36E77618R0034-005.docx

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

HEALTHCARE RECRUITMENT & MARKETING

VHA RECRUITMENT MARKETING CAMPAIGN

INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT

TASK ORDER 1

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Table of Contents

5.3 TASK 3.0 Employ Analytics to Maximize Media Campaign Effectiveness and Return on Investment (ROI)

Appendix B: CLIN Structure Appendix C: Acronyms

1.0 Background

The expanding shortages in physician specialties, nursing, pharmacy and other occupations, coupled with an aging workforce, makes it imperative that VHA maintains a first-class, competitive recruitment and retention program. As VA continues to expand managed care and primary care, the need has shifted to physicians who are generalists and the mid-level practitioners who support the delivery of care that promotes health and prevents disease, supported by a highly competent tertiary underpinning. Many critical health care occupations within the Veterans Health Administration are predominately staffed by a cohort of employees at or near retirement age. The shortage of new professionals entering the workforce in many of these occupations is stimulating intense recruitment competition. Effective marketing efforts, including recruitment advertising in existing and developing media, will be a key element in efforts to achieve the approximate mix of healthcare provided to support the change from inpatient to outpatient care. The VA uses USAJobs and USA Staffing for processing job applicants. Because the VA currently is not able to place a tracking pixel or cookies on either the USAJobs or USA Staffing websites, maintaining a collection of critical tracking and related application data remains a challenge.

2.0 Purpose

Task Order (TO) 1 is hereby sought in support of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Workforce Management and Consulting Office (WMC). The VHA requires continuing assistance in developing and designing strategies for the implementation and maintenance of recruitment and retention programs for a variety of hard-to-fill health care, professional and technical positions. For the purposes of evaluation, the representative annual budget for TO1 is $7,500,000.00 for the base year and each option year.* *After an award decision is made, the Government and the selected contractor will work together to align the proposed media buying plan and level of effort with WMC’s actual budget in order to maximize VA’s ability to promote VA as an employer of choice.

3.0 Scope of Work

a. Contractor shall manage and oversee the VA’s nationwide recruitment, marketing, and advertisement for critical medical occupations and associated technical support personnel. Contractor shall assess the return on investment (ROI), effectiveness, and performance of the recruitment, marketing and advertising campaign using industry standard best practices and comprehensive metrics/analytics tools and techniques.

b. Contractor shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining an integrated, coherent, recruitment marketing campaign. This includes creating and developing themes, concepts, strategies, and promotional items to maximize VA exposure and foster a positive awareness of VA in the minds of the targeted audience. The contractor shall design material such as ads, videos, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), and brochures that promote the VA as an employer of choice. The contractor shall develop and maintain the VA Careers web site and associated social media profiles. All materials developed by the contractor shall comply with all applicable government and VA standards, shall be owned by the VA, and shall meet privacy and accessibility standards (i.e., section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act). Recruitment marketing strategies shall be designed to encourage the targeted group to apply for, and accept, employment with VA and to promote retention. This effort is a year-round, programmed approach that must be responsive to changing priorities and shifting staffing requirements. The contractor shall be available and flexible enough to meet short deadlines (24hr) that may arise from the VA mission requirements.

c. The target area is nationwide; however, VA needs may also require streamlined approaches, integration, or assistance on a regional, statewide, or local level. The principal target audiences in the VHA communications program are determined by recruiting goals and the communications strategy and include prospects of diverse demographics from all areas of the country. Targets may include (approximate age groups included):

i. Top 10 Critical Occupations – All working ages

ii. College students (two-year and four-year) and recent graduates

iii. Professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, dentists, nurse and other medical specialists, engineers, etc. (including those in school and in the workforce)

iv. Members of the general public who may influence the attitudes and decisions of the above primary prospects such as parents, other family members, college counselors, etc.

v. Veterans (prior active and/or reserve service)

vi. Members of minority and ethnic groups in occupations where there is under-representation (e.g.; native American, Hispanic, Asian, millennial generations, men in nursing, women in engineering, etc.)

vii. Rural defined locations

viii. Employee Referrals

d. Each advertisement must reflect and contain a specific reference to VA's policy for providing equal employment opportunity without regard to non-merit factors (race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or handicap). All advertising material must be supported by the facts. All materials developed--either print or electronic--must comply with governmental and VA policy regarding accessibility and privacy. All web development activity must comply with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

e. Services and products are to be furnished in accordance with delivery orders/modifications issued by the Contracting Officer during the performance period of this Contract. Services and products will be ordered as required by VA.

f. Any information and/or materials given to Contractor to accomplish the work shall remain the property of VA and must be returned upon expiration of the Contract, or at the request of the Contracting Officer, whichever is earlier.

