Preparing a contractor-sourcing brief

A contractor-sourcing brief should let a recruiter explain the assignment accurately and assess relevant evidence. A job title and a list of desirable skills leave too much room for interpretation. Begin with the work to be delivered, then describe the requirements that follow from it.

The brief also needs a decision process. Candidates and recruiters cannot plan around an unnamed approver or a selection stage that changes after every submission. Confirm who can answer questions, review profiles and authorise changes before the search begins.

Describe the assignment in concrete terms#

Set out the work, expected outcomes, team context, location, working pattern and proposed start and end dates. Explain which constraints are fixed and which can be discussed. State the rate basis and the proposed engagement arrangement without promising an unverified take-home figure.

Separate essential requirements from preferences. For each essential requirement, specify the evidence the selection team will consider. Ask the responsible compliance owner to identify legal or professional requirements rather than allowing a copied job description to stand in for that assessment.

Build a brief the recruiter can use#

• Assignment purpose and the work the contractor will actually perform.
• Required skills, experience or authorisations, with relevant evidence criteria.
• Work location, attendance expectations and any travel requirements.
• Dates, working pattern, rate basis and approved commercial parameters.
• Engagement and payroll questions already settled or still under review.
• Selection stages, reviewers, decision authority and feedback route.
• Practical onboarding steps and the owner of the first-day handoff.

Government guidance on protecting work-seekers and hirers covers steps concerning relevant legal and professional requirements. Use the applicable guidance and specialist input for the assignment; a sourcing checklist is not a substitute for required suitability checks.

Example: a vague requirement becomes assessable#

Imagine a brief asking for “strong systems experience”. In this illustrative case, the hiring manager explains that the contractor must reconcile data between two named operational systems and document the exceptions. The revised brief identifies that task and asks for evidence of comparable work, rather than demanding every technology mentioned in the original draft.

The agency can now explain what experience is relevant and why. It can also record which skills are trainable or optional, reducing the temptation to reject a suitable person because of an unrelated keyword.

Agree how feedback will be handled#

Ask reviewers to connect feedback to the approved criteria and provide it through a named contact. Record whether a rejection reflects missing evidence, a changed requirement or another reason. If the requirement changes materially, version the brief and explain the change to the sourcing partner.

Do not keep circulating candidate details to expanding groups without a clear purpose and appropriate permission. Use the agency's established candidate-data process and share the information needed for the agreed selection stage.

Connect selection to onboarding#

Before an offer or assignment confirmation is finalised, settle the outstanding commercial and operational questions through the responsible owners. The payroll options guide can help frame the payment-route discussion where that remains open.

Bring the approved brief and selection process to our recruitment and contractor-sourcing service. A useful first conversation can then focus on the work, the evidence needed and the practical conditions of the placement.