FHA_RC_PWS_ALU_Reviewed_V2.pdf

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

FHA Resource Center

01/08/2024

Version 1.0

Vision Statement

1 General Information

1.1 Scope of Work

1.2 Background

1.3 Constraints

1.4 Non-Personal Services

1.5 Period of Performance

1.6 Place of Performance

1.7 Hours of Operation

1.8 Special Qualifications

1.9 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

1.10 Status Meetings

1.11 Contractor Travel

1.12 Transition In

1.13 Transition Out

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

2.2 Acronyms

3 Government-Furnished Property and Services

3.1 Government Services

3.2 Facilities

3.3 Equipment

3.4 Materials and Information

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

4.1 Facilities

4.2 Equipment

4.3 Materials

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

4.5 Contractor Personnel

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Project Management

5.2 FHA Resource Center

5.3 Contact Center Technical Requirements

5.4 Information Technology Compliance, Security Support, and Privacy Requirements

6 Deliverables

6.1 Quality Control Plan

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

7 Related Documents

8 Performance Requirements Summary

Performance Work Statement (PWS) FHA Resource Center

Vision Statement

A Contractor that shall provide, manage, and maintain an enterprise-wide, omnichannel, front-door contact center with an ecosystem of supporting infrastructure, technology, and organizational management that provides internal and external customers with timely, accurate, and consistent services leveraging best practices and best in class and emerging technologies.

1 General Information

1.1 Scope of Work

The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Office of Single Family Housing, a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, requires a FedRAMP approved omnichannel contact center which shall provide guidance and assistance to the public and industry groups in all aspects of the FHA mortgage insurance process. Offices include, but are not limited to Headquarters, four (4) Homeownership Centers, the National Servicing Center, Office of Housing Counseling, Disaster Recovery, Office of Residential Health Care, and the Office of Multi-Family Housing Clearinghouse. The FHA Resource Center services shall be a central point of inquiries and shall provide information to industry and consumer clients. All contacts, regardless of client type (housing industry or consumer) or communication channel (telephone, email, Chat, web, fax) will be directed to the FHA Resource Center (RC) access point via a designated toll-free number(s), email address(es), web portal/URL, and fax number(s).

The Contractor shall provide a fully managed enterprise-wide omnichannel contact center solution using best in class technology which supports telephone, email, Chat, web, fax and self-service features to provide the American public and the FHA industry participants with easily accessible, consistent, timely, and professional responses to their inquiries via their preferred method of communication. All services under this contract shall be scalable and all technical configuration activities delivered shall meet all HUD Information Security requirements and shall be Section 508 compliant. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, training, and facilities except as excluded within the PWS. Detailed descriptions of specific tasks are provided in Section 5 Specific Tasks and Deliverables.

The FHA Resource Center Support Services shall include the following:

Project Management FHA Resource Center Contact Center Technical Requirements Support, and Privacy Requirements

Detailed descriptions of specific tasks are provided in Section 5 Specific Tasks and Deliverables.

1.2 Background

The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Office of Single Family Housing (Single Family), a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides guidance and assistance to the public and industry groups in all aspects of the FHA mortgage insurance process. FHA utilizes a contracted omnichannel contact center to provide information to industry and consumer clients.

The FHARC is an omnichannel contact center initially implemented in 2007 as the primary point of contact for all public inquiries related to FHA-insured financing. Over time, it has become a critical piece of the Single Family client management infrastructure and has significantly improved the quality and consistency of information delivered to FHA clients. The FHA Resource Center provides a suite of offerings to help agencies manage and enhance their customer contacts where they need assistance the most. At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD/FHA), the FHA Resource Center Contact Center has continually advanced to provide a future state contact center modernization and optimization strategy.

HUD/FHA has leveraged contact center best practices to identify pain points and opportunities for optimization, including self-service tools, emerging technologies, internal business processes and systems to manage day-to-day performance, acquisition solutions, and customer experience.

Based on the history of this requirement we have found that for a contractor to be successful the Contractor shall have demonstrated experience and expertise in the following areas:

1. Tier 1 and Tier 2 contact resolution, including both content-based (e.g., How do I buy a

HUD/FHA home?) and technical-based (e.g., How can I access my real estate assessors account?) inquiries.

