Attachment_1a_-_Blanket_Purchase_Agreement.pdf

General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service

Technology Transformation Services 1800 F St NW | Washington, DC | 20405

TTS Talent Team

Recruiting Support

Blanket Purchase Agreement

Agreement Number {{Provided at Time of Award}}

Solicitation Number: QP0023233 Date of Award: {{DATE}} Issued by: Jennifer Calik, Contracting Officer (CO), General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Technology Transformation Services (TTS), Office of Acquisition (OA)

1.0 General 3

2.0 Background 3

3.0 Requirements 3

3.1 Statement of Need 3

3.2 Performance Work Statement 4

3.3 Deliverables 4

Candidate Submissions 4

4.0 Agreement Details 5

4.1 Period of Performance 5

4.2 Place of Performance 5

4.3 Estimated Quantities - Funded Call Orders 5

4.4 Contractor Personnel 6

4.4.1 Key Personnel 6

4.4.2 Key Personnel Changes 6

5.0 Call Order Details 7

5.1 Type of Contract 7

5.2 Purchase Limitation 7

5.3 Ordering Procedures 7

5.4 Authorized Users 8

5.5 Meetings 8

5.5.1 Pre-Quotation Meetings 8

Initial Pre-Quotation Meeting 8 Pre-Quotation Follow-up Meeting 8

5.5.2 Candidate Rejection Debrief Meeting 9

5.6 Frequency of Ordering 9

5.7 Discounts 9

5.8 Government Furnished Information 9

6.0 Agreement Administration 9

6.1 Government Points of Contact 9

6.2 Contractor Points of Contact 11

6.3 Post Award Orientation Conference 11

7.0 Call Order Administration 12

7.1 Contractor Performance 12

7.2 Payment and Invoicing 13

7.2.1 Invoicing Schedule 13

7.3.2 Content of Invoice 14

7.2.1 Invoice Submission 14

8.0 Terms and Conditions 15

8.1 Organizational Conflicts of Interest 15

8.2 Security and Privacy 15

9.0 Clauses 15

1.0 General

Up to three (3) Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) are established to fill repetitive needs for recruiting support services.

Agreement Attachments:

● Attachment 1 - BPA Clauses

● Attachment 2 - Contractor’s Candidate Guarantee

2.0 Background

The Talent Team within General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS) fills the role of both talent acquisition and talent operations. This includes, but is not limited to, searching and recruiting, on-boarding, personnel actions, employee relations, and offboarding to staff all of TTS, which includes 18F, Centers of Excellence, Office of Products and Programs, Acquisition Services, Presidential Innovation Fellows, Cloud.gov, and Login.gov. Their mission is to cultivate an organization full of highly talented and engaged staff who are provided the opportunity to deliver high impact public service.

The Talent Team partners with GSA Human Resources who officially process all of personnel actions.

Please see TTS’ Mission, History, and Values here.

3.0 Requirements

3.1 Statement of Need

The TTS Talent Team requires approximately three contractors to identify appropriate candidates for a variety of Information Technology positions such as:

● DevOps/Security Engineer

● Application Engineer

● Visual Designer

● Site Reliability Engineer

● Customer Experience Specialist

Characteristics of positions being filled:

● May be virtual or site specific (e.g. Washington, D.C.). It is anticipated that approximately 60% of the positions will be virtual.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bRcwVGzXO_x0ILVIGswO-c0xtVfIFEUYZ1AdAszkQWQ/edit# https://handbook.18f.gov/tts-history/

● Will be Excepted Service (currently consisting of a 2 year base term with the option to renew for another 2 years).

● Will be General Schedule (GS) 14 or 15 level.

Candidates:

● Must be U.S. citizens;

● Will be required to complete a Public Trust background investigation prior to receiving a final job offer. Candidates will not be required to have this clearance prior to submission for consideration by the Government;

● Will be interviewed by GSA either in person, or remotely as needed; and

● Will not be provided or reimbursed for any relocations costs associated with accepting a position with the organization.

3.2 Performance Work Statement

The Contractor shall provide recruitment support services for each position requested as described herein.

The Contractor shall source and conduct initial screening of potential candidates. The Contractor shall perform the initial outreach to those potential candidates to verify their initial interest in the position, including location, compensation, etc. as well as determine if the candidates meet the minimum requirements for the position.

The Contractor shall provide resumes for their recommended candidates as described in Section 3.3 Deliverables, below.

The Contractor will NOT be responsible for:

● Candidate on-boarding; or

● Management of any security requirements of the selected candidate(s).

3.3 Deliverables

Candidate Submissions Due with each call order quotation For each Call Order Solicitation, the Contractor will provide the following information for each candidate submitted:

● Information collected specific to the candidate, and all pre-screening notes/findings

● Name of Proposed Candidate

● Resume of Proposed Candidate https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/excepted-service/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/ https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/job-announcement/security-clearances/

● Response to Questionnaire or Skills Assessment (if applicable)

● Salary expectations; and

● Signed Release/Agreement from candidate to meet security requirements

Candidates resumes, will include, at minimum:

● Candidate Name

● Contact Information

● Description of Experience and Capability specific to specialized experience related to their proposed position

● Technical Background

● Education

● Work Experience

● Accomplishments related to the activities described in the Position

Documentation.