g. If the contractor takes pictures of people to develop concepts and materials, he/she will be responsible for obtaining all releases or any signed consents required by VA policies. And remediating any PII or sensitive information that may be captured inadvertently in a photo or video.

h. All media programs shall be so coordinated as to reflect a unified approach regardless of the media used, without lessening the value and effectiveness of each media program.

i. The Contractor shall submit all concepts to the Contracting Officer for approval before proceeding with design. The Contractor will also submit drafts, layouts, proofs, photographs, etc. to the Contracting Officer, or designee, for inspection and approval prior to performance or preparation of the final product. Contractor shall provide a minimum of two alternative design concepts when presenting layouts for print ads and collateral pieces unless otherwise specified. Production schedules will allow 15 calendar days for inspection and approval from date of receipt by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). No material will be processed through the final stage of production, even if such action is covered by a delivery order, without specific approval of the COR. Copies of all materials developed will be provided to the COR at the time of presentation.

j. The Contractor shall submit biweekly (every two weeks) progress reports to the COR regarding all incomplete projects and proposals being prepared. Reports will include the task order number, title of the project, current status, and the target completion date. If the project is behind schedule, they will also include what is planned to enable completion of the project on time. Additionally, the Contractor shall identify any problem areas in complying with the requirements, their effect on the overall project, and steps being taken to remedy the problem. Outstanding problems must be reported until they are resolved. The reports shall include the name and telephone number of the person(s) preparing them. Finally, all reports shall be submitted within five workdays after the close of each reporting period.

k. All work must be in compliance with VHA advertising requirements and VA graphics standards, specifically the VA Tier 1 Graphic standards; include appropriate VA logos or Signatures; include OPIA Advertising Requirements; and be in performed in consultation with the PM/COR.

l. The Contractor shall place all ads, handle vendor billings, and subsequently be reimbursed by VA according to established procedures.

m. The Contractor shall develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor, evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the VA’s recruitment marketing programs and advertising campaign. KPIs will be reviewed and approved by the COR and PM. KPIs will also be used to assess recruitment effectiveness and to continually improve hiring efficiency and return on investment (ROI). Quarterly metric reporting will synthesize a plethora of information to draw informed conclusions, be easy to access and understand, and include recommendations and action plans to optimize the VA’s recruitment campaign. The Contractor shall track key performance indicators using a two-fold approach–advertising side tracking and conversion side tracking. The primary KPI is Lead conversion to Hires. The Contractor will implement leading marketing tools to track metrics and measure all identified KPIs.

3.1 Contractor Requirements, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure

The contractor shall follow all Government rules and regulations regarding information security to prevent disclosure of sensitive information to unauthorized individuals or organizations. No information shall be released to any source unless authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer for this requirement.

Contractor staff and management may have access to some privileged and confidential materials of the United States Government such as budget and strategic plans. These printed and electronic documents are for internal use only, are not to be copied or released without permission, and remain the sole property of the United States Government. Some of these materials may be protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (revised by PL 93-5791) and Title 18. Unauthorized disclosure of Privacy Act or Title 18 covered materials is a criminal offense.

The regulatory standard of conduct governs all personnel, directly and indirectly, involved in procurements. All personnel engaged in procurement and related activities shall conduct business in a manner above reproach and, except as authorized by statute or regulation, with complete impartiality and with preferential treatment for none. The general rule is to avoid strictly any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest in Government-contractor relationships.

3.2 Other Personnel Considerations

Personnel assigned by the contractor to the performance of work on this contract shall be acceptable to VA in terms of personal and professional conduct and technical knowledge. Should the assignment to this contract of any person by the contractor be deemed to conflict with the interests of VA, or in the event performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory at any time during the life of the contract, the Contracting Officer may notify the contractor and request the person be immediately removed from the assignment. The reason for removal will be documented and a request to receive key personnel replacement within three (3) business days of the notification will be made. Replacement key personnel qualifications shall be equal to or greater than those of the key personnel being replaced. Employment and staffing difficulties will not be justification for failure to meet established schedules.

4.0 Performance Details

4.1 Period of Performance

The period of performance for this PWS will be for one (1) year, plus four (4) option years.

4.2 Type of Order

This TO will be issued on a firm fixed price basis.

4.3 Place of Performance

The primary place of performance shall be the Contractor’s facility.

4.4 Travel

The contractor shall conduct travel in support of this TO and will be reimbursed in accordance with applicable Federal travel regulations. The Contractor shall submit all proposed travel plans to CO and COR for review and approval no less than 5 business days in advance of the anticipated departure date.

Travel costs will be included in task orders as a separate, cost-reimbursable, “not to exceed” line item.