2. Best-in-class contact center operations in an omnichannel environment, including workforce management, training, facilities and equipment oversight, standard operating procedures, quality control, and data analysis and reporting.

3. Configuration, development, operations, and maintenance of contact center technologies, including CRM, live Chat, SMS, telephony, AI Chatbot, Intelligent Interactive Voice Response IVR, consolidated desktop and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and automated systems.

4. Continuous improvement of operations and technologies, including emerging/innovative technology implementations

5. Knowledge base design, configuration, population, implementation, testing, and maintenance.

6. Project management and change management through large-scale federal transformations, as well as collaboration with multifunctional government and vendor stakeholders.

7. Tier 1 and Tier 2 contact resolution, including both content-based (e.g., How do I buy a HUD/FHA home?) and technical-based (e.g., How can I access my real estate assessors account?) inquiries.

8. Best-in-class contact center operations in an omnichannel environment, including workforce management, training, facilities and equipment oversight, standard operating procedures, quality control, and data analysis and reporting.

9. Configuration, development, operations, and maintenance of contact center technologies, including CRM, live Chat, SMS, telephony, AI Chatbot, Intelligent Interactive Voice

Response IVR, consolidated desktop and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and automated systems.

10. Continuous improvement of operations and technologies, including emerging/innovative technology implementations

11. Knowledge base design, configuration, population, implementation, testing, and maintenance.

12. Project management and change management through large-scale federal transformations, as well as collaboration with multifunctional government and vendor stakeholders.

1.3 Constraints

The services identified in this PWS will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards, and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following:

All contact centers all staff must be located within the continental United States.

The Contractor shall maintain compliance with all current and future Federal IT security requirements. The Contractor shall:

1. Maintain IT security and comply with all terms and conditions of the contract throughout the term of the contract with respect to all data and information technology requirements.

2. The Contractor shall use, maintain, enhance, develop, and upgrade all information technology software and system documentation under this contract in accordance with Federal Laws, Regulations, NIST guidance (https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/sp) and HUD policies.

3. Use, maintain, enhance, develop, and upgrade all information technology software and system documentation under this contract in accordance with Federal Laws, best practices, and regulations.

4. Maintain Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) standards in accordance with guidance published by NIST. An independent SA&A will be performed by HUD during the period of performance of this contract.

5. Follow HUDs Project Planning and Management (PPM) Life Cycle and industry best practices in the analysis, design, development, testing and implementation of proposed new systems and/or the enhancement to existing systems.

6. Review and update system documentation to ensure accuracy, compliance, and completeness.

7. The Contractor shall prepare its system security plan as part of its demonstration that it meets the requirements for SA&A per the applicable requirements from HUD, OMB, NIST, and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which will require the preparation of several related security and privacy documents.

8. The Contractor must develop documentation in compliance with SA&A process for obtaining the Authorization to Operate (ATO).

9. The Contractor must meet continuous monitoring requirements once the system is authorized to operate.

10. The Contractor must comply with HUDs security architecture standards.

11. The Contractor will implement Multifactor Authentication (MFA) and encryption at data and at rest in compliance with NIST standards.

12. The Contractor must have a migration plan, if applicable, to include requirements for an implementation plan to implement HUD security controls as well as how the system will integrate with HUDs security architecture requirements.

13. The Contractor must conduct development efforts for addressing Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&Ms).

14. The Contractor shall ensure each of its employees working on the HUD contract completes the mandatory HUD role-based/specialized cybersecurity and privacy training annually.

15. The Contractors must maintain compliance with supply chain risk management as per NIST standards.

16. Each Contractor employee working on the HUD contract shall not provide contract support until clearance is received from the HUD security background check.

17. The Contractors must complete the mandatory HUD Security Awareness Training and acknowledge the HUD Rules of Behavior annually.

18. Each mixed or financial system that the Contractor manages, develops, modifies, enhances, releases and/or upgrades must comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) A-123, including Appendix A, Internal Control over Financial Reporting, as well as Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014, and shall be assessed under the Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM) methodology that include control families for both General Computer and Business Process Application controls.

