Provision of Head of Production Services for St. Patrick's Festival

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

This tender seeks a Head of Production Services to support the planning, coordination, and delivery of St. Patrick's Festival, commencing with the 2027 Festival. The contract is for approximately 130 days of service per year, spread between September and April. The Head of Production will report to the Operations Director and will be required to work from the St. Patrick's Festival Office in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, for scheduled days. Some evening and weekend work will be necessary.

Key activities and responsibilities include:

• Event Licence Management: Managing and coordinating the Event Licence application process and ensuring compliance with all conditions attached to the licence.
• Stakeholder Liaison: Liaising with all relevant statutory agencies, including An Garda Síochána, and working closely with the Festival-appointed Safety Consultants and Consultant Structural Engineer.
• Production Scheduling: Developing and managing the production schedule, considering operational requirements of Dublin City Centre, including public transport, traffic, business, security, health and safety, and emergency services.
• Security Planning: Developing and managing a comprehensive security schedule.
• Budgetary Support: Working with the Artistic Director and Operations Director to develop detailed budgets for Festival events.
• Programming Advice: Advising the programming team on production requirements for safe delivery.
• Event Management Plan: Developing and maintaining the overall Event Management Plan for the Festival.
• Supplier Management: Liaising with, organising, and contracting suppliers.
• Site Management: Conducting site inspections and managing/supervising preparation, build, and break at event locations.
• Event Control: Acting as Event Controller for Festival events where required.
• Procurement Support: Assisting the Operations Director in preparing documents for the procurement of services and goods.
• Team Management: Managing the production team.
• Health and Safety Compliance: Ensuring compliance with all relevant health and safety rules, regulations, and requirements.

The services are expected to be delivered over approximately 130 days during the period September to April each contract year.

3. Background & buyer context

St. Patrick's Festival is Ireland's national festival and official celebration of St. Patrick's Day, held annually in Dublin. The 2027 Festival dates are set for Saturday, March 13th to Wednesday, March 17th. The principal event is the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which attracts approximately 500,000 people and involves around 3,000 participants. The festival also includes a variety of other events across Dublin City Centre over five days, utilising historic and culturally significant venues.

The Festival office is located in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, with a core team of five full-time employees, supplemented by contracted personnel from October to April. St. Patrick's Festival is an independent not-for-profit organisation with charitable status, governed by a voluntary Board of Directors under the patronage of the President of Ireland. The organisation is committed to good governance and complies with the Charities Regulator’s Charities Governance Code. This procurement is driven by the need to appoint a Head of Production to support the planning, coordination, and safe, efficient delivery of the festival programme.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Tenderers must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement: Tenderers (on a solo or cumulative basis) must meet a minimum average annual turnover of €50,000 over each of the last three financial years. Evidence from accountants/auditors is required. This is stated as a nominal figure for procurement requirements and not indicative of the project budget.
• Insurance: The successful Tenderer must hold the following insurances for the term of the Services Contract:
• Employer's Liability: €13 million limit for any one claim or series of claims arising out of a single occurrence.
• Public Liability: €6.5 million limit for any one claim or series of claims arising out of a single occurrence.
• Professional Indemnity: €500,000 for each and every claim, excluding defence costs.
• Certifications:
• Tenderers must possess a current Tax Clearance Certificate, with evidence provided upon contract award.
• Tenderers must be compliant with their social security and legal obligations for the duration of any awarded contract.
• Past experience: Tenderers must demonstrate the successful delivery of at least two comparable contracts (in scale, nature, quality, and complexity) delivered during the five previous years. These contracts should be described in detail, outlining the services provided, their comparability to the requirements, and how client requirements were determined and delivered.
• Personnel: The proposed Head of Production must demonstrate:
• A minimum of 10 years' proven experience in managing national or international cultural festivals and/or large-scale events.
• Proven track record in crowd management.
• Demonstrable experience overseeing an Event Licence application for a large-scale event, including developing an Event Management Plan and working with statutory agencies.
• Proven supervisory and team management experience.
• Proven ability to develop and manage budgets.
• Experience in health and safety management.
• Experience developing security schedules and working with security contractors.
• Demonstrable Event Control experience for events of a similar scale.
• Geographic / facility constraints: The successful candidate must be available to work from the St. Patrick’s Festival Office in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, for the scheduled days.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the highest-ranked compliant Tenderer based on qualitative criteria. There is no separate cost criterion; the annual contract value is fixed at €47,000 (exclusive of VAT).

Tenderers must achieve the minimum qualifying threshold for each award criterion to remain under consideration. Responses will be assessed based on completeness, clarity, relevance, practical understanding, and the robustness of the proposed methodology.

