CVs and key staff in a public tender: requirements, scoring and replacement

When does a public buyer ask for CVs?

A public buyer asks for CVs in one of two ways: as a selection criterion, to check that you have the right people, or under an award criterion, to score the quality of your team. Which of the two applies decides what the CV means for your bid.

As a selection criterion, it is about technical and professional ability. The buyer may require you to have the necessary human resources and experience (Article 58(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU). One way to prove this is through the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or its managerial staff, provided these are not used as an award criterion. In the Netherlands, that rule is in Article 2.93(1)(g) of the Aanbestedingswet 2012 (the Public Procurement Act). PIANOo gives as examples information on the staff who will carry out the contract and their level of education, and diplomas or certificates. How to read such requirements, and when they go too far, is covered in selection criteria and knock-outs.

As an award criterion, the buyer may assess the organisation, qualifications and experience of the staff assigned to the contract, where the quality of those staff can significantly affect the level of performance (Article 67(2)(b) of Directive 2014/24/EU). That used to be different: in Lianakis (C-532/06, 24 January 2008) the Court of Justice treated, among other things, a bidder’s experience and staff as matters for selection, not award. In Ambisig (C-601/13, 26 March 2015) the Court nuanced that line: the qualifications of the team that will carry out the contract may be an award criterion. The 2014 directive allows it explicitly. PIANOo puts it in general terms too: an award sub-criterion may concern the supplier itself when the quality of that person strongly affects the result.

Can a buyer use CVs as both a requirement and an award criterion?

No. If a buyer asks for staff CVs at the selection stage, PIANOo says it may not also use them as an award criterion. The same qualifications may not count as a selection criterion and as an award criterion in the same tender. The law says so as well: qualifications count as proof of ability only if they are not applied as an award criterion.

If you see the same education requirement first as a knock-out and then again as a source of points, ask about it in the clarification round (in the Netherlands, the nota van inlichtingen).

A CV is either a threshold or a score. Check which one in the tender documents before you start writing.

What is a key person in a public tender?

A key person (sleutelfunctionaris in Dutch) is someone with a crucial role in carrying out the contract, such as the project manager. That is how PIANOo describes it. When staff competences matter for performance, a buyer can also assess a key person’s knowledge, experience and competences in an interview, and build that assessment into an award criterion. For a presentation, it may be desirable for the key person to give it.

PIANOo advises buyers to state in the documents what happens if a key person unexpectedly drops out before or during the contract, and whether a bidder may then offer an equivalent replacement. Find that passage before you fill in names. If it is missing, it is a good question for the clarification round.

Do you have to deploy the people in your CVs?

Yes, as a rule. Whoever you propose, you promise to deploy, and the contract records it. The detail is in the buyer’s terms and conditions. For services, the Dutch central government uses the ARVODI-2025, adopted on 17 March 2025 (Staatscourant 2025, 10990). Article 4 covers replacing the people who carry out the services.

• ConsentOnly by exceptionYou replace someone only by exception and with the buyer’s prior consent. The buyer does not refuse consent on unreasonable grounds.
• EquivalentAt least as goodThe replacement is at least equivalent in expertise, education and experience to the person replaced, or meets what the parties agreed.
• RateNot more expensiveYou do not charge a higher rate for the replacement.
• The other way roundThe buyer can ask for a replacementIf the buyer considers a replacement necessary or desirable for proper performance, you replace the person as soon as possible, unless that cannot reasonably be asked of you.

Other public bodies may use their own terms, with different arrangements on replacement, penalties or deadlines. So always read the draft contract in the tender documents. If you rely on the CV of someone at a subcontractor or partner to meet a requirement, that party must also carry out the work for which those qualifications are needed. See consortia and subcontracting.

The practical lesson: only propose people who will really be available on the start date. A strong CV from someone who retires in six months or is already booked on another project earns points now and causes a problem later.

A CV in your bid is a promise about a person. Only include someone you can actually deliver.

How do you write a CV for a tender or proposal?

A tender CV is not a job application CV. The panel does not want to know who someone is, but whether this person will do this contract well. Five steps.

1. 1Start from the requirement and the criterionPut the required education, certificates and years of experience side by side and show at the top of the CV that the person meets them. Follow the template and page limit in the tender documents, and read what they say about text over the limit.
2. 2State the role in this contractOpen with what the person will do on this contract and for how many hours. Not “senior consultant”, but “implementation project manager, point of contact for the contract manager”.
3. 3Choose relevant projectsTwo or three comparable projects say more than a list of twenty. Per project: client, period, role and result. The same rules apply as for references: comparable, recent and verifiable.
4. 4Back it with evidenceDiplomas and certificates with date and validity, results in numbers. “Experienced in transitions” is a claim; “led three transitions without interruption of service” is evidence. More in writing for points.
5. 5Match it to your planNames and roles in the CVs must match your method statement and organisation chart. A panel that spots differences starts to doubt both.

A fictional example. A municipality tendering a cleaning contract asks for a project manager with at least five years’ experience on comparable contracts. The first CV opens with a list of 1990s qualifications and fifteen employers. The second opens with: “Role on this contract: project manager for the transition and first contract year, 16 hours a week. Seven years as project manager on municipal cleaning contracts, including three transitions from another supplier.” Two projects with results follow. Same person, but only the second CV answers the panel’s question.

Can you simply send employees’ CVs with your bid?

Not without thinking. A CV contains personal data, and by sending it you share that data with another organisation. Under the GDPR (AVG in Dutch) you need a legal basis for that. Consent seems the obvious choice, but the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, the Dutch data protection authority, points out that an employee finds it hard to refuse a request from their employer. The European Data Protection Board is firmer: employees are in principle not able to give consent freely.

So consent is a weak basis. Legitimate interest can be one. According to the Dutch authority, you can rely on it only if three conditions are met: there is a legitimate interest, the processing is necessary to pursue it, and you have weighed your interests against those of the employee. If you are unsure about your own situation, ask your privacy officer or lawyer to take a look.

1. 1Tell your employee in advanceWhich tender the CV is for, which organisation receives it and why. An employee who later finds their CV in an award file should have heard it from you.
2. 2Share no more than neededInclude only what the buyer asks for and what supports the role. Details such as a home address or date of birth usually do not belong.
3. 3Let the employee check itThe CV describes their work. Ask them to check that it is right. That prevents mistakes and is also the best preparation for an interview.

How do you keep CVs up to date?

Most CV problems surface in the last week before the deadline: a certificate that has just expired, a project that is missing, an employee who has already left. So record the facts per key person, and update them when a project ends rather than when the tender arrives. How to set up such a bid library is covered in organising your bid process.

Keep facts, not ready-made CVs: education, certificates with expiry dates, projects with role and result, languages, availability. For each tender, you build a CV from them that fits this role and this buyer. That way you write with focus every time, without searching every time.