19. The Contractor shall maintain compliance, as per the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-161, Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems and Organizations.

20. Each mixed or financial system that the Contractor manages, develops, modifies, enhances, releases and/or upgrades must comply with identified OMB A123 Appendix A "Management's Responsibility for Internal Control", and Appendix D "Compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of l996 key controls; and the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA).

21. The Contractor shall not release, mingle, nor re-use data extracted from FHA appraisal reports as authorized by HUD.

Additional specific information on these constraints can be found in Section 5.

1.4 Non-Personal Services

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services.

If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor's responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy, decision making, or management nature, i.e., inherently Government functions. All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contactor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

1.5 Period of Performance

12-month base period and four (4) 12-month option periods for a total of 60 months.

1.6 Place of Performance

Performance shall be at the Contractors facilities (Primary and Secondary).

1.7 Hours of Operation

The Contractor is responsible for providing services between the hours of 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closing, or similar Government directed facility closings. Weekly hours shall not exceed a forty (40) hour work week and a typical workday will be 8 hours each day Monday through Friday. The Government reserves the right to change hours of operation or restrict Contractor access. Government agencies will not be available during scheduled holidays, inclement weather, weekends, and after duty hours.

1.8 Special Qualifications

N/A

1.9 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with FAR Subpart 42.5 and HUD Acquisition Regulation (HUDAR) clause 2452.237-79 - Post Award Conference.

The Government intends to convene a Post Award Conference with the Contractor within ten business days after the contract award. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the specific date, location, and agenda within five business days after contract award.

1.10 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to also review Contractor performance, requirement status, etc. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance or progress of the requirement. The Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced.

Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government. The Post Award Conference and subsequent meetings may be held via teleconference at the Contracting Officer's discretion.

1.11 Contractor Travel

Prior to travel, the Contractor shall coordinate with and receive Government authorization from the COR for all travel. Reimbursement of travel costs will be in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and in accordance with FAR 31.205-46.

1.12 Transition In

The Contractor shall, upon the Contracting Officers written notice, furnish Transition-In services as required. As a successor, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the 120 calendar days Transition-In period to ensure a smooth transition with the incumbent Contractor. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment such that any impact to the program is minimized. During the Transition-In period, the Contractor shall become familiar with the requirements in order to commence full performance of services by the end of the contract Transition-In period. Transition-in is not required if the successor Contractor is the incumbent Contractor.

Additional Transition-In requirements and information is located in Section 5.1.1, Plans Transition-In and Section 5.1.7, Transition-In.

1.13 Transition Out

To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the 120-calendar day Transition-Out period. The incumbent Contractor shall ensure a smooth transition with the successor Contractor during the Transition-Out period, prior to completion of contractual performance. The incumbent Contractor shall aid the successor in the development of plans, procedures, and methods for the assumption of all on going work. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment, such that full control by the successor Contractor is achieved by the end of the new contract Transition-In period.

Additional Transition-Out requirements and information are located in Section 5.1.1, Plans Transition-Out and Section 5.1.8, Transition-out.

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Business/Work Days - Every official work day of the week which are days between and including Monday to Friday. This does not include public holidays and weekends.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA) - Identifies the activities, resources, and procedures needed to carry out operations of all deliverables identified within the scope of the task order during specified business hours.

Calendar Day - Any day of the week.

Contractor - A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person with authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: the only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – A software or technology that enables businesses to streamline and manage customer relationships, marketing, and service automation.

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable - Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) - Government-furnished property means property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract. Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification.

Government-furnished property also includes Contractor-acquired property if the Contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.

Subordinate Contracting Officer’s Representative (Subordinate COR) - An individual designated by the Contracting Officer to assist in providing technical direction and monitoring performance under the contract.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the Contracting Officer to perform contract administration activities in regard to technical issues. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have the authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

Omnichannel – A customer-centric approach in which all contact channels are integrated so the customer has a unified and consistent experience.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - A listing of the performance requirements under the contract that are to be evaluated by the Government on a regular basis, performance indicators for these requirements, performance standards for these requirement and surveillance methods to be used to determine if performance standards are met.

