RIVA Partnership

The RIVA team are specialists in optimising public sector procurement. We are an energised group of procurement experts brining fresh thinking and an unwavering focus on improving support services for our schools and trusts. We are here to take the pain out of procurement so you can focus on what matters most – delivering excellence in education.

Our senior consultants have hands-on expertise across services such as catering, cleaning, grounds maintenance, lettings, uniforms, and many more, we have our finger on the pulse and demand nothing less than the highest service standards at the best price from all suppliers, for all of our schools.

Our 3 core values are at the heart of everything we do:

1 – PURPOSE LED - we are relentless in our quest for meaningful, bespoke procurement project delivery that is tailored to each client’s unique needs.

2 – PARTNERSHIP DRIVEN – we embed with each and every client, working ‘as one’ with your internal teams.

3 – POSITIVE IMPACT – we are on a path of continuous innovation, to deliver best value solutions and meaningful improvement, every time.

We have worked with clients of all shapes and sizes from small primary schools to large trusts with 35+ academies. We become part of your team, we’re easy to work with and we speak your language. We love what we do and very much see your success as our success!

We are known for our robust, effective and compliant tender management. But as procurement specialists, we offer more. Much more.

Procurement follows a 5 stage lifecycle so we have strategically developed our unique, forward thinking ‘Wheel of Services’ to match this. You can engage with us at any point or let us drive the whole cycle.

1 - PROCUREMENT STRATEGY - Turning complexity into opportunity
We build clear procurement strategies for our clients, keeping you compliant and aligning with your ethos and objectives. This includes a rolling 5 year trust wide procurement pipeline that reveals your threshold exposure, identifies consolidation opportunities and drives planned, proactive approach.

2 - PROCUREMENT & CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TRAINING - Upskiling your teams
Our practical training on the Procurement Act 2023 and support service markets drives competence and confidence towards best practice and compliance. We show you how to manage contracts well, prevent problems and fix underperformance at both school and trust level.

3 - BEST VALUE REVIEW - Identifying opportunities, maximising return
We benchmark your services against industry standards, identify quick wins and build options appraisals. Effective both as a standalone service or pre-tender to shape an evidence based, fit for purpose specification.

4 - TENDER MANAGEMENT - Compliant, strategic, bespoke
We fully manage your tender from end to end, aligning new contracts with your strategy and objectives. We raise standards, reduce, save your team time and set contracts up to perform and be simple to manage.

5 - CONTRACT MANAGEMENT - Monitoring the detail, demanding more
Our proactive KPI, financial and operational monitoring service protects the value you secured at tender. We deliver clear governance, accurate reporting, faster issue resolution and a consistently improved student experience.

The result? Best value contracts - that last!

Every school and trust is different, so we build our support around you, from a single tender to a full procurement partnership.

Many trusts first call us with an urgent tender. Those who want to stay ahead work with us across our whole Wheel of Services, using bespoke, blended packages that fit exactly what they need, where 86% of schools using our managed tender services choose to keep working with us!

We're genuinely easy to work with, responsive, approachable and invested in your success.

We deliver:

• BEST VALUE - lower costs and higher standards from your support services.

• COMPLIANCE - sorted: the Procurement Act 2023 made simple and protecting you at every stage.

• ORGANISATION AND CONTROL - a planned pipeline and clear governance so nothing slips through the cracks.

• TIME BACK - we carry the workload, freeing your team for other priorities.

• COMPETITIVE, TRANSPARENT PRICING - no hidden costs, no surprises.

• IMPROVED SUPPORT SERVICES - high-performing contracts that pupils and staff notice.

• COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE - a suite of high performing support services that makes your trust stand out!

If you’re ready to supercharge your procurement requirements, please contact us today! hello@rivapartnership.co.uk