The principal place of performance for services provided in the task order Performance Work Statement (PWS) is projected to be at the Contractor’s site. However, the contractor may be required to attend meetings at the Government site location. Authorized travel will be reflected as a separate line item and as a not-to-exceed (NTE) total expenditure. Additionally, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) must approve all travel requirements/requests before travel begins. Travel that occurs without pre-approval by the COR will NOT be reimbursed (See Attachment Travel Authorization Request Form). Travel and per diem expenses will be reimbursed on an actual expenditures basis in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations and FAR 31.205-46. In order to be reimbursed for travel, the contractor shall submit supporting documentation as required by Federal Travel Regulations with invoices. Expenses for subsistence and lodging will be reimbursed to the contractor only to the extent where an overnight stay is necessary and authorized by Federal Travel Regulations in effect at the time of the stay for the specific location. Profit and G&A will not be an allowable reimbursement expense for travel.

4.5 Contractor Responsibilities:

a. The Contractor shall bear the expense of the SAC/NCHC, background investigation(s), regardless of the final adjudication determination. A Bill of Collections shall be generated by VA after final adjudication determination has been received. Final adjudication results may take up to six months but normally received within 90 days after submission. VA has determined this contract requires the following levels of investigations and associated costs (per person):

· RECIPROCITY $30.00

· NACI $279.00

b. The amounts stated above are the current for fiscal year 2018 but subject to annual price changes as established by OPM in the Federal Investigation Notices. Contractors shall be billed per Office of Personnel Management/Security Investigations Center (OPM/ SIC) guidelines and should anticipate annual increases. All fee schedule questions should be directed to the SIC at 501-257-4031 or e-mail: vhalitsiccontracting@va.gov.

c. Contractors who have a favorably adjudicated background investigation and it has been determined by the SIC to be acceptable may be eligible for Reciprocity. The Contractor will be required to complete the Declaration of Federal Employment Form (OF-306), and complete a new SAC/NCHC submission. The SIC is the Agency Authority regarding Reciprocity. Access to the VA cannot be granted until the SIC has received all requirements from the Contractor (subcontractor).

NOTE: Documents and instructions regarding background investigations can be viewed and downloaded from the following website: http://www1.va.gov/vabackground_investigations

d. The Contractor (subcontractor) employee must complete the SAC/NCHC (fingerprinting) requirement electronically at the VA Medical Center. The Contractor shall contact by telephone the local VA Medical Center (VA Police or VA Human Resource Office) to establish appointments for fingerprinting. VA uses electronic fingerprint machines which require the Contract (subcontractor) employee to fill out the Electronic Fingerprint Verification Letter on the VA’s Security Investigations Website. The Contractor (subcontractor) employee will return this completed Electronic Fingerprint Verification Letter to the SIC via a traceable method (FedEx, DHL, etc.), after electronic fingerprints have been completed.

VA Law Enforcement Training Center/SIC Attn: CONTRACTOR 2200 Fort Roots Drive, Bldg. 104 North Little Rock, AR 72114 Please feel free to contact the SIC at commercial 501-257-4128 or 501-257-4215 or e-mail vhalitsiccontracting@va.gov with any questions during this process.

e. The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, will withdraw the employee from consideration from working under the contract and return all Government Property.

f. Upon contract award and request by the contracting office, the Contractor (subcontractor) shall furnish the Information Security Office and the Contracting Officer a list of personnel performing work on the contract. The list will include a brief description of the work to be performed and degree of access to information management systems required. The description of required degree of access will address if remote access is required. The Contractor shall update and submit the list of personnel performing work on the contract to the Information Security Office every (calendar) year, throughout the contract period. Furthermore, it is the Contractors responsibility to notify the Information Security Office when personnel performing work under this contract no longer requires access to the information management systems within 24 hours of employee change.

g. Per VA Directive 6500.6 dated March 12, 2010, the Contractor (subcontractor) employee shall complete all required VA Information Security Training classes entitled “VA Information Security Awareness” and VHA Privacy Policy” on a yearly basis. Certificate(s) of successful completion will be generated for each course. These certificates of successful completion shall be maintained by the Contractor, the Information Security Office, and the Contracting Officer and be made available for inspection and audit as determined by the Government.

h. Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security requirements shall result in termination of the contract for default.

i. Contractor (subcontractor) personnel performing work under this contract shall satisfy all requirements for appropriate security eligibility in dealing with access to sensitive information and information systems belonging to or being used on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs’. The Contractor (subcontractor) will be responsible for the actions of those individuals they provide to perform work for VA under this contract. In the event that damages arise from work performed by Contractor (subcontractor) provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the Contractor will be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident. Printed output containing sensitive VHA data will be stored in a secured area and disposed of properly by shredding using a NIST-compliant shredder or other VA approved method. Under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, personnel performing work under this contract have an obligation to protect VA information indefinitely. Furthermore, it is the Contractor’s responsibility to notify the Information Management Staff when access to Information Management systems is no longer needed by personnel performing work under this contract.

j. No VA data is permitted to be stored on a desktop, laptop or other portable electronic device, including but not limited to portable media, flash drives, CDs/DVDs, external hard drives, etc., without approval by the Information Security Office. Any portable device media which has been granted approval to be utilized by the Contractor (subcontractor), by the Information Security Office will be encrypted in accordance with the security requirements identified in FIPS 140-2. Only flash drives and encryption software explicitly approved by VA may be used. No contractor (non-VA) equipment is permitted to be connected to the VA network without prior approval. If a laptop or desktop computer must be connected, a security check must be completed by the Information Technology Staff at the local Information Security Office. If unapproved equipment is detected, it will be immediately disconnected from the VA network.

