Exec Support Services_Performance Work Statement.docx

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Human Capital

Executive Services Support

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

1.0 PURPOSE

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Human Capital (OHC) Executive Service (SES) program administers policies and implements programs for assessing, referring and selecting senior executive candidates. The staff develops and implements SES recruitment and staffing procedures and oversees performance appraisal and award systems to ensure that personnel operations are responsive to the needs of ICE management. The program also provides technical advice, guidance and support to the Executive Resource Board and SES Performance Review Boards. Executive Services serve as the focal point for coordinating and implementing Board actions and Bureau head decisions regarding executive personnel actions. The staff also develops all Qualification Review Board documentation for SES position selections for referral to DHS and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In addition, Executive Services develops the SES biennial space allocation request for the ICE SES program.

2.0 BACKGROUND

ICE is a law enforcement organization with over 20,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whose mission is to protect and defend the United States against terrorism, uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the country, and provides leadership and criminal justice services to the law enforcement community.

The ICE/OHC falls under the Management & Administration branch of ICE. OHC provides strategic programs, client services and workforce relations support to ICE employees. OHC provides oversight and guidance to ICE’s managers, ensuring compliance with human resources (HR) policies and practices.

3.0 SCOPE

The Executive Services Unit (ESU) provides operational support to ICE for the recruitment and management of senior executives and political appointees. ESU provides the full range of human resources management for career and non-career SES members, Presidential Appointees, and Schedule C employees. ESU assists the Director, Deputy Director, and the Executive Resources and Performance Review Boards in managing the Department’s executive resources and the senior executive and senior level pay-for-performance system. ESU areas of responsibility include recruitment, staffing and position management, performance and award management, executive development, policy recommendations, presidential transitions, and executive-level allocation management.

4.0 TYPE OF CONTRACT

Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) task order.

5.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The base year period of performance will be for a period of twelve (12) months. The option years, if exercised, will be for a period of four (4), twelve (12) month option periods. The Government may exercise the option in accordance with the clauses herein.

6.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All contractual support and functions will be performed at the vendor location or alternative location provided by the vendor.

20365 Exchange Street, Suite 200 Ashburn, VA 20147

The contractor may be allowed to telework or work remotely at the discretion of the Government.

7.0 TASK DESCRIPTIONS

The contractor shall provide the following human resources to the Office of Human Capital, Executive Services Unit to include but not limited to:

7.1 Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) Writer (2-4 Individuals as required)

· Work with tentative selectees for SES positions to prepare their QRB package (ECQs and resume) for submission to OPM’s QRB for certification

· Work directly with candidate to complete package within specified timeframe.

· Review candidate packages to ensure completeness including discussion of an appropriate number and level of the required competencies.

· Ensure that all documents submitted adhere to OPM guidelines as articulated in the OPM Guide to Executive Qualifications and meet the following requirements:

a. For the ECQs, must not exceed ten pages in length, single-spaced with one-inch margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font

b. For the Resume, must not exceed five pages in length, single-spaced with one-inch margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font

c. Candidate name and ICE Vacancy Announcement number (if applicable) in the header; each page numbered and centered in the footer

d. ECQs written using the Challenge-Context-Action-Result model with two examples per ECQ

e. Demonstrates a majority of competencies in each ECQ and addresses the fundamental competencies over the course of the complete ECQ statement

f. ECQs focus on tangible, measurable results with accomplishments quantified when appropriate

g. Includes specific examples not older than 10 years

· If ECQ narratives are returned by the DHS Executive Resources Board or OPM QRB with a decision other than “Approved,” contractor shall work with the candidate to resolve the documented concerns and finalize for resubmission.

· Maintain communication with COR/ESU to quickly resolve any concerns (i.e., unresponsive candidate).

8.0 PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

The personnel specified below are considered essential to the work being performed under this contract and may, with the consent of the contracting parties, be changed from time to time during the course of the contract by adding or deleting personnel, as appropriate.

The Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) must be notified in writing of any proposed substitutions at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the proposed substitution. The notification shall include: An explanation of the circumstances necessitating the substitution; and a resume of the proposed substitute. The CO and the COR will evaluate substitutions and notify the Contractor of their approval or disapproval in writing. For an approved substitution, the CO will prepare a contract modification, and it will be signed by the contractor before it becomes effective.

The Government has determined that the following position is a key personnel position for this requirement:

The Contractor shall comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.207-3 and offer the right of first refusal to the current incumbent personnel. The personnel on this task order shall possess the required experience to perform the duties as detailed in this Performance Work Statement.

9.0 Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) Writer (Subject Matter Expert)

· Minimum Experience: 5-8 years in-depth, progressively responsible knowledge and experience related to the development of OPM QRB certifiable ECQ packages.

· Assigned personnel must be fully knowledgeable of SES ECQs and the OPM QRB review process.