Performance Standard - The Contractor's performance level required by the Government.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Physical Security - Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

Quality Assurance (QA) - Policies and procedures adopted by the Government to ensure that supplies and services acquired under Government contracts conform to the contracts quality requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - A plan describing how the agency will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate and document the Contractor's performance in meeting critical performance standards identified in the contract.

Quality Control (QC) - All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product of service shall meet contract requirements.

Section 508 Compliance – Requirement of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, for Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Service Contract - A contract that directly engages the time and effort of a Contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.

Subcontractor - Any person, other than the prime Contractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any supplies, material, equipment, or services of any kind under a prime contract or a subcontract entered into in connection with such prime contract, and any person who offers to furnish or furnishes general supplies to the prime Contractor or a higher tier Subcontractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with a Subcontractor.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2 Acronyms

AQL- Acceptable Quality Level ARAMS - Automated Renewal and Amendment System AI – Artificial Intelligence API – Application Programming Interface BAA - Business Area Analysis Study BPA – Business Process Automation CBT - Computer-Based Training CCB - Change Control Board CCMB - Configuration Change Management Board CMMI - Capability Maturity Model Integration CFO or OCFO - Office of the Chief Financial Officer of HUD CFR - Code of Federal Regulations CIO or OCIO - Office of the Chief Information Officer of HUD CISA – Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency CO - Contracting Officer COR - Contracting Officer Representative COTS - Commercial Off-the-Shelf CPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer of HUD CRM – Customer Relationship Management COE – Center of Excellence

CTI – Computer Telephony Integration EST - Eastern Standard Time (U.S.)

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions FHA – Federal Housing Administration FHARC – FHA Resource Center FISCAM – Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual FISMA – Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 GAO - U.S. General Accounting Office COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative HUD - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation HUD/ISG - Internet Services Group within the Telecom Processing Division HUD Web - HUDs Intranet Web Site and related WEB pages.

IG or OIG - Inspector General (Office of) IT - Information Technology IVR – Interactive Voice Response IV&V - Independent Validation and Verification KM – Knowledge Management LMS – Learning Management System LOOCS - Line of Credit Control System OCPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer OIG - Office of Inspector General OMB - Office of Management and Budget PL - Public Law PII – Personally Identifiable Information PIV – Personal Identity Verification PM - Project Manager POC - Point of Contact PPM - Project Planning and Management QA - Quality Assurance QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan QCP - Quality Control Plan SA&A – Security Assessment and Authorization SF - Standard Form SOP – Standard Operating Procedures SORN – System of Records Notice TBD - To be determined TRC – Technical Review Committee VOC – Voice of the Customer VOIP – Voice over Internet Protocol U.S.C - United States Code

3 Government-Furnished Property and Services The Contractor shall ensure accurate control and accountability of all Government-Furnished Property in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The Government will furnish, at no cost to the Contractor, the GFP shown below.

3.1 Government Services

The Government will provide the following:

1. Access to the CRM/Knowledge Base that support the capabilities necessary to meet the requirements of the contract (see CRM details provided in Attachment 3).

2. Cost reimbursement for applicable licenses obtained for Government personnel for

Computerized Telephony Integration (CTI) access.

3. Access to telephony solution programming, including CTI.

4. Access to API systems for technical CRM integration support.

5. Support on CRM integration and initial CRM training (agent, administrator, etc.).

6. Business rules, response formats, guidelines, preformatted responses

7. Toll-Free numbers will be provided to the Contractor to use in directly escalated contacts to Single Family Staff ACD groups.

8. An electronic copy of FHA specific training information and subject matter experts available to explain FHA programs and services.

9. Information and documentation regarding the submission and approval of security documents and the process for obtaining access to appropriate departmental systems.

10. Overview of security clearance process, list of required documents, and document preparation requirements for submission of security documents

11. Existing Standard Operating Procedures, Escalation procedures and guidelines

12. Query access to required HUD systems (FHA Connection, Single Family Insurance

System, HERMIT, SMART, FHA Catalyst, etc.)

13. Overview of existing HUD telecom infrastructure

14. Access to the CRM/USD and HUD Web-based applications via HUD network hosted by Microsoft O365 and a site-to-site Virtual Private Network (VPN).

