NHS Health Careers website - Alpha

Tender description

Summary of the work Health Education England is improving the NHS Health Careers website based on user feedback and is re-platforming the website onto HEE's new National Website Platform, which is built on Bloomreach DXP. We need a delivery partner to run an alpha for the new website, based on the discovery outputs. Expected Contract Length 4-6 months Latest start date Monday 27 June 2022 Budget Range £80,000 to £100,000. Why the Work is Being Done For anyone wanting to explore a NHS career, NHS Health Careers is the first point of call. It is the NHS's shop window on the range of careers on offer and a crucial to its recruitment strategy. We must have a world-class website that is based on user need while supporting HEE's business plan including increasing nursing supply to deliver 50,000 more nurses in the NHS by March 2024. The website is also the central hub for the NHS’s flagship recruitment campaign We are the NHS, which aims to recruit more nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare support workers into the NHS. The NHS Health Careers website currently uses Drupal 7 which will not be supported by November 2023. We are therefore looking for the Alpha project to be completed by November 2022 allowing us time to build Beta and make sure the new site is live by Summer 2023. We have conducted a discovery which has highlighted user needs to be addressed in this process. Problem to Be Solved Discovery highlighted that the website isn't meeting all user needs: - improving the routes through content for specific user groups - helping users find the NHS role for them eg role comparison tool - the information architecture (IA) makes it hard to find information - too much to read/not enough tools. Where tools do exist, they must be simplified based on interests and skills - removing the barriers to registration while finding ways for a personalised experience and ongoing communication with audiences - illustrating NHS career pathways The Alpha prototype will need to be built on HEE's NWP which uses a Bloomreach CMS. Core functionality will be provided by HEE's NWP team. The successful supplier will build the extended functionality/themes via discrete plugins to meet user needs. The alpha should address: whether features and functionality on HEE's NWP are suitable for Health Careers ; design, prototyping and user testing of role content and comparison tool, including possible technical solutions; proof of concept for integration with NHS Jobs and CRM; design and user testing of IA; proof of concept for approach to enhancing the NHS Design System; usability testing and end-to-end service design for users with accessibility and assisted digital needs. Who Are the Users As part of our discovery, a set or user stories were developed. This backlog will be made avalable to the successful supplier. Some of the needs are below: As a prospective joiner to the NHS I need to: - see the full range of roles available within the NHS so that I can decide which options suit me - understand the entry requirements for a role so I can determine whether I am eligible for it and/or choose the right type of study - learn about the salary progression so that I can determine if it matches my career aspirations - access information about work experience so that I know what is available to me - see the specialisms available in specific roles so that I can understand what my career might look like in the future - find local information about NHS careers so that I can understand what's available in my area - see current vacancies within the NHS so that I can find opportunities related to my career - learn about the day-to-day aspects of different jobs so that I can decide if it's a good fit for me (e.g. hours, responsibilities) Work Already Done A Discovery phase has already been completed. We have also completed a content model review focusing on role pages and stories. This included user testing. Existing Team The NHS Health Careers team is made up of five communications and careers professionals with experience of delivering and developing websites but have limited technical expertise and have not developed an Alpha website before. The team will be working in partnership with HEE's Digital Team who are responsibile for the HEE National Website platform. The team have a range of experience including developing other Alpha websites on the website. Some work might be needed with the exisiting digital agency delviering the NHS Health Careers website. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Demonstrate expertise in managing the complete Alpha process. • Have skills and experience in Java/JavaScript/GitHub. • Have skills and experience in Bloomreach brXM (previously Hippo CMS) platform. • Be able to use relevant technologies in context of an Agile development programme, using Scrum or Kanban or both. • Demonstrate ability to successfully run complex digital projects through their life cycle including Discovery, Alpha, Beta, Live and Retirement. • Have excellent understanding and experience of API-based integration with multiple systems. • Demonstrate excellent information architecture skills. • Demonstrate ability to use intelligent personalisation to better meet user needs. • Understand and be committed to helping the project meet the GDS Digital Service Standard. • Understand and be committed to the confidentiality, data protection, and data and system security standards in use within government and the NHS. • Provide evidence of a strong capability to deliver user experience design, ideally aligned to GDS principles • Provide evidence of expertise in accessibility, specifically WCAG compliance • Provide evidence of capabilities to engage with users via quantitative and qualitative user research and testing throughout the development process, including running user research workshops. • Demonstrate they have risk management processes that provide information suitable for HEE to incorporate/build on for production of project and programme management products including risk registers. • Demonstrate evidence of financial management processes to provide information suitable for HEE to monitor/control project costs, incorporate, build on to produce project/programme management products/ financial reports. • Demonstrate they have experience in using modern CI / CD methods as part of an integrated DevOps process, utilising the Cloud. • Demonstrate experience of building and user testing prototypes during the Alpha phase. • Show willingness and ability to deliver training and engagement activities with relevant HEE staff and stakeholders. Nice to Haves • Demonstrate experience of health sector digital service provision • Show evidence of successfully completing GDS assessments. • Show that they are a certified Bloomreach partner Work Location Most of the NHS Health Careers team are usually London based are currently at home while HEE's Digital team are based in Birmingham. Most meetings will be done remotely but some face-to-face at crucial points in the project might be expected wth Londn being the likely location. Users will be from across England and potentially beyond. Working Arrangments Suppliers are requested to work from their own location, with potential visits to HEE’s offices in London or Birmingham. Additional T&Cs Standard NHS terms and conditions No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Understanding of the brief • Proposed solution • Approach and methodology • How the approach or solution meets user needs • How the approach or solution meets HEE's and the wider NHS's policy or goal • Estimated timeframes • Risks and dependencies • Team structure • Value for money • A realistic approach to developing solutions to meet user needs, using an existing backlog, capturing, prioritising new requirements and stories as work progresses Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with HEE and other suppliers. We will seek evidence for an inclusive approach and a willingness to co-operate/collaborate, with practical mechanisms suggested to achieve this. • Be transparent/collaborative when making decisions. Cover the decision-making process, set out the role of the key team members and the mechanisms by which the processes will be adopted. • The proposal must show a realistic approach to developing solutions to meet user needs, using an existing backlog, capturing, prioritising new requirements and stories as work progresses. • Take responsibility for their work. We would expect the supplier’s proposal to show evidence of process for setting quality standards for their own work. • Share knowledge and experience with other team members and HEE. Proposal should show how information and knowledge is captured, shared and interpreted, in terms of day-to-day activity and longer-term reporting. • Helping to review the alignment of deliverables with goals and to challenge ones that are potentially unnecessary or not achieving the project or sprint objectives. • Be comfortable standing up for their discipline. The supplier should be able to give examples of how they have justified and proven the value of their approach in the past. • Work with clients with low technical expertise. Supplier should explain how they bridge gaps between technical expertise of their team and the knowledge of the HEE team and stakeholders. • Demonstrate ability to facilitate both parties to learn from each other, and how full implications of any specialised technical discussions can be clarified to key team members including Service Owner. • Alignment with NHS and HEE values. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 10% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is Drupal 9 being considered as a solution? Not as part of the Alpha development. The Alpha will need to be built on the BloomReach CMS as mentioned in the brief.