5.0 Specific Mandatory Tasks and Deliverables

5.1 TASK 1.0 Integrated, Coherent, Recruitment Marketing Campaign Development

a. The Contractor shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining an integrated, coherent, recruitment marketing campaign—one that reaches many, engages the qualified, and hires the best. This includes creating and developing themes, concepts, strategies, and promotional items to maximize VA exposure and foster a positive awareness of VA in the minds of the target audience. To ensure a favorable user experience, the contractor shall ensure the content on the VA Careers site is accurate, helpful and adds value for users.

b. The target audience consists of those highly qualified candidates capable of filling the top ten healthcare occupations.

c. The Contractor shall negotiate media buys that maximize added value for television, commercial, and owned media (VA Career Site, VHA Facebook page, VA blog, etc.) with best value viewership venues and shows at best value times in media plans and agreements.

d. The Contractor shall determine the most cost-effective, time-efficient recruitment advertisement approach for reaching the target audience as confirmed through review and analysis of metrics data. Results of contractor’s review and analysis indicating cost effectiveness and time efficiency improvements shall be included in the Quarterly Media Buying Plan.

e. Media purchases shall employ venues that are capable of integrating with a Candidate Relationship Manager or an Applicant Tracking System capable of interfacing with USAJobs and/or USA Staffing.

f. Contractor shall make media buy trade-offs that consider the following:

i. Represent best value in terms of viewership, website exposure

ii. Marketing, packaging, shipping materials and letters, flyers, collateral, etc., that produce excitement and maximum exposure of messaging that actively promotes the VHA Marketing & Advertising Campaign

iii. Employment of social media advertising to promote increased awareness and interest in VHA careers

iv. Innovative recruitment marketing and advertisement approaches with proven effectiveness Deliverable: Media Buying Plan The Media Buying Plan shall clearly articulate the methodology and approach to ensure a cost-effective recruitment marketing campaign that meets the goals and objectives outlined herein. The media plan shall be broken down into the following sections:

a. Target Market Identification Include verifiable information that was derived from market research to determine the target market. Include the following items concerning the target market:

i. Age

ii. Income

iii. Sex (Male/Female)

iv. Diversity

v. Education level

vi. Geographical distribution

vii. Estimated universe of target audience

b. Strategy Scheduling and Budgeting Allocation to include:

i. Graphical illustrations of month-by-month ad placements for time specified during the period of performance

ii. Type of scheduling (e.g., Burst, Flighting, Continuous, Pulsing)

c. Performance Management Include the KPIs, metrics, methodology and approach used to project the performance of the recruitment marketing campaign. This information is critical for responding to VA leadership’s inquiries related to the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Media Buying Plan. Outline how the Media Buying Plan will promote the achievement of the following goals:

i. Maximize awareness of VA/VHA’s brand image

ii. Maximize leads, impressions and potential VHA career applicants

iii. Maximize targeted traffic to USAJobs, USA Staffing and the VA Career websites for job seeking healthcare providers and associated technical support staff

iv. Meet the hiring targets for the top ten healthcare occupations:

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· Medical Officer (Physician)

· Registered Nurse (RN)

· Human Resources Management

· Phycology

· Physician Assistant

· Medical Technologist

· Physical Therapist

· Pharmacist

· Practical Nurse

· Occupational Therapist v.

vi. Maximize the number of impressions per hire for all occupations,

vii. Vendor media plans and marketing efforts will produce sufficient quality applications and demonstrated production to achieve 10% of the total selects of hires for Medical Officers, Nurses, and totals for all Occupations. Previous Applications and selection numbers are provided as a guide of historical efforts. If the vendor does not achieve a 10% goal in each category, success will be measured and demonstrated by having 10% attributed to Selections. If 10% of selections are not achieved, then success will be measured by comparing similar preceding time period results, i.e. Impressions, cost per click, applications, page views, etc. The last resort to measure success will be by comparing the FY 17 Recruitment Marketing Funnel YTD results to the results from the vendor’s results over the period of performance.

viii. Vendor will take every measure using industry best practices, key performance indicators and tracking to demonstrate favorable taxpayer return on investment at the most accurate level of the recruitment marketing funnel possible.

d. Risks Identify all associated risks and mitigation techniques utilized during the media planning phase

The Media Buying Plan is required to be submitted the Contracting Officer, PM and COR no later than 15 calendar days from the start of period of performance (Contract Award).