4.0 Agreement Details

4.1 Period of Performance

The BPA Period of Performance (PoP) will be 5 years. In accordance with FAR 13.303-6(b), the Contracting Officer for the BPA shall review and modify the agreement as necessary.

Any order (including order options) issued against the BPA before the BPA expires will have its own PoP. This PoP, including any options, may extend past the expiration of the BPA, so long as the base Call Order is awarded prior to the expiration of the BPA.

4.2 Place of Performance

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

4.3 Estimated Quantities - Funded Call Orders

The Government’s Good Faith Estimate for funded call orders over the life the BPA is between $250,000 to $1,000,000. However, please note, this is not a cost estimate and may be raised without any justification at the discretion of the Contracting Officer. The Government is not obligated to solicit any quotations if a need does not arise, nor is it obligated to award any Call Orders should an appropriate candidate not be identified.

4.4 Contractor Personnel

4.4.1 Key Personnel

The Government considers Key Personnel to include all Contractor team members (e.g. firm employees, independent Contractors, subcontractor employees, etc.)

necessary to demonstrate the Contractor’s technical capability to deliver the requirements of this Agreement and it’s subsequent Call Orders. Designation as Key Personnel is not tied to any specific labor category, function, or level, and is at the sole discretion of the Contractor.

4.4.2 Key Personnel Changes

If any individual proposed as Key Personnel becomes unavailable during the course of the period of performance, the Contractor shall notify the CO immediately. Any Key Personnel proposed who are not currently employed by the Contractor shall be identified as such and an additional letter of intent signed by the proposed Key Personnel shall be provided that indicates that person's intent to be employed by the Contractor if awarded this Agreement and to begin work when required.

The Contractor agrees that through the duration of the period of performance of the Agreement, no Key Personnel substitutions shall be made unless necessitated by an individual’s illness, death, or resignation/termination of employment. In any such event, the Contractor shall promptly notify the CO/COR, and provide the information required by the paragraphs below on the proposed replacement for Government approval.

All requests for substitutions/additions of Key Personnel must include a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution or addition.

As determined by the CO, all proposed substitutes/additions must have qualifications that meet or exceed the qualifications of the person to be replaced or supplemented.

The CO, with input from the COR and the Talent Team, will evaluate the request(s) for substitutions/additions of Key Personnel and the CO will notify the Contractor, in writing, of approval or disapproval. Disapproval of the proposed individual(s) shall not provide grounds for non-performance by the Contractor or form the basis of any claim for monies, delivery schedule extension, or any other equitable adjustment.

5.0 Call Order Details

5.1 Type of Contract

Call Orders (Orders) issued against the BPA will be Firm-Fixed Priced (FFP).

5.2 Purchase Limitation

In accordance with FAR 13.303-5, individual call orders shall not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

5.3 Ordering Procedures

All orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement. In the event of conflict between an order and this agreement, the agreement shall control.

Each position request will be a potential Call Order. In limited circumstances, the Government may elect to combine multiple similar position requests into a single Call Order.

Each Call Order solicitation will be distributed to all BPA awardees. Solicitations will:

● Identify the position(s) request needing to be filled,

● Include all relevant Government Furnished Information,

● Specify the duration the solicitation will remain open and it’s closing date. While this duration is anticipated to be three weeks for most requirements, the Call Order CO will adjust this duration based on the complexity of each requirement and other information available to them at the time; and

● Specify any unique aspects to the definition of done

● Specify any unique aspects to the Government’s evaluation of quotations for

Call Order awards.

Upon release of each solicitation, the Government will schedule an initial Pre-Quotation Meeting. Additionally, as necessary, the Government will also schedule a Pre-Quotation Follow-up Meeting. Please see descriptions of both of these meetings below.

Award of a Call Order will be made to the Contractor(s) following their proposed candidate receiving a formal (final) offer of employment and them successfully accepting the offered position.

5.4 Authorized Users

This BPA has been designated as a General Services Administration (GSA), Technology Transformation Services (TTS) Agreement and any warranted Contracting Officer (CO) within TTS Office of Acquisition (OA) is authorized to place calls against this BPA with coordination with the primary Contracting Officer and the assigned COR unless otherwise specified.

These Authorized Users should place orders in writing. Only Authorized Users may place an order or otherwise obligate the Government. Any order accepted by the Contractor that was not placed by an Authorized User puts the Contractor at risk of not being allowed payment for that order.

5.5 Meetings

5.5.1 Pre-Quotation Meetings

Following the release of each solicitation, the Government will schedule the following meetings with the Contractors:

Initial Pre-Quotation Meeting This meeting will be scheduled as soon as possible after the release of each Call Order solicitation. The purpose of this meeting will be to review the Government’s requirements and allow the Contractors to seek any clarifications necessary to allow them to begin their search.

Pre-Quotation Follow-up Meeting As deemed necessary, after the initial Pre-Quotation Meeting, the Government or the Contractors may schedule one or more follow-up meetings. During this meeting, the Contractor may provide an update on their initial progress and/or ask the Government any questions they may have at that time.

5.5.2 Candidate Rejection Debrief Meeting

In the event that the Government rejects a recommended candidate, the Government will schedule a debrief meeting with the Contractor to explain the reasoning for the decision and offer guidance as applicable. The Government reserves the right to schedule these meetings either before or after the