Attachment 1 - Statement of Work.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

FOR ORGANIZATIONAL OMBUDS SERVICES

SOLICITATION #93310022Q0016

1.0 Background

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is an independent agency of the Federal Government responsible for promoting the development of sound and stable labor-management relationships, preventing or minimizing work stoppages by assisting labor and management to settle their disputes through mediation, and advocating collective bargaining, mediation and voluntary arbitration as the preferred process for settling issues between employers and representatives of employees. In addition, the FMCS mission includes developing the art, science and practice of conflict resolution, and fostering the establishment and maintenance of constructive joint processes to improve labor-management relationships, employment security and organizational effectiveness.

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this requirement is to obtain organizational ombuds services for the FMCS Office of the Ombuds. Areas of support will include providing a full range of informal conflict management services (e.g., consultations, referrals, facilitated discussions, shuttle diplomacy, coaching, training) to federal agencies while adhering to the International Ombuds Association (IOA) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

It is expressly agreed and understood that this is a non-personal services contract as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation 37.101, under which the services performed by the contractor are rendered in its capacity as an independent contractor. The Government will evaluate the quality of the service provided but retains no control over the contractor’s employees or agents. The contractor is solely liable for, and expressly agrees to indemnify the Government with respect to any liability producing acts or omissions by it or by its employees or agents.

3.0 Objective

The objective of this requirement is to obtain one (1) Associate Ombuds to provide support services to the FMCS Office of the Ombuds.

4.0 Personnel Requirements

4.1 The contractor shall have experience in identifying, preventing, and addressing a range of workplace conflicts to include highly complex and controversial issues.

4.2 The contractor shall have a working knowledge of processes, policies, and practices that impact the efficiency of conflict management systems.

4.3 The contractor shall have a complete understanding of and experience in applying the International Ombuds Association (IOA) Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct while providing organizational ombuds services to a diverse and dynamic federal workforce.

4.4 The contractor shall have experience in developing and delivering training (via classroom and virtual) on a variety of conflict management and leadership concepts that promote psychology safety, trust, fairness, respect, civility, holistic approaches to managing conflict, and informed decision-making.

4.5 The contractor shall have experience in developing, building, and maintaining trust with strategic business partners (e.g., Senior Leaders, Office of General Counsel, Inspector General, Human Resources, EEO, ADR, and Anti-harassment programs) to support the identifying, preventing, and managing conflict.

4.6 The contractor shall have experience in collecting, maintaining, securing, confidential ombuds data.

4.7 The contractor shall have experience in techniques to properly assess questions, concerns, perceptions that are brought to the attention of the Office of the Ombuds.

4.8 The contractor shall have experience in analyzing aggregate data to identify trends, patterns, and systemic issues in addition to identifying gaps, deficiencies, or any challenges with processes, practices, and policies that influence and impact an organization’s ability to develop and optimize conflict competence.

4.9 The contractor shall have experience in self-leadership, providing an empathetic ear, understanding and appreciation for valuing multiple perspectives, be accepting and sensitive to diversity issues, and have unwavering integrity.

5.0 Tasks

The contractor shall be responsible for providing a technically qualified individual who meets the requirements of Section 4.0 to perform organizational ombuds services to include the following tasks:

5.1 Serves as an associate ombuds to federal employees, groups, and senior leaders while adhering to FMCS Office of the Ombuds Charter.

5.2 Exercises high level skills in analysis, interpretation, and creativity for addressing a full range of workplace matters, perceptions, and systemic concerns while simultaneously advocating for self-determination, honest conversations, and fairness.

5.3 Advances the work of the Office of the Ombuds through ongoing research and analysis of practices, policies, processes, scholarly research, and studies related to improving individual and organizational capacity.

5.4 Meets with individuals and leaders who seek consultation about organizational challenges or who seek to explore creative or non-adversarial ways of understanding and addressing situations.

5.5 Creates and delivers training and educational seminars on a variety of topics to a diverse and dynamic federal workforce.

5.6 Assist with Standard Operating Procedures, reference manuals, and information sources, as well as the development of information to promote the services of the FMCS Office of the Ombuds.