5.2 TASK 2.0 Purchase and Placement of All Media Buys

Upon Government approval of the Media Buying Plan, the contractor shall purchase and place media buys for all media venues and types on behalf of the VA to ensure the best pricing and that the selected programming will reach the target audience. The contractor shall present trade-offs that address the following objectives:

a. Develop marketing, packaging, shipping materials and letters, flyers, collateral, etc., that produce excitement and sales messages to actively promote the VHA Marketing and Advertising Campaign for maximum use. Include social advertising online that can be considered for promotions and to increase awareness.

b. Negotiate media buys that maximize added value for PSA runs in best value viewership venues and shows at best value times in media plans and agreements.

Deliverable: Quarterly Media Buying Plan The contractor shall develop and provide the initial Quarterly Media Buying Plan to the Contracting Officer, COR and PM no later than 15 days after the start of the performance period. Subsequent Quarterly Media Buying Plan shall be provided to the CO, COR and PM 15 days before the start of each media cycle. The government must have a clear understanding of what actual media purchases will take place for the upcoming quarter. The Quarterly Media Buying Plan shall include the following:

a. Title: Combined Quarterly Media Buying Plan

b. Date of Submission

c. To and From Dates of what the quarterly plan includes

d. Month by Month breakdown for quarter

e. Actual Quotes from major broadcast networks

· Discounts Received

· Negotiated Pricing

f. Targeted regions/markets

g. Combined Media Purchases

h. Projected and actual healthcare occupation impressions

i. Description of how placements are tailored for each target audience

j. Description of which occupations placements are geared toward

k. Outline of what assets will be placed (15 second or 30 second, digital, banner, etc.)

l. Stations/Websites where media will be placed

m. Frequency for placing assets each month

n. Projected expenditures per month

o. Provide a comprehensive report on purchased media ROI.

p. Include the KPIs and metrics used to measure the performance of the Quarterly Media Buying Plan. The plan shall employ quantitative scorecards to justify the marketing budget and validate the effectiveness of marketing investments (e.g. job board performance, paid per click campaigns, etc.).

q. Provide justification for decision to market (method/location). Does past ROI justify repeated purchase? If new method/location – what leads to conclusion that this is a good investment.

NOTES:

· The contractor must provide full disclosure of all fees for media placement during the performance of this TO.

· Any commissions received for media placements will be applied as a credit to the cost of the project.

· All proposed media buys shall be in accordance with the quarterly media buying plan and reviewed and approved by the by the PM and COR.

5.3 TASK 3.0 Employ Analytics to Maximize Media Campaign Effectiveness and Return on Investment (ROI)

a. Contractor shall establish, maintain, obtain COR approval and use measurement tools, performance parameters and metrics to maximize the effectiveness and assess the return on investment (ROI) for select media channels based on recruitment marketing media best practices. Contractor shall provide the PM/COR all vendors, tools, and platforms used to meet the requirements outlined in this Performance Work Statement. The Contractor shall alternate methods of data collection including but not limited to “text to reply” tracking, SIGMA, VA entrance Survey Lead Source Report, USA Staffing reports and other tools as they become available. Measurement tools, performance parameters, and metrics will be the reviewed and approved by the COR and the PM 15 days after the start of the performance period.

b. Contractor shall ensure effective monitoring, evaluation, and optimization to enhance the VA’s nationwide recruitment, marketing and advertisement for critical healthcare and associated technical support occupations. Contractor’s approach will be approved by the COR and PM prior to implementation but not to exceed 30 days after the start of the performance period.

c. Monitor. Contractor shall ensure sufficient collection of data to effectively monitor the performance of select media channels and recruitment marketing as per industry best practices. Baselines for each monitored metric shall be established, which will become the basis for an effective alerting method. Metric baselines will be the reviewed and approved by the COR and the PM 15 days after the start of the performance period.

i. Contractor shall monitor recruitment marketing KPIs and hiring pipeline analytics (the VA uses USA Staffing and USAJobs) to inform recruitment marketing and advertising recommendations to improve hiring efficiency and return on investment.

ii. Contractor shall use lead source data from VA Entrance Surveys in metrics measures and analytics performance assessments

iii. The Contractor shall employ Google Analytics as an integrated tracking tool for collecting and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) and associated metrics. These metrics shall include, but are not limited to:

· IMPRESSIONS: The number of people who were served a VA job advertisement in search results

· CLICKS: The number of times VA job advertisement(s) were clicked on or viewed by candidates

