Combine Solicitation – Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Government Technical Monitor (GTM)

Notice Type: Combine Solicitation

Posted Date: 16-OCT-14

Office Address: Department of State; Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; Grants, Acquisitions, Procurement and Policy Division (INL/RM/GAPP); SA-4 Navy Hill, South Building2430 E Street, N.W.Washington DC 20037

Subject: Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)/Government Technical Monitor (GTM)

Classification Code: R - Professional, administrative, and management support services

Solicitation Number: PSC-15-003-INL

Contact: Deborah Strom, Contract Specialist, Email [email protected]

Setaside: N/AN/A

Place of Performance Country: US

Description: Department of State

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Grants, Acquisitions, Procurement and Policy Division (INL/RM/GAPP)

You have received this "Personal Services Contractor" (PSC) solicitation through the Department of State (DOS) Internet site. If you have any questions regarding this PSC, you may contact the DOS Official named in this solicitation. The Department is not responsible for any data and/or text not received when retrieving this document electronically. Amendments to solicitation documents generally contain information critical to the submission of an application. Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)/Government Technical Monitor (GTM) Worldwide Announcement

Issuance Date: 10/16//2014 Closing Date: 04/16/2015 SOLICITATION NUMBER: PSC-15-003-INL

SUBJECT A solicitation for a Personal Services Contractor (PSC), Department of State (DOS), Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)

The United States Government (USG), represented by the DOS, seeks applications from US citizens interested in providing PSC services as described in this solicitation.

HOW TO APPLY Offeror's proposals shall be in accordance with the requirements stated in this solicitation at the place and time specified. A proposal will be determined non-responsive and ineligible for consideration unless all required documents and information are included in the submission. Offerors shall ensure their resume demonstrates their possession of the minimum qualifications outlined in this Solicitation, as well as their ability to fulfill all required duties.

Proposals must include the following: 1) Form OF-612 (Completed and signed) 2) Resume 3) Three letters of reference or three references, including contact information

Submit all proposals via e-mail to the attention of: INL/Deborah Strom E-mail: [email protected]

Direct questions regarding this solicitation to: INL/Deborah Strom E-mail: [email protected]

INL will not accept late proposals unless it can be determined DOS mishandled the proposal.

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: PSC-15-003-INL 2. ISSUANCE DATE: 10/16/2014 3. CLOSING DATE: 04/16/2015 4. TIME SPECIFIED FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: 3:00 PM, EST 5. POSITION TITLE: Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)/Government Technical Monitor (GTM) 6. MARKET VALUE: $66,067 - $119,737 (FS-02/03 Equivalent) 7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: One year from date of award and four option years 8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Worldwide; current openings in Kabul, Afghanistan 9. JOB DESCRIPTION: See below

GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONTRACTOR: The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is responsible for the development, supervision, coordination, and implementation of international narcotics control assistance activities and international criminal justice issues for the U.S. Department of State (DOS). As the foreign assistance funds have grown, INL has had to dramatically expand its oversight capabilities and staff to properly administer these foreign assistance programs in the areas of counternarcotics, rule of law, mentoring, commodity transfers, and infrastructure improvements. To date, these programs have built useful relationships and positive results across each country.

Relationship The Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) carries out duties on behalf of the Contracting Officer (CO), but reports to the INL Management Officer at Post. The Government Technical Monitor (GTM) is delegated authority by the CO to assist the COR. The incumbent's actions, decisions and recommendations are reviewed on the basis of demonstrated professional judgment, results achieved and conformance with appropriate laws and regulations. At time of award, the USG will make the determination on the level of effort based on needs of the government.

