A new contract for a critical friend to school projects shows how public bodies are buying in specialist advice to turn sustainability goals into practical delivery.
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A new contract for a “Critical Friend and Sustainability Advisor” to support school projects across Wales shows how public bodies are using specialist consultancy to turn broad sustainability aims into practical decisions on the ground.
On 11th December 2025, the Welsh Government published a contract notice for a new Sustainable Schools Advisor Role. The buyer is seeking a contractor to act as both Critical Friend and Sustainability Advisor, working alongside project teams across Wales on sustainable school projects.
The role is framed around three main activities. The advisor will provide guidance to project teams, facilitate workshops, and contribute to case studies. Together, these tasks point to a brief that combines hands-on support with a strong element of shared learning.
By asking for a Critical Friend, the buyer signals that this is not just a technical role. The advisor is expected to challenge and support project teams as they shape sustainable school projects, rather than simply checking compliance at the end of the process.
The requirement to “provide guidance” places the contractor close to day-to-day project decisions. That could include advising on how sustainability considerations are built into project planning, design and delivery, and helping teams weigh up different options.
Workshops suggest a collective dimension. Bringing different school projects together in structured sessions can help surface common issues and spread good practice. The notice points to the advisor playing a convening role as well as a technical one.
Case studies are the third strand. By asking the advisor to contribute to these, the Welsh Government is building future value into the contract: lessons from individual projects are intended to be captured, documented and shared, rather than remaining with isolated teams.
The Welsh notice sits within a wider pattern of public bodies appointing specialist advisors around capital and estates programmes. In June 2025, the Scottish Prison Service published a prior information notice for Technical Advisor Services for HMP Glasgow, seeking a multi-disciplinary team to provide technical advisory services for the prison’s construction and to ensure compliance with design specifications and quality standards.
In July 2025, Ceredigion County Council set out plans for a consultant to manage its Felinfach Pupil Referral Unit project from the initial stages through to completion, including oversight of the design-and-build tender. Here, as in Wales’ sustainable schools contract, a single consultancy role is expected to influence how a school project is designed and delivered.
Universities are following a similar path. In September 2025, Cardiff University trailed its need for a Client Technical Advisor for Lab Relocation, with the advisor asked to ensure that the move of specialist lab facilities to the Henry Welcome Building complies with user requirements and legislation.
Schools maintenance itself is also drawing in external management expertise. In November 2025, Herefordshire Council issued a contract notice for Consultancy Services for School Maintenance, seeking a multi-discipline service provider to manage and coordinate delivery of its school building maintenance programme and respond to emergency maintenance needs.
Across these examples, external advisors sit at the heart of decision-making on complex projects. The sustainable schools advisor in Wales fits that model, but with a clear brief to focus on sustainability and cross-project learning rather than a single building or site.
Several recent procurements underline how sustainability itself is becoming a distinct area of technical support. In June 2025, Sweden’s Upphandlingsmyndigheten sought Technical Consultants for Community Building through a framework agreement, specifically to develop and revise sustainability criteria in community building.
Closer to the Welsh schools context, Cyngor Gwynedd Council’s Ysgol Crud Y Werin Improvements notice in June 2025 described external enhancements to a primary school in Aberdaron, including roof insulation upgrades and new structural openings in classrooms. While this is a works contract rather than an advisory role, the focus on insulation shows how sustainability considerations are starting to shape school building projects.
In December 2025, Menter Môn Cyf went to market for Technician Support for Circular Economy. That contract seeks technician support to implement a Circular Economy Programme, including developing the Ffiws maker space programme and coordinating with a range of stakeholders. Here too, the emphasis is on specialist roles that help public or publicly funded programmes plan, test and embed new ways of working around resources and sustainability.
The Welsh Government’s sustainable schools advisor role brings these strands together in the schools estate. Rather than commissioning individual sustainability features, the buyer is commissioning advice, challenge and documentation that can shape how sustainable school projects are designed and delivered across Wales.
Beyond individual posts, several buyers are turning to frameworks to secure ongoing access to specialist construction and estates advice. In August 2025, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Group and Pembrokeshire College published a contract notice for Professional Estates Consultancy Services, setting up an open framework divided into two lots for project management and property consultancy, with up to eight consultants per lot.
In November 2025, Cheshire East Borough Council announced plans for a Construction Consultancy Framework for construction-related professional services to support internal departments and associated organisations. The framework aims to enhance project delivery, provide expertise and improve efficiency across a range of service areas.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Building Maintenance Framework Agreement, published in October 2025, adds another dimension. It seeks contractors to provide maintenance, repair and improvement works for housing stock and corporate buildings across Pembrokeshire, showing how frameworks are being used to support long-term stewardship of public assets.
Alongside these structural arrangements sit more tightly focused consultancy roles in Wales. In November 2025, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership issued a contract notice for Clinical Safety Consultancy Services, seeking support to comply with NHS Wales standards and develop capabilities in mental health and learning disabilities. In October 2025, The National Library of Wales sought a Business Case Consultant for NLW to prepare a Full Business Case for its Bookstack 4 project in line with HM Treasury guidance.
Other Welsh bodies are also commissioning analysis and review work. Social Care Wales’ Social Work Education Review in July 2025 aims to identify and recommend sustainable and effective models for delivering and funding social work education. In November 2025, Careers Wales commissioned an Evaluation of Careers Wales Services to assess engagement with the national careers service.
Against this backdrop, the sustainable schools Critical Friend role looks like part of a broader move: buyers are not only purchasing works and services, but also structured advice, challenge and evidence to steer how programmes develop over time.
Within the schools estate, the Welsh Government’s new advisor could provide a focal point for sustainability across multiple projects. With a remit that combines guidance, workshops and case studies, the contractor is positioned to help school projects align with shared approaches and to spread learning between different teams.
For suppliers, the notice highlights demand for blended skills. The successful contractor will need to demonstrate credibility on sustainability while also being able to facilitate workshops and contribute to written case studies. This combination of technical and engagement skills is becoming more visible across public-sector consultancy work.
Other school-related contracts underline the range of issues any advisor will need to understand. In October 2025, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Boiler Replacement at Cwmaber School set out plans to install two new boilers and associated systems at an infants school, with strict requirements around avoiding disruption during a four-week programme.
In July 2025, Powys County Council’s Powys Schools Rights of Way Project aimed to assess and improve public rights of way across 36 school sites to enhance site security for safeguarding while maintaining reasonable public access. And in June 2025, South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust launched a tender for Catering Services for Schools, while October 2025 saw new cleaning service tenders from the Wessex Learning Trust and The True Learning Partnership.
Taken together, these notices show how school projects now span heating and fabric upgrades, site access, maintenance, cleaning and catering, as well as new construction. A sustainability advisor working with school project teams will need to navigate this full picture when supporting decisions on what a “sustainable school project” should look like in practice.
The sustainable schools Critical Friend contract is still at notice stage, so many details of delivery remain to be defined. Key points to watch will be how the work programme is structured, how many projects it touches, and how widely the resulting workshops and case studies are shared across Wales.
Observers will also be looking to see whether the learning from this role shapes future school capital and maintenance programmes, and whether other sectors follow suit by appointing similar sustainability-focused advisors. For suppliers, the notice is another signal that expertise in sustainability, backed by strong engagement and evidence-gathering skills, is becoming an increasingly important part of the public-sector consultancy market.
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