· LEADS: The number of leads generated by VA job advertisements

· Cost per Lead (CPL)

· Cost per click (CPC)

· Click-through-rate (CTR): Ratio of users who click to IMPRESSIONS

· Cost per applicant (CPA)

· Cost per quality applicant (CPQA)

· APPLICANTS: The number of users who have completed applications for a particular job or set of jobs

· CONVERSION RATE: APPLICANTS as a percentage of IMPRESSIONS

· QUALITY APPLICANTS: The number of applicants that pass through a pre-qualifying phase in the application process

· HIRE RATE: HIRES as a percentage of total APPLICANTS

· Percentage of HIRES by Occupation

· Cost per HIRE

iv. The Contractor shall identify the lead source for each applicant

v. The Contractor shall provide the total percentage of hires resulting from VA advertising and the percentage of hires by job series

vi. The Contractor shall implement tracking pixels on the USAJobs and USA Staffing websites to provide seamless performance monitoring and metrics throughout all stages of the hiring funnel.

d. Evaluate. Contractor shall provide performance reporting on select media channels and the VA’s recruitment marketing campaign. These reports shall evaluate results based on KPIs and monitor the overall performance and success of the media plan. The analysis shall be focused on extracting meaningful, actionable insights, which can be used to enhance and improve the media plan.

The Contractor shall use a recruitment marketing platform with a client reporting dashboard that provides clear visualization of KPIs and performance metrics associated with the recruitment marketing and advertising campaign.

e. Optimize. Contractor shall analyze KPIs and analytics to evaluate the performance and identify recommendations to optimize the media campaign. This includes consideration of results for specific recruitment campaigns and media vendors. Optimization considerations include but shall not be limited to:

· Maximizing hiring efficiency

· Removing underperforming media

· Increasing investment on successful media

· Increasing or decreasing Cost Per Click bids

· Expanding or reducing geo-targeting, adding new markets

· Adjusting keywords

· Adjusting targeting (such as occupation targeting)

· Evaluating the marketing and recruitment strategies using analytics Deliverable: Quarterly Report. A comprehensive summary of the VHA media campaign performance against recruitment and advertisement goals. This report shall detail KPIs, ROI and other contractor-determined metrics and analytics performance reporting that provides an assessment of the media campaign effectiveness. The report shall be submitted to the CO, COR and the PM within 45 days of the quarterly media schedule. The Quarterly Media Report shall include the following sections:

a. Media Purchases. Provide a comprehensive report on KPIs and metrics to evaluate the media campaign performance and purchased media ROI.

b. Monitoring, Evaluation & Optimization. The contractor shall provide a comprehensive report on KPIs and metrics to evaluate the overall performance of the media campaign. This includes capture and evaluation of KPIs to assess performance and providing recommendations for maximizing media campaign’s performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

c. PSA Distribution Report. Include name and location of stations. Refer to Task 4.0

d. Marketing Strategies Report. Providing analytics reporting on the organizations targeted, organizational engagements, and the outcome of each engagement. Refer to Task 5.0

e. Social Media Report. Include social media content, activity and analytics to include the number of posts, results, graphics, and promotion of VHA recruitment events and initiatives. Refer to Task 7.0

f. Production Report. Include updates completed, new products, training developed, and the status of pending updates will be delivered to the CO, COR, and PM by the 5th of each month following the end of each quarter. Refer to Task 8.0

g. Media Content Report. Include all written and designed content for the previous quarter. Include supporting analytic and metrics measurements, shares, etc. that demonstrate strengths and/or weaknesses of results. Propose recommendations for improving media content effectiveness. Refer to Task 9.0

h. Lead Report. Provide analytics reporting on the results of lead generation resulting from Prospect Management and Virtual Recruiting Center operations. Refer to Task 10.0

i. Choose VA. Provide a Choose VA / VA Careers metrics report for measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) that quantify the activity of users who access the interface between Choose VA and VA Careers websites. The Choose VA / VA Careers metrics report shall include the following KPIs:

i. Number of users that are linked from Choose VA to VA Careers:

ii. Amount of time on Choose VA website

iii. Amount of time on VA Careers website

iv. Where users go after landing on VA Careers website

v. Number of users who submit applications Refer to Task 11.0

5.4 TASK 4.0 PSA Editing and Nationwide Distribution

The Contractor shall market and distribute PSA nationwide; maximizing rural and adding Hispanic markets by using the newly added Spanish version of existing PSA this includes one edit of the existing PSA during the period of performance. The Contractor shall conduct trade-offs to develop marketing, packaging, shipping materials and letters, flyers, collateral, etc., that produce excitement and sales messages to actively promote, with follow-up the VHA PSA for maximum use, including the Spanish version.

Deliverable: PSA Distribution Report. This report shall include: Name and location of stations. The PSA Distribution Report shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer and COR. The PSA Distribution Report is due within 30 calendar days following each quarter.

