please contact Paul.Hayes105@mod.gov.uk to access the guidance documents for the interview and presentation.
Skills and experience
Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.
Essential skills and experience
Have working knowledge of software development methodologies – 9 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of requirement engineering – 9 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of military ways-of-working – 9 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of geo-spatial applications – 9 Points
Nice-to-have skills and experience
Have Knowledge/Experience of Tactical Assault Kit – 7 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of working in MAB – 7 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of writing software code – 5 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of military C4IS capabilities – 5 Points
Have Knowledge/Experience of geo-spatial imagery types and formats – 5 Points
Have practical experience of agile software development processes – 5 Points
How suppliers will be evaluated
All suppliers will be asked to provide a work history.
How many specialists to evaluate 3
Cultural fit criteria
Lead and motivate the team to perform well – 2 Points
Be transparent and collaborative on performance issues – 2 Points
Support a no-blame culture – 2 Points
Transfer knowledge that is gained through the team – 2 Points
Willing to share experiences across the wider departments – 2 Points
Additional assessment methods
Interview
Presentation
Evaluation weighting
Technical competence 70%
Cultural fit 10%
Price 20%
TKR-2021619-EX-1635222