15. Privacy Act Guidelines

16. Copies of government approved survey instruments.

17. Escalation procedures and guidelines

18. Business rules and/or response formats and guidelines

19. HUD escalation grids for escalated service requests

20. Access to Government databases where applicable

21. Public distribution materials (e.g., publications, applications, forms, brochures) where applicable.

22. Conflict of interest guidelines

23. Relevant laws, regulations, policies, and procedures

24. Toll-free telephone numbers for use by the Contractor. These numbers will be transferred to the Contractor’s telecommunications provider for their use during the term of the contract.

Toll-free Number Purpose Status

800-225-5342 (CALL FHA) Voice Primary number that is published and marketed exclusively.

800-304-9320 (DISASTER)

Voice

Published numbers that have been re-routed to point to the 800-569-4287 (HOUSING COUNSELING) primary IVR greeting supporting HUD/FHA Programs.

877-622-8525 (NATIONAL SERVICING CENTER)

800-685-8470 (MULTI FAMILY CLEARINGHOUSE)

877-329-2342 (FAX 2 FHA) Fax Available for use in facsimile transmissions. Currently unpublished.

800-483-7342 (HUDS FHA)

Voice

Older numbers no longer published but still in use.

These numbers have been re-routed to point to the primary IVR greeting to pick up any callers still utilizing them.

877-234-2717 800-440-8647 888-696-4687 800-543-9378 888-827-5605

25. Draft or proposed policy information for use in knowledge base maintenance prior to publication (where at all possible).

26. The Government will provide Annual Security Awareness and Ethics training.

3.2 Facilities

The Government will not provide any facilities.

3.3 Equipment

The Government will provide SalesForce CRM and Voice of the Customer

3.4 Materials and Information

Copies of required materials shall be provided to the Contractor electronically. All materials will remain the property of the Government and will be returned to the COR upon request or at the end of the contract period.

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

The Government shall evaluate the Contractor's performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the Contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable quality level.

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services The Contractor shall furnish, all facilities, equipment, and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government-Furnished Property and Services.

4.1 Facilities

The Contractor shall furnish all facilities (primary and secondary) necessary to successfully perform all tasks identified in this PWS. These facilities must at a minimum the following parameters:

The Contractor must provide a dedicated contact center solution that uses workspace, equipment, and staffing that are unique and separate for the project. The Contractor may not use workspace, equipment, and staffing which are shared with other projects managed by the Contractor or its subcontractors.

Telecommunication and system access that allows for the seamless routing of incoming client contact between agents of both locations.

These two sites must be in geographically distant locations to provide HUD/FHA with redundancy and the ability to enact its Contingency/Disaster Recovery Plan. All sites must be equipped to provide daily contact center services. In addition, any site could be used as a backup facility if required to handle elevated call volumes. The Contractor must provide adequate facilities to support the contact center operations. All contact centers must be located within the Continental United States.

The Contractor must provide facilities that meet all applicable federal, state, and local zoning, environmental, and building laws and regulations. Facility access is limited to Contractor personnel performing work under this contract; authorized HUD/FHA personnel; maintenance personnel or suppliers performing upkeep or repair of facilities or equipment; customer personnel visiting the site on official business; and personnel as approved jointly by the Contractor and HUD/FHA.

The Contractor must be responsible for any expansion activities associated with their successful performance of this contract. The Contractor must seek and obtain approval from HUD/FHA prior to relocation of contact center facilities. Relocation expenses are at the expense of the Contractor. The Contractors relocation Proposal must provide a compelling reason for the recommended change. The Contractor must ensure that there will be no degradation of service during any relocation.

The Contractor must grant HUD access at any time to all facilities and information resources used in support of this PWS. The contractor must provide adequate private office space with internet access to be used by the government when conducting site reviews.

4.2 Equipment

The Contractor shall furnish all equipment necessary to successfully perform all tasks identified in this PWS.

4.3 Materials

The Contractor shall furnish all material necessary to successfully perform all tasks identified in this PWS.