5.5 TASK 5.0 Annual Reports

The contractor shall provide an Annual Report to validate and analyze performance. Annual reports shall include the following:

a. Project Title

b. Date of Submission

c. Point of Contact Information

d. Number of times all media is placed and run

e. Run times of each airing or placements

f. Names of programs/sites to be aired on before/ during/ after

g. Number of applicants that made the Certificate broken out by lead source

h. Number of applicants interviewed broken out by lead source

i. Number of applicants who received offers broken out by lead source

j. Number of applicants hired broken out by lead source Note: For items g – h above, the VA will provide this data and the contractor and COR shall determine the conversion data necessary to establish the duration of each phase and include these time measurements in the Annual Report.

Deliverable: Annual Media Performance Report that integrates the Quarterly Performance Reports into a single report for the fiscal year, highlighting trends and summarizing performance against recruitment and advertisement goals. The Annual Report shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer, PM, and COR. Reports are submitted within 45 days following the end of the media schedule.

5.6 TASK 6.0 Public Relations and Community Outreach

Contractor shall generate social media marketing strategies and identify story ideas to publicize noteworthy recruitment opportunities while promoting the VA brand and encouraging users to apply for VA healthcare occupation vacancies. Social media marketing strategies shall also maximize health care candidate leads, promote VHA brand, increase VHA visibility and target specific audiences.

All contractor/subcontractor coordination and communications will be hosted by VHA Staff. Exceptions may be authorized only in advance by written consent from the COR.

Activities will include posts on owned sites at industry standard frequency for new posts and interactions.

Deliverable: Marketing Strategies Plan. Delineates the methods and venues to develop healthcare candidate leads and to promote the VHA brand through public relations and community outreach. The plan shall include contractor-determined KPIs and analytics to measure the success of the PR and Community Outreach efforts. The plan will be delivered to the Contracting officer, COR, and PM within 15 calendar days of the start of the performance period.

Deliverable: Marketing Strategies Report (See paragraph 5.3)

5.7 TASK 7.0 VHA Social Media Opportunities

Contractor shall employ the full range of social media tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.), applying industry best practices, leveraging VHA expertise in healthcare recruitment, and applying industry standard marketing and outreach to target qualified healthcare candidates.

Utilize emerging social media marketing tools (Examples: Twitter, Facebook, blogs), historical data and industry best practices, expertise in healthcare recruitment, knowledge from metrics and analytics through industry marketing standards and outreach to communicate and interact daily (M-F) to target audience in the area of healthcare recruitment for VHA. Insights gained from metrics and analytics shall influence the approach to reach the target audience and expand the qualified candidate pool.

Contractor shall respond with a marketing plan and budget recommendation to special initiatives requiring quick turnaround (within 24 hrs.) and employ a synergistic use of communication channels, keeping in mind the best use of budget with the highest yield. This is normally decided by priorities of the VA Secretary.

Promote monthly VHA Recruitment Twitter Chats among healthcare audiences using social media strategies (within seven (7) business days of event) and provide assistance in the execution of the live Twitter Chat. Promote VA Careers Blogs and provide editorial updates and reviews.

Provide Google Hangout and other social meeting opportunities to implement and infuse best practices in social media marketing to the VHA Recruitment Social Media program, including VA Careers Blog and VA Careers Facebook.

Deliverable: Social Media Report (See paragraph 5.3)

5.8 TASK 8.0 Creative Strategy, Execution, and Production

Contractor shall maintain existing tools and support that includes quarterly training Recruiter’s Resource tool on the VA Intranet that provides recruitment tools. Current tools include a document library, web banner gallery, advertisement customization service, event calendar posting tool, and photo gallery. Tools and support applications shall be filed on the VHA SharePoint workspace, with external sources being hosted on the contractor’s server to support re-direction. External tools include Event Calendar portal that promotes to VA Careers home page, Ad Creator, Ad customization tool, a Web Banner Gallery and Photo Gallery. Tools are accessed to a network of 170 (all) VA facilities in addition to meeting the national needs of the organization. Contractor shall collaborate with the VHA to develop/ maintain and update tools and toolkits, sharing platforms, creative executions and tactics for the broadest use by providing tools and support to a network of 170 (all) VA facilities in addition to meeting the national needs of the organization.

