The client

A leading UK employment services provider, renowned for delivering large-scale programmes focused on skills, training, and economic inclusion, approached 50 Degrees to help secure a contract delivering the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’ flagship Restart scheme.

Part of the UK Government’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan, Restart represented a critical avenue to expand the client’s market share and reinforce their leadership position in the employability sector.

The challenge

While the opportunity was significant, the scale and complexity of the procurement process presented a series of challenges. The DWP Restart programme attracted intense competition from some of the UK’s most experienced providers: our client would need to present a compelling and commercially viable solution that exceeded the commissioner’s expectations across several key elements – including delivery confidence, social value creation, and collaborative partnership models.

The client also needed support aligning governance structures, solution development, and narrative messaging across a large, multidisciplinary team, which required a level of coordination and management that stretched their existing internal capacity.

What we did

50 Degrees were engaged to provide end-to-end strategic support throughout the bidding cycle, including:

Bid Management and Bid Writing: leading on the development of a clear, compelling narrative tailored to DWP priorities, employment outcomes, customer experience, and partnership readiness. Our bid writers worked closely with the client’s internal subject matter experts (SMEs) to gather key information and ensure that all written responses were evidence-led, and evaluation focused

Internal Governance and Coordination: supporting the client’s internal operational processes, including aligning governance activities, managing version control, and ensuring accountability across a multi-partner consortium

Dialogue Preparation: preparing the client to stand out in the competitive dialogue process by shaping and refining key messages, building engaging evidence packs, and coaching the delivery team on strategic alignment

The Result

The client secured one of Restart’s largest regional contracts, valued at over £300m- a major milestone that cemented their position as a nationally influential provider and created a strong platform for future growth in the UK’s evolving employability and skills sector