6. Submission requirements

Tenderers are required to submit a Tender Response Document (TRD) as a separate attachment to the RFT. The TRD is mandatory and designed to streamline the response and evaluation process.

Key submission components include:

• Tender Response Document (TRD): Must address all requirements in the RFT and demonstrate how issues will be met. A mere affirmative statement or reiteration of requirements is insufficient.
• Declarations: Tenderers must declare that no mandatory grounds for exclusion apply, or if they do, that sufficient measures are in place to demonstrate reliability. They must also declare satisfaction of the selection criteria.
• Supporting Documentation: Tenderers must be able to provide supporting documentation for selection criteria upon request, including:
• Tax Clearance Certificate.
• Evidence of insurance policies.
• Evidence of financial standing (e.g., accountant/auditor confirmation of turnover).
• An organisation chart, profile, and description of capacity/resources for technical ability.
• Details of at least two comparable past contracts.
• CV for Proposed Head of Production: A CV using the provided template, demonstrating qualifications, experience, capacity, and availability.
• Pricing Schedule: Not applicable as the contract is fixed-price.
• Case Studies: Not explicitly mentioned, but past experience requires detailed project descriptions.
• Mandatory Site Visit: Not specified.
• Submission Portal: Tenders must be submitted via the eTenders.gov.ie website.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

The Services Contract will have an initial term of 1 year. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to extend the term for up to three additional periods of 12 months each, on the same terms and conditions, subject to legal obligations. The annual contract value is fixed at €47,000 (exclusive of VAT) for the initial term and any extension periods, resulting in a gross full contract value of €188,000. The contract is awarded on a fixed-price basis.

Key terms include:

• Payment: Not specified beyond the fixed annual value.
• SLAs/KPIs: Not explicitly detailed, but successful delivery is assessed through award criteria.
• Liquidated Damages: Not specified.
• Termination: The contract can be terminated with 14 days' notice.
• IP Ownership: Not specified.
• Sub-contracting: Tenderers may rely on the capacity of other entities, but these entities must also meet selection criteria and provide supporting documentation if requested.
• Guarantees/Bonds: Not specified.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Nominal Turnover Requirement: The €50,000 minimum turnover requirement is explicitly stated as nominal and not indicative of the project budget. This suggests the primary focus is on demonstrated capability and experience rather than financial scale, but it could also be a mechanism to filter out very small or new entities.
• Fixed Price Contract: The contract is awarded on a fixed-price basis (€47,000 per year). This places the risk of cost overruns on the contractor, particularly given the extensive list of responsibilities and the need for potential evening/weekend work.
• Quality-Focused Award: With no separate cost criterion, the award is entirely based on qualitative assessment (300 marks for Understanding, 350 for Personnel, 350 for Contract Management). This means a strong, detailed, and tailored response is critical.
• Limited Contract Duration per Year: While the contract can be extended for up to three years, the actual service delivery is approximately 130 days per year. This might appeal to individuals or small consultancies rather than large firms.
• AI Use Policy: The RFT explicitly permits the use of AI tools in tender preparation but places full responsibility on the Tenderer for the accuracy, completeness, and relevance of the submission. This indicates a need for rigorous internal review of any AI-generated content.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured to be accessible to experienced individuals or small consultancies rather than large corporations.

• Credible Bidders: An individual consultant with a minimum of 10 years' experience in festival/large-scale event production, strong project management skills, and a proven track record in event licensing, safety, and stakeholder liaison would be a credible bidder. Small specialist production companies with a core team capable of delivering the required services could also bid.
• Consortium/Sub-contracting: While not explicitly forbidden, the emphasis on the "proposed Head of Production" and the limited scope of work suggests a preference for a single, experienced individual or a very small, cohesive team. Relying on other entities for the core Head of Production role might be challenging to demonstrate effectively.
• Bid-Prep Effort: Given the detailed qualitative criteria and the need for a tailored TRD, bid preparation could require 5-10 days of focused effort for an experienced individual or small team to develop a strong understanding of the festival, articulate their approach, and detail their experience.
• Pwin Signal: The fixed price, quality-focused award, and the specific nature of the role (Head of Production for a national festival) suggest that incumbent advantage is unlikely to be a major factor unless the incumbent has consistently delivered exceptional results and can demonstrate this through their bid. The tender appears genuinely open to new entrants with the right experience.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT Filename: St. Patrick's Festival - RFT - Head of production v1.pdf
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified in the provided text.
• Contact / Clarification Portal: Not specified in the provided text.
• Key Attachments:
• Tender Response Document (TRD)
• Appendix 4: Services Contract terms and conditions
• Appendix 2: Tenderer’s Statement