General Requirements: * Works closely with INL stakeholders to analyze program needs for contractor support, as well as to define and document scopes of work, plans, schedules, site-specific considerations, work requirements, milestones, and operational activities for a variety of support contracts. Advises program managers in developing clear, accurate, and detailed contractual requirements. * Represents INL interests and priorities when coordinating contract administration efforts among multiple federal agencies and organizations both internal and external to DOS that are involved with, supported, or affected by INL contracts. Facilitates the flow of accurate and timely information among stakeholders, including organizing, hosting, and documenting project meetings. * Coordinates with program/project officers and designated contractor representatives on all technical matters that arise in the administration of the assigned contracts and task orders. Provides clarifications with regard to contract technical requirements, including inspection, testing, and acceptance procedures. * Maintains constant cognizance with respect to technical compliance with contract terms and conditions on the part of contractors. * Monitors contractors' progress and performance to assure compliance with all contract terms and conditions. Provides leadership and direction to program/project officers to ensure that rigorous surveillance of contractor activities is being exercised. Visits contractor work sites to provide guidance and resolve issues as needed. Reviews, evaluates, and documents contractor performance in relation to contract requirements, including conducting progress reviews and providing appropriate approvals. Prepares progress reports in conjunction with contract milestones and updates plans and schedules as needed. Ensures that the results of all projects administered by INL support the achievement of the bureaus goals and objectives. * Secures/Recommends approval, if required, for deviations from approved budgets, plans, schedules, and scopes of work, and documents the changes accordingly. * Reviews and approves contractor invoices for assigned contracts and task orders. Conducts analyses of spending trends in order to ensure compliance with spending plans and to anticipate potential funding issues. Initiates action to promptly resolve funding issues. * Approves contractor procurement requests within the authority delegated by the CO. Serves as property administrator for the assigned contracts. * Identifies and recommends solutions or corrective action to resolve any problems that interfere with contract progress and with the completion of projects according to contract requirements. In those cases where problems cannot be resolved within the incumbent's scope of authority, makes recommendations to INL management and the CO/COR on appropriate corrective actions and implements those actions upon approval. * Develops, implements and ensures compliance with contract administration processes, including invoice submission/review, payment authorization, verification of receiving reports, quality assurance/surveillance, deliverables receipt and acceptance, project file and COR contract document maintenance. * Oversees the development and implementation of a series of contractor and reports that ensure a regular flow of management information regarding contract activities among all concerned parties, including contractors, program offices/officers, and INL's senior management team. Serves as a technical advisor to INL and Embassy management on contract terms and conditions and performance requirements. Provides assessments of contractor progress as requested. * Performs other related duties as assigned.

Ethical Requirements: * In performance of this contract, the contractor shall be subject to the ethics rules applicable to Department of State employees under 5 CFR Part 2635 (Standards of ethical conduct for employees of the Executive Branch), 2 FAM 700 (Ethics), and 3 FAM 4120 (Employee Responsibilities Abroad) and 4170 (Official Clearance of Speaking, Writing and Teaching). Contractor shall also be subject to five CFR Part 2637 (regulations concerning post-employment conflicts of interest). * Conditions for Contracting Prior to Receipt of Ethics Clearance: The Contractor may commence work prior to the completion of the ethics clearance. The Contractor shall not perform Contracting Officer Representative functions until clearance received. Further, if Contractor does not obtain ethics clearance within 30 days of commencing work, this contract may be terminated in accordance with paragraph (a) (2) of General Provision 16 of this contract.

COR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES If selected for the COR position the duties, responsibilities shall include the following:

1. Coordinate with the Contractor on all technical matters which may arise in the administration of this contract. 2. Give technical clarification as to the meaning of the specifications, including inspection, testing, and acceptance procedures. 3. Monitor and inspect the Contractor's technical progress and performance and the expenditures of resources to assure compliance with the contract terms and conditions. 4. Inspect and accept deliverables (supplies, services, and/or reports) on behalf of the Government. 5. Verify satisfactory delivery of contract items and prepare receiving reports and/or approve invoices for payment. 6. Verify efficient and satisfactory performance of work by the Contractor. 7. Authorize payments. 8. Notify the Contracting Officer and Contractor in writing of any deficiencies in workmanship or materials immediately, and monitor response and repair items as stipulated in the contract. 9. Notify the CO writing, of any performance or schedule failure by the Contractor. 10. Verify contractor receiving, inspection, and acceptance reports. 11. Maintain constant cognizance with respect to technical compliance with contract terms on the part of the Contractor. 12. Resolve technical issues arising under the contract which fall within the scope of the COR's authority, and refer to the CO any issues which cannot be resolved without additional cost or time. 13. Inform the CO and the Program Office in writing of any needed changes in the Scope of Work or specifications. 14. Ensuring the Government meets its contractual obligations to the Contractor, e.g., providing Government furnished equipment and services and timely Government review and approval of documents if such reviews are required by the contract. 15. Know and understand the terms and provisions of the contract. 16. Know the scope and limitations of COR authority. 17. Protect privileged and sensitive procurement information. 18. Routinely visit the Contractor's workplace to check on the work of the contractor to ensure contract compliance. 19. Serve as the designated property administrator for the contract. 20. Serve as the primary liaison between the Contractor and the CO. 21. Ensure consistency among multiple GTMs under a single contract when providing guidance to the Contractor and evaluating the Contractor's performance. 22. Perform all acceptance tests required by the contract. 23. Establish and maintain adequate COR files. 24. Prepare statements of satisfactory performance or deviations, shortages or deficiencies. 25. Monitor the Contractor's use of key personnel and notify the CO of any changes in key personnel proposed by the contractor. 26. Review and approve the Contractor's vouchers or invoices.

GTM DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Make recommendations, provide technical monitoring, advice, and assistance to aid the COR in the monitoring and evaluation of a contractor's performance, and document and report any non-conformance of contract or task order performance. All such actions shall be made in writing to the COR. 2. Keep the COR informed of all actions taken. 3. Promptly notify the COR in writing of any noncompliance or deviation in performance or fai1ure to make performance. 4. Execute receiving reports promptly and transmit them to the COR. 5. Know and understand the terms and provisions of the contract. 6. Know and understand the scope and limitations of GTM authority. 7. Notify the COR immediately, verbally and in writing, if delivered supplies or services should be rejected. 8. Prepare written reports to the COR, setting forth problem(s) encountered and contractor disputes. 9. Notify the COR in writing if unable to perform your designated duties.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 1. U.S. citizen, obtain/maintain Department of State Secret security, Medical and Ethics clearance. 1. A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution. 2. For COR, Fifteen (15) years' professional work experience, of which four years should be directly related to performing functions in program management and/or contractor oversight. For GTM, Ten (10) years' professional work experience, of which one year should be directly related to performing functions in program management and/or contractor oversight. 3. Training or experience in contract administration principles, policies, regulations and procedures. 4. Demonstrated knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. 5. Demonstrated knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. 6. Ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. 7. Coordination -- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. 8. Judgment and Decision Making, considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. 9. Demonstrated ability to facilitate win-win outcomes and reconcile competing or opposing points of view. 10. Demonstrated superior writing and communication skills. 11. Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar. 12. Demonstrated ability to communicate information and ideas orally so others will understand. 13. Demonstrated ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. 14. Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. 15. Writing and communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. 16. Demonstrated ability to engage constructively with senior government and industry officials. 17. Complete the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) distance-learning course through Foreign Service Institute (FSI) within 120 of arriving at Post. Obtain/maintain Federal Acquisition Certification - Contracting Officer's Representative (FAC-COR) Level III Certification within 120 of arriving at Post. (see http://www.fai.gov for details) 18. Proven ability to complete Distance Learning (DL) FSI Introduction to Working in an Embassy (PN113) courses within six (6) months of assignment successfully.

Complexity The programs implemented by INL are generally highly complex multi-year development and capacity-building programs. The programs often require the ability to resolve critical problems and achieve difficult goals that may impact on other programs.