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall only conduct business with designated Government personnel listed as points of contact (POCs). Names of authorized personnel shall be provided to the Contractor by the Government, in writing, and updated as necessary throughout the contract period of performance.

U.S. Government records, copies of original results and reports, verified original data, corrected data, and corrected supporting final reports which are maintained by the Contractor remain the property of the U.S. Government. These files/results must be surrendered to the COR.

4.5 Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Certified Project Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of work. An alternate shall also be designated to act in the absence of the Project Manager. These Contractor personnel (main point of contact and alternate point of contact) are considered Key Personnel by the Government and shall be listed as such in accordance with HUDAR 2452.237-70, "Key Personnel. The Project Manager and alternate shall have full authority to act on all contact matters relating to daily operations of this contract. Accordingly, at a minimum, the points of contact shall have the technical knowledge of the requirement and be in the position to actually receive assignment, guidance, and direction from the COR, Subordinate COR, and CO per HUDAR 2452.237-73, "Conduct of Work and Technical Guidance" and shall be allocated enough hours to the requirement to ensure successful performance. These points of points of contact shall each be an employee of the Contractor. An employee of a Subcontractor is not acceptable for either of these positions. The Project Manager or alternate shall be available between the hours of 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday EST, except Federal Holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

In addition to the Certified Project Manager and the alternate Project Manager the following positions are also considered key personnel: Operations Site Manager, Knowledge Manager, and Technology Manager. The recommended qualifications for each of these positions are as follows:

Certified Project Manager

1. Bachelor's degree in business, communications, or a related field (or equivalent experience); Project Manager Certification.

2. 6-8 years program management experience leading program-focused (as opposed to IT helpdesk-focused) high volume contact center with approximately 1M contacts per year.

3. Expertise in contact center performance measures, customer relationship management, knowledge management, workforce management, quality assurance, data analysis, omnichannel operations, standard operating procedures, and CSR training.

4. Expertise in contact center technologies, including intelligent IVR, Chatbot, live Chat, VOIP telephony, ACD, and CRM and associated tools.

5. Business acumen in federal operations, personnel management, appropriations, contracting, and labor relations.

6. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated experience creating concise, visually pleasing slide decks and written documents and giving presentations for various types of audiences (from CSRs to government executives).

7. Ability to influence others to move to a common vision through relationship building and active listening.

8. Experience in identifying innovative solutions and mobilizing staff to adapt to new technologies and program priorities.

9. Adaptability to changing circumstances, as well as a proactive approach to overcoming potential blockers and mitigating risks.

10. Experience with day-to-day government task order management and ability to act as the primary contact for the Government regarding task order implementation.

11. Business acumen in executing government task orders, including managing staffing, operations, and budget.

12. Ability to monitor contact, performance, and customer experience data and identify and present recommendations for improvements to senior Government officials.

Operations Site Manager

1. Bachelor's degree in business, communications, or a related field.

2. 6-8 years experience overseeing operations, including the planning and execution of all operations of a high-volume contact center with approximately 1M contacts per year.

3. Expertise in contact center performance measures, customer relationship management, knowledge management, workforce management, quality assurance, call scripting, call routing, data analysis, omnichannel operations, standard operating procedures, and conflict resolution and CSR training.

4. Knowledge of contact center technologies, including intelligent IVR, Chatbot, live Chat, VOIP telephony, ACD, and CRM and associated tools.

5. Adaptability to changing circumstances, as well as a proactive approach to overcoming potential blockers and mitigating risks.

6. Workforce management skills sufficient to ensure staffing for all communications channels is sufficient to meet performance measures, including real-time management.

Knowledge Manager

1. Bachelor's degree in Knowledge Management, Information Systems, or related field.

2. 4-6 years experience managing and maintaining contact center knowledge management processes related to content analysis, document management, data capture, portal operations & maintenance, shared storage locations, workflow, and data warehousing.

3. Technical expertise in CRM configuration, operations, and maintenance, as well as KM integration with digital properties (e.g., Intelligent IVR, Chatbot).

4. Expertise in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as they relate to Knowledge Management including flagging articles for revision, editing, and approving new content, and auditing existing articles and customer experience.

