The NHS Workforce Alliance Explained
NHS Workforce Alliance is a collaboration of leading NHS procurement organisations that provides the NHS and wider public sector with compliant framework agreements for sourcing clinical and non-clinical workforce, from temporary staffing and managed services to permanent recruitment.
Key facts at a glance
- What it is
- A collaboration of leading NHS procurement organisations
- Partners
- Includes Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS)
- Purpose
- Compliant framework routes for the NHS to source its workforce
- Covers
- Temporary staffing, bank staff, managed services, permanent recruitment and workforce solutions
- Buyers
- NHS trusts, integrated care boards and the wider public sector
- How to join
- Bid when the partners run a procurement for the relevant workforce lot
What is NHS Workforce Alliance?
NHS Workforce Alliance is a collaboration of leading NHS procurement organisations that brings together their buying power to provide compliant framework agreements for workforce and staffing. It gives NHS trusts and other public bodies a single, trusted route to source the people they need, while staying fully compliant with procurement rules.
Rather than each trust running its own tender for agency staff or recruitment services, buyers can call off from Workforce Alliance frameworks, where suppliers have already been assessed and approved. For suppliers, a place on these frameworks is one of the most important routes into NHS staffing spend.
What can the NHS buy through it?
The frameworks cover the full range of NHS workforce needs: temporary and agency staffing across medical, nursing, allied health and non-clinical roles; bank staff arrangements; managed service provision such as master vendor and neutral vendor models; permanent recruitment; and broader workforce solutions.
This breadth means staffing agencies, locum providers, recruitment process outsourcers and managed service providers all have relevant lots to target, depending on the workforce categories they serve.
Who runs NHS Workforce Alliance?
NHS Workforce Alliance is delivered as a partnership between major NHS-focused procurement organisations, including Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS). By combining their frameworks and expertise, the partners offer the NHS a coordinated set of compliant workforce routes rather than competing, fragmented options.
How do staffing suppliers get onto the frameworks?
Suppliers join by bidding when the Alliance partners run a procurement for the relevant workforce lot. The process assesses your compliance, financial standing, track record, pricing and service model, and you must evidence safe, high-quality staffing delivery, robust compliance and the ability to scale to NHS demand.
Workforce procurements are detailed and heavily scored on compliance and quality. Our team writes and manages these applications end to end, exactly as we do for every NHS tender, so your submission is complete, compliant and genuinely competitive.
Who should apply?
NHS Workforce Alliance frameworks are the route to compliant NHS staffing spend. They are relevant to:
Pricing
Workforce Framework Application
From £3,950
Full application management for one NHS workforce framework, including responses and evidence. Fixed price, no hidden costs, same-day consultations available.
Frequently asked questions
What is NHS Workforce Alliance?
NHS Workforce Alliance is a collaboration of leading NHS procurement organisations that provides compliant framework agreements for the NHS to source clinical and non-clinical workforce, covering temporary staffing, managed services and permanent recruitment.
Who are the partners behind NHS Workforce Alliance?
It is delivered by major NHS-focused procurement organisations working in partnership, including Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), which combine their frameworks and buying power.
What types of staffing does it cover?
The frameworks cover temporary and agency staffing across medical, nursing, AHP and non-clinical roles, bank staff, managed service models such as master and neutral vendor, permanent recruitment and wider workforce solutions.
How do I get my agency onto an NHS Workforce Alliance framework?
You bid when the partners run a procurement for the relevant workforce lot. The evaluation assesses compliance, financial standing, track record, pricing and service model, with strong evidence of safe, scalable NHS staffing delivery.
How is it different from buying through NHS SBS or CCS directly?
NHS Workforce Alliance is the collaboration through which organisations such as CCS and NHS SBS jointly offer workforce frameworks. It coordinates their routes to market for staffing, rather than being a separate competing buyer.
How can Glaxtons help with a workforce framework bid?
Glaxtons writes and manages NHS Workforce Alliance applications, evidencing your compliance, quality and delivery capability against the lot requirements. We hold a 93% win rate across NHS and public sector bids, with senior specialists on every engagement. NHS framework applications start from £3,950.
Win your place on NHS workforce frameworks
NHS Workforce Alliance frameworks are the compliant route into NHS staffing spend. Glaxtons writes the applications that get staffing suppliers approved. Talk to a specialist today.