Programs are also characterized by large obligations of USG funds, a potentially high-risk security environment, a geographically broad operating platform, demanding program schedules, frequently-changing requirements, politically sensitive outcomes, multiple interagency and international actors, multiple contractor and sub-contractor relationships, and intense audit/oversight scrutiny. Detailed plans, goals, objectives and evaluation criteria are required for the long-range implementation and administration of the programs. Decisions concerning planning and organizing the programs are complicated by the intricacy of the contracts and the need to deal with multilayered concepts. Problems can arise that require intuition - the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong; inductive reasoning - the ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events); and deductive reasoning - the ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Physical Demands in Afghanistan The work requires the ability to travel to and from several remote areas. The work requires an above average resistance to fatigue and physical hardships. Successful completion of a State Department Class 1 unrestricted medical exam is required. Extended assignments to remote program sites will be required, necessitating the ability to walk medium to longer distances (hundreds of yards or more) on generally irregular dirt or stone surfaces, in both hilly and flat terrain. Additionally, those undergoing medical treatment or taking certain medicines that limit their physical or mental abilities may find it difficult to adhere to the limitations recommended by their physician(s). Travel on helicopters and/or cargo-oriented fixed wing aircraft may also be required. Those with ear or other problems, who do not easily adapt to pressurized environments or higher but non-pressurized environments, will find the travel requirements of these positions difficult. Climate conditions are also a factor. Work is often done in extremes of cold and heat, in dusty and windy environments, and frequently outdoors. Those with circulation problems or difficulties adapting to climate extremes or extremely dusty environments will find this aspect of the work difficult and may not be capable of passing the State Department required medical exam.

Evaluation Factors: Please note: The same Evaluation Factors will be used for both the COR and the GTM.

FACTOR 1: Program Management (25 points) Experience in providing contractor oversight on high dollar contracts, ensuring contractor requirements are being fulfilled per the Statement of Work and other deliverables; evaluating and documenting contractor performance, especially through a well-developed Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

FACTOR 2: Federal Acquisition (25 points) Comprehensive understanding of contract administration principles, policies, regulations and procedures, including U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

FACTOR 3: Department of State (25 points) Knowledge of Department of State INL programs and experience working programs or projects in an austere or post-conflict environment.

FACTOR 4: Past Performance (25 points) Past performance evaluation of applicant's ability to perform under a contract. In conducting the evaluation, the Government reserves the right to utilize all evaluation information available at the time of evaluation, whether provided by the applicant or obtained from other sources.

Pre-Award Ethical Responsibilities of PSC (JUN 2011) This solicitation may result in the award of one or more personal services contracts as defined in FAR 2.101. Prior to contract award, all offerors or quotes must advise the cognizant Contracting Officer if they have a personal conflict of interest, such as a financial conflict, that would prevent them from either meeting the requirements of the clause entitled, "Post-Award Ethical Responsibilities of Personal Services Contractors," or otherwise objectively performing their contractual duties upon contract award.

VETERAN'S PREFERANCE Veteran's Preference is not applicable to this position.

COMPENSATION For award, INL will negotiate for this contract based on the following: * Entry-level salary is at Step 1 of the grade range assigned to solicitation * Consideration given for experience relevant specifically to the solicitation requirements * Level and extent of experience dictates the salary level within the grade range

BENEFITS & ALLOWANCES AS A MATTER OF POLICY, INL NORMALLY AUTHORIZES THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

BENEFITS - IF APPLICABLE * Employee's FICA Contribution * Contribution toward Health and Life Insurance * Pay Comparability Adjustment * Annual Increase * Eligibility for Worker's Compensation * Annual & Sick Leave * 401K Plan

ALLOWANCES - IF APPLICABLE * Temporary Quarters Subsistence Allowance * Living Quarters Allowance * Post Allowance * Supplemental Post Allowance * Separate Maintenance Allowance * Education Allowance * Education Travel * Post Differential * Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure * Danger Pay

Link/URL: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/PSC-15-003-INL/listing.html