5. Experience developing a knowledge training program to teach employees how to use the KM IT Tool and contribute articles to the KM database.

6. Technical writing, data analysis and strategic planning skills.

7. Adaptability to changing circumstances, as well as a proactive approach to overcoming potential blockers and mitigating risks.

Technology Manager

1. Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, management information systems (MIS), management or a related area.

2. 4-6 years experience managing IT projects and implementing Salesforce technical solutions in a contact center environment with at least 100 seats.

3. Salesforce Certified Administrator and/or Salesforce Certified Technical Architect.

4. Experience in contact center solution design, architecture, and implementation.

5. Expertise in technical planning, design, configuration, implementation, operations, modifications, and maintenance of all contact center technologies

6. Expertise and experience implementing and managing intelligent IVR, Chatbot, live Chat, VOIP telephony, ACD/CTI, CRM, KM, and associated tools.

7. Experience evaluating emerging contact center technologies, presenting recommendations to leadership, and implementing chosen technologies.

8. Experience leveraging user-centered design methodologies to manage a technology stack that supports business objectives.

9. Adaptability to changing circumstances, as well as a proactive approach to overcoming potential blockers and mitigating risks.

10. Ability to evaluate technical operations and customer experience and identify and present recommendations for improvements.

11. Certified CRM consultant with multiple CRM contact center implementations and strong knowledge of CRM functionality and configuration capabilities.

12. Experience creating and delivering contact center workflow solutions.

13. Ability to provide systems integration expertise, develop code and document associated regression, use case, and unit testing scenarios, develop detailed deployment steps and packages, and support technical deployments and trainings.

14. Experience facilitating work sessions with business users to understand business processes and requirements.

15. Ability to define and monitor compliance with applicable HUD/FHA security, quality, and development requirements.

The Contractor shall maintain an adequate and scalable workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges as to distinguish themselves from Government employees. When conversing with Government personnel during business meetings, over the telephone, or via electronic mail, Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall identify themselves as such to avoid situations arising where sensitive topics might be better discussed solely between Government employees.

Contractors/subcontractors shall identify themselves on any attendance sheet or any coordination documents they may review. Electronic mail signature blocks shall identify their company affiliation. Where practicable, Contractor/subcontractors occupying collocated space with their Government program customer shall identify their workspace area with their name and company affiliation, or at a minimum, "Contractor" after name.

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Project Management – As part of Project Management, at a minimum, the Contractor is responsible for the following:

Development and implementation of the required plans, procedures, methodologies, to ensure that all tasks and deliverables are met.

Perform management activities to support the overall management of this contract to include status report meetings, managing and updating schedules.

Provide logistical support for the preparation and execution of meetings. This includes scheduling meetings, drafting meeting minutes, and providing written records of discussions, obtaining necessary meeting resources such as online meeting capability, preparation of reports, presentations, analytics and related materials.

Engage all stakeholders to shift incentives, expectations, and culture, to achieve contract objectives.

5.1.1 Plans

5.1.1.1 Management Plan - The Management Plan shall, at minimum, include how the Contractor will effectively manage staff, training, facilities, equipment, and intelligent Interactive Voice Response for day-to-day operations. The plan shall also include the following:

Staffing work breakdown structure outlining the procedures and processes for workforce management, including hiring, managing, and scheduling of staff;

the strategy for recruitment and retention. This strategy shall include the Contractors approach to preventing significant attrition, the approach, forecasting systems, and analytics to be utilized.

procedures for screening and security processing of potential staff, including background checks.

procedures for maintaining appropriate administrative and customer service staffing levels including the ability to handle short-term surges.

Training an outline of the policies, procedures and methodologies pertaining to the development and execution of onboarding training and continuous improvement training for Contractor personnel.

an outline of the policies, procedures, and methodologies pertaining to the development and execution of training of Contractor and HUD/FHA staff pertaining to CRM and Contractor supported systems.

Criteria for selecting instructors, evaluation and assessment methods, trainer qualifications, class size, requirements for training completion, delivery methods and systems, and methodology for collecting feedback.