· Experience reviewing SES candidate ECQ statements for adequacy, presentation and adherence to OPM criteria (i.e. relevant competencies).

· Experience developing/editing SES candidate resumes for adequacy, consistency and appearance.

· Capable of working with SES selectees at different levels to develop and/or edit ECQ Statements for inclusion in Criterion A, B, or C ECQ packages.

· Documented OPM QRB first-time approval rate of 80% or higher on federally contracted ECQ packages. Provide resumes of all writers included in this effort.

10.0 DELIVERABLES

All deliverables shall be emailed to the Executive Services Unit POC/Program Manager, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer (CO) no later than 3:00 PM Central Time (CT) on the deliverable’s due date. Specific deliverables are outlined in table below.

Table 9.1 Deliverable Table

(5) business days after government’s review of Draft.

Draft – received on time. Final version - Accurate, complete, received on time.

due within five (5) business days of Government’s review.

Draft – received on time. Final version - Accurate, complete, received on time.

Note: For all deliverable due dates that fall on a weekend or Federal holiday, the deliverable will be due the following business day.

9.1 Inspection and Acceptance:

All deliverables shall be reviewed and accepted by the Government within a reasonable period of time, but in no case more than twenty (20) business days. A lack of response by the Government within twenty (20) business days can be construed as acceptance. In this event a final version, if applicable must be submitted by the vendor within the allocated number of days.

9.2 Acceptance Criteria:

The deliverables are prepared/packaged to meet the following quality criteria:

· All information is accurate and verifiable

· For each ECQ, acronyms are spelled out at first mention

· Deliverables are devoid of any Personally Identifiable Information/PII and other sensitive information

· Where appropriate, inclusion of all required steps

· Prepared/presented all required and necessary information in an easy to follow logical, sequential manner using appropriate formatting and best practices

· Feasibility fits into the parameters identified

· Uses active, not passive, language

· Written in succinct, simple, straightforward language

· Written requirements are at a consistent level of detail throughout the deliverables; and

· OPM standard requirements are met, and deliverables adhere to page limitations and other specifications as specified in Section 7 of this document.

9.3 Government Acceptance Period

The Task Order COR will review the deliverables prior to acceptance and provide the Contractor with an e-mail that provides documented reasons for non-acceptance. If the deliverable is acceptable, the Task Order COR will send an e-mail to the Contractor as notification that the deliverable has been accepted.

The Task Order COR will have the right to reject or require correction of any deficiencies found in the deliverables that are contrary to the information contained in the Contractor’s accepted quotation. In the event of a rejected deliverable, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the Task Order COR of the specific reasons for rejection. The Contractor shall have an opportunity to correct the rejected deliverable and return it per delivery instructions.

9.3 Monthly Report:

The Contractor shall provide a monthly Progress Report via electronic mail in Microsoft Word format on the 5th day of each month. This report shall include a summary of all work performed, (including a breakdown of labor hours by labor category, a summary of the tasks performed as well as quantities of work products produced, as applicable, and any Contractor concerns, issues, and recommendations).

9.4 Post Award Orientation Conference:

The Government shall conduct a Post Award Conference after the Task Order is issued and awarded. The purpose of the Post Award Conference is to discuss the Task Order and to clarify and establish roles and responsibilities under the Task Order. The Conference will be chaired by the Contracting Officer with the attendance of the COR and Contractor and other personnel deemed necessary by the CO. The Conference will be held within fifteen (15) calendar days after Task Order award. The Conference will be held at the Government’s designated facility and/or via teleconference.

9.5 Quality Control Plan:

The offeror shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Plan to ensure the services in the key areas of support are performed in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS), the offeror’s proposed technical approach and commonly accepted commercial practices. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent and ensure non- recurrence of defective services. The government reserves the right to perform inspections on services provided to the extent deemed necessary to protect the government’s interests. The contractor must control the quality of the services and deliverables provided in support of this task and maintain substantiating evidence that services conform to contract quality requirements and furnish such information to the government if requested.

9.6 Meeting Minutes

The Offeror may coordinate regularly schedule meetings with the Government to discuss any staffing issues, invoicing issues or other matter that are essential to successful performance of the contract.

9.7 Ad Hoc Reports

The Government may on occasion request ad hoc reports that contain data pertinent to this requirement.

9.8 Invoicing and Payment Procedures:

Contractor shall submit an invoice monthly no later than the 10th calendar day of the month following performance. The Contractors shall submit invoices in accordance with the invoicing instructions. The Contractor shall provide an advance courtesy copy of the invoice to the COR with the Monthly Report by the 5th calendar day of the month.