VHA has specified the following requirements for creative campaign development, including the following mandates:

a. Maintain and update the VA Careers web site, ensuring:

· Simple, logical page layout and design

· Content accuracy

· Content relevance

· Content validity

· Technical updating The site will promote VA as an employer of choice and serve as a state-of-the-art, competitive recruitment web site. The site will allow totally automated application submission (manual option will also be allowed), electronic posting of vacancy information by VA facilities, and provide general information regarding VA. The site will also provide management information supporting recruitment and retention activities including an occupational staffing database and the ability to create custom reports regarding such measures as time to fill vacancies, employment by category, etc.

b. Maintain and Update Local Ad Customization (templates and ad-builder) for widespread geographic applications (Combine)

c. Monthly, announcements that inform, train, educate, generate awareness to Recruitment Staff. VHA recruiter engagement initiatives

d. Maintain and follow existing online brand/advertising guidelines. See (VA Tier 1 Graphic Standards https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/graphicstandards/va_graphicstandardsguide_508_0113.pdf). Interpretations will be adjudicated by VA personnel with the required expertise (i.e. VHA Digital Media).

e. Creative Execution and Production is an on-going process to meet media plan requirements. The Contractor shall use existing creative and artwork that will be provided from incumbent.

f. Contractor will design at least one additional overarching theme per task order. daily/weekly/monthly online & offline advertisements, web, mobile, collateral and digital advertisements in adherence to our creative platform and Graphic Standards, when a new theme is developed, updates shall be provided to keep toolkit and exhibit displays within including Ad Creator templates to keep recruiter tool consistent and current with proposed messaging.

· Creative Design/Production Photography New Strategic Design Initiatives

· Photo/Video Shoot at VA facility

· Creative Look & Feel for Local Initiative

· Monthly Creative Design & Production for Local Creative Initiative for Nurse Executive Program

g. Contractor shall produce Video Testimonials of at least ten (10) new VHA Employees that meet VA style guide semi-annually

· Edited for best narrative content

· Coordinated with VHA content manager to ensure 508 Compliance through YouTube

· All videos shall be completed and ready for delivery within 48 hours after final approval by COR and PM

· Total project duration, from initial tasking to project completion, should not exceed one week Deliverable: Production Report (See paragraph 5.3)

5.9 TASK 9.0 Content Development and Writing

The Contractor shall provide quality written content that focuses on the accuracy of language, flow, clarity of thought and overall readability, as well as check for grammar and spelling. When performing edits, the Contractor shall comply with the policies and standards as outlined in the VA Tier 1 Graphic Standards. This applies to all types of reports/ documents, including web content, blog articles, twitter chats, social media promotions, PowerPoint presentations, itineraries and meeting agendas.

Contractor shall provide Quarterly Communication Messages for VHA addressing the following topics:

· Strategies to promote Local VAMC opportunities for recruitment (Plan, Budget, Timeline, and Content)

· Communications promoting Nurse Executive Initiative

· Human interest recruitment stories and testimonials on the VHA VA Careers Blog.

· Provide monthly social media posts for VHA Public Affairs as directed by the COR to designated VHA representative.

· Provide annual social media content, graphics, and promotion of VHA recruitment events and initiatives directed by the COR to designated VHA representative. To event manager VHARecruitmentMarketing@va.gov

· Develop blogs that support proposed marketing strategy that are approved by the COR and PM prior to posting and publishing on media venues.

The Government will have fifteen (15) business days to review and provide feedback and/or comments. The contractor shall have five (5) business days to discuss/ clarify/ incorporate comments from the Government and provide a revised submission at no cost to the Government.

When feasible, each advertisement must reflect and contain a specific reference to VA's policy for providing equal employment opportunity without regard to non-merit factors (race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or handicap). All advertising material must be supported by the facts. All materials developed either print or electronic must comply with governmental and VA policy regarding accessibility and privacy. All web development activity must comply with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Deliverable: Media Content Report. (See paragraph 5.3)

5.10 TASK 10.0 Prospect Management / Virtual Recruiting Center The Contractor shall provide communication messages, scripts and audit operations at the Virtual Recruiting Center (VRC) as described below.

a. Contractor shall perform the following:

i. Management, maintenance and promotion of scripts provided by VHA

ii. Performing analytics reporting on each Call to Action (CTA)

b. Audit operations of the Virtual Recruiting Center and provide Quarterly reporting:

1. Number of Leads by Lead source

1. Number Veterans referred to VA For Vets

1. Number entered into Applicant Tracking System.

c. Prospect Management Support for Recruitment Conferences

d. Marketing and promotional operations for up to TBD recruitment conferences:

i. Design and execution of the recruitment marketing

ii. Support the pre- and post-marketing planning and execution

iii. Conduct lead collection and management

e. Develop the collection, tracking and management of an Employee Referral service by leveraging the capabilities of the Virtual Career Center Deliverable: Contractor shall perform analytics reporting of prospect fulfillment and provide to COR and PM no later than 36 hours after each event.

Deliverable: Lead Report. (See paragraph 5.3)

5.11 TASK 11.0 Use “Choose VA” to Elevate VA Brand Awareness and Recruiting The contractor shall develop strategies, content, and promotions by leveraging the…