Facilities procedures and policies for managing the facilities;

Equipment procedures and policies for managing equipment;

Intelligent Interactive Voice Response procedures and policies for managing and maintaining automated and attended functions;

automated voice response script design, call routing design; and disaster response.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft management plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 30 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: Final management plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on the draft management plan.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

Deliverables A001 Draft Management Plan A002 Final Management Plan

5.1.1.2 Transition In Plan - The Transition-In Plan shall identify a realistic and an achievable approach to assuming full contractual responsibility, without disruption or degradation of performance, during the 120 calendar day Transition-In period. The Transition-In Plan shall, at a minimum:

describe the Contractors required ramp-up time, milestones, and approach to initiating project execution including staffing and training for project start;

map the dependencies among deliverables specified in this PWS and provide a resource-loaded

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and timeline for each deliverable and its impacts on the others, include site-specific actions that clearly defined the processes, methodologies, schedules, milestones, risk analysis, data requirements. Also provide a detailed operational readiness checklist which will be used by the government for transition. Finally, identify potential risks during the Transition-In period and propose appropriate mitigation strategies.

Additional information and requirements in reference to the Transition-In plan can be found in Sections 1.13 and 5.1.7, Transition-In.

The Contractor shall recommend whether the Program Manager or a dedicated Transition-in Manager will be responsible for transition integration and completion. The Manager responsible for transition will be responsible for maintaining continuity of information services and quality of services provided and will be expected to become familiar with HUD/FHA policies, processes, technologies, and services.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft Transition-in plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 30 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: Final Transition-in plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on the draft risk management plan.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

Deliverables A003 Draft Transition-In Plan

A004 Final Transition-In Plan

5.1.1.3 Transition Out Plan - The incumbent Contractor shall ensure a smooth and orderly transition with the successor Contractor during the Transition-out period. The Contractor shall aid the successor in the development of plans, procedures, and methods for the assumption of all on-going work and to provide all data and plans, etc. in accordance with Sections 1.14 and 5.1.8, Transition Out in the PWS. The Transition Out Plan shall at a minimum detail an approach that proves for a seamless transition, identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Contractor including proposed schedule(s) and milestones to ensure no disruption of service. To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the 120 calendar day Transition Out period. The Transition Out Plan shall be updated as required at the end the Contract period.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 120 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: Final plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on the draft Transition-Out Plan.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

c) Standard: Refreshed Plan due NLT 120 calendar days prior to the end of the Period of Performance (PoP).

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

Deliverables A005 Draft Transition-Out Plan A006 Final Transition-Out Plan A007 Refreshed Transition-Out Plan End PoP

5.1.1.4 Data Analysis and Reporting Plan - The Contractor shall at a minimum, outline the processes, policies, procedures and methodologies for the collection, analysis, and distribution of quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate strategies and Contractor performance. The Contractor shall provide for the automatic generation of comprehensive, accurate, easy to understand, and timely reports across all channels, including self-service and automated and web channels. These automatic generated reports shall provide insight into the Contractors level of performance in meeting contractual requirements and satisfying customer needs, as outlined in Section 5.1.2.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 60 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: Final plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on the draft risk management plan.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

A008 Draft Data Analysis and Reporting Plan A009 Final Data Analysis and Reporting Plan

5.1.1.5 Enterprise-Wide Knowledge Management (KM) Plan - The Contractor shall at a minimum provide a plan which identifies the methodologies, processes, and procedures for effective KM across all programs and channels as outlined in Section 5.1.1.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 60 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: Final plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on the draft KM plan.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

Deliverables A010 Draft Enterprise-Wide KM Plan A011 Final Enterprise-Wide KM Plan

5.1.1.6 Configuration and Change Management Plan

The Contractor shall at a minimum, identify the approach and strategy for engaging all stakeholders to facilitate the design and deployment of new technical tools and improvements that will allow HUD/FHA to meet IT technical requirements across all dependencies. This shall include impact analysis, configuration identification, change control, user acceptance testing, archiving/retrieval, lifecycle process, rollout, back-out, and incident management methodologies.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: The Draft plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than 60 calendar days after contract award.

AQL: Zero deviation from standard

b) Standard: The Final plan shall be submitted to the COR no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the CORs comments on…