9.9 Transition In

The Contractor shall commence all required task order operations following a thirty (30) calendar day transition-in period. The Contractor shall provide a workforce that is fully qualified and capable of performing all work required under the task order following the thirty (30) day transition-in period. The Government will provide the Contractor access to facilities during the transition period for: (1) security clearances, (2) post award kick-off, and (3) the observance of operations in preparation for integration. The Contractor may observe personnel in performance of the program management support, adjudications support, and file management support tasks. The Contractor shall ensure during transition-in activities that it shall not interfere with productivity.

During the transition-in period, the Contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the start date following the transition-in period. The contractor shall provide a Transition-In Plan (TIP) five (5) business days after contract award that includes:

· Availability of key resources

· Timelines and proposed milestones

· Coordination with government representatives

· Review and evaluate transition of current support services

· Orientation to introduce government personnel, programs and users to the Contractors’ team, tools, methodologies, and business processes

· Documentation and inventory of all government furnished equipment

· Provide briefing and personnel in-processing procedures

· Continuance of any scheduled deliverables

· Continuance of standard operations during the transition period

· Transition of records, knowledge, files, procedures and/or other designated information critical to the success of this requirement.

9.10 Transition Out

During the thirty (30) calendar day period immediately prior to the end of this contract, the contractor shall fully cooperate with government employees and any OHC designated personnel from other OHC contractors to observe and become familiar with all the documentation from this contract.

The Contractor will be required to transition out all manuals, reports and all related documentation to this task order to the successor of the following tasking order. The Contractor will be required to provide training and shadowing to the following Contractor for this task order.

The Contractor shall provide a final Transition-Out Plan as well as the support necessary to coordinate the transfer of all activities during the thirty (30) calendar day transition out period. The final Transition-Out Plan will be provided sixty (60) calendar days (or the first business day should this fall on a weekend) prior to the end of the period of performance.

The Transition-Out Plan shall include and/or address the following elements:

· Coordinate transition with DHS/ICE IT personnel

· Transfer of all software configurations in progress

· Fully support the transition of application requirements to any successor Contractor

· Technical walkthrough of the application, environment, interfaces, backlog, and help desk logs, etc.

· Transfer of documentation currently in progress

· Briefing on all in-progress and committed items

· Provide the necessary support to ensure current and archived data is transferred to the COR including current system data, data archived to secondary storage, and related documentation generated since the contract awarded.

10.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT AND INFORMATION

Contractor employees will not require access to government systems or facilities. Contract support will be performed off site using equipment provided by vendor. Employees will not require access to ICE systems and/or facilities.

11.0 HOURS AND DAYS OF OPERATION

Contractor employees will generally perform all work between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., local time, Monday – Friday with the exception of Federal Holidays and any other day designated by Federal Statute, Executive Order, or Presidential proclamation. In the event of inclement weather or an emergency that would make the federal building unsafe, telework maybe authorized. Prior approval would be needed from the government to ensure no undue hardship on the government.

12.0 TRAVEL

Contractor travel beyond the minimum local commuting area of 50 miles from the primary place of performance may be required to support this Task Order.

The Government will not reimburse the Contractor for travel to the primary place of performance.

All travel required by the Government outside the local commuting area(s) will be reimbursed to the Contractor in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and FAR 31.205-46 Travel Costs. In this Task Order, the local commuting area is defined as a temporary duty outside of the "primary place of performance", but within the vicinity surrounding it; and if the site is a minimum driving distance of less than 50 miles, by the most direct route, from the primary place of performance, the site is considered to be a part of the local commuting area.

The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining COR approval for all reimbursable travel to include a budgeted amount in advance of each travel event.

13.0 PERSONAL SERVICE

DHS/ICE has determined that use of a GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract under an established Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) to satisfy this requirement is in the best interest of the government, economic and other factors considered. This task order is not being used to procure personal services prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 37.104 titled “Personal services contract”.

To counter the circumstances that infer personal services and to preserve the non-personal nature of the contract, the contractor shall adhere to the following guidelines in the performance of the task:

· Contractor provides for direct supervision of all contract employees assigned to the task.

· Refrain from discussing the issues such as skill levels and hours, salaries, cost and funding data, or administrative and personnel matters affecting contractor employees with the client.

· Do not permit government officials to interview potential contractor employees, discuss individual performance, approve leave or work scheduling of contractor employees, terminate contractor employees, assist contractor employees in doing their jobs or obtain assistance from the contractor in doing Government job.

· Do not assign contractor personnel to work under direct government supervision.

· Maintain a professional distance from government employees.

· Provide contractor employees with badges, if appropriate, identifying them as contractors.

· Ensure proper communications with the government (technical discussion and government surveillance is okay, but the Government cannot tell the contractor how to do the job).

· Assign a task leader to the task order. The task leader or alternate should be the only one who accepts tasking from the assigned Government point of contact or alternative.

· The government has the right to reject the finished product or result, and this does not constitute personal services.

· When travel is required for the performance on a task, the contractor personnel are only to travel as directed by their contract management.

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