6.0 Deliverables

Reports on progress of assigned tasks and activities performed under the task order are due to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) on a bi-weekly basis, or as otherwise required by the COR. Additional deliverables may be requested in writing to the contractor by the Contracting Officer or COR, as appropriate.

7.0 Period of Performance

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be twelve (12) months, to include a 6-month base period and a 6-month option period.

8.0 Place of Performance and Hours of Operation

8.1 The contractor shall provide a minimum of forty (40) hours per bi-week and a maximum of eighty (80) hours per bi-week of remote support to the Office of the Ombuds located at the FMCS Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

8.2 The working hours are dictated by the competing demands of the Office of the

Ombuds and may require working up to, but no more than, an eight-hour workday, which can begin not earlier than 0800 and end not later than 2100, Monday through Friday.

8.3 The Contractor is not required to provide service on the following U.S. Federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas day.

8.4 When the Government grants administrative leave to Government employees as a result of inclement weather, potentially hazardous conditions, or other special circumstances, contractor personnel may work at a preapproved alternate location or be dismissed.

8.5 Work performed on holidays and other non-work time is not billable unless it is specifically requested by the COR or the Contracting Officer and approved in advance.

9.0 Government Furnished Property/Equipment/Facilities

FMCS will provide the contractor personnel with computer, cell phone, software and network access necessary to perform the work requirements.

All materials provided by the Government during the course of this task order will remain the property of the Government and will be returned on completion of the task order. The contractor or their designated representative shall sign the required Government tracking document for the necessary supplied equipment.

10.0 Access to Information Technology Systems

All contractors and contractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards and FMCS policies as FMCS, and FMCS personnel, regarding information and information systems security. Contractors must follow policies and procedures outlined in FMCS IT Security Program to ensure appropriate security controls are in place.

A contractor shall request logical (technical) and/or physical access to FMCS information and FMCS information systems for employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary: (1) to perform the services specified in the task order, (2) to perform necessary maintenance functions for electronic storage or transmission media necessary for performance of the task order, and (3) individuals must satisfy the same conditions, requirements and restrictions comparable to FMCS employees in order to access the same type of FMCS information.

11.0 FMCS Information Custodial Requirements

Information made available to the contractor by FMCS for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the Contracting Officer.

FMCS information must not be co-mingled with any other data on the contractor’s/ subcontractor’s information systems/media storage systems in order to ensure FMCS requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. FMCS also reserves the right to conduct IT resource inspections to ensure data separation and on-site inspection of information destruction/media sanitization or disposal procedures to ensure they are in compliance with FMCS policy requirements.

Prior to termination or completion of this contract, the contractor shall not destroy information received from FMCS or gathered or created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the FMCS Contracting Officer. Any data destruction done on behalf of FMCS by a contractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements.

The contractor shall receive, gather, store, back-up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of FMCS information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and FMCS information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. Applicable Federal information security regulations include all Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Special Publications (SP) issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

If Federal or FMCS information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the FMCS information or information systems after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies, including FIPS or SP, in the contract.

The contractor shall not make copies of FMCS information except as necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor needs to be restored to an operating state.

If FMCS determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for FMCS to terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 12.

12.0 Security and Confidentiality

The contractor must have a completed background investigation at the Tier 2 moderate risk level (formerly MBI), or higher, with a favorable adjudication. FMCS will verify this information prior to start of the contract.

13.0 Non-Disclosure Agreement

Due to the sensitive nature of the data and information being worked with on a daily basis, the contractor shall provide a signed and completed NDA for each contractor personnel, to include the contractor’s subcontractors, having access to FMCS information to ensure information that is considered sensitive or proprietary is not compromised.

14.0 Personnel Conflicts of Interest

The term "personal conflict of interest" means that a contractor employee assigned to the task order has interests which (i) may diminish his/her capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance and advice in performing this task order, (ii) may otherwise result in a biased work product under this task order, or (iii) may result in an unfair competitive advantage.

A contractor employee shall not participate (i.e., recommend, influence, or decide) in any particular matters that:

• will have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of that employee, his/her spouse or minor child, or organization in which he/she serves as officer, director, trustee, general partner or employee,

• will have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of or any person or organization with whom he/she is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment, or

• may otherwise cause a reasonable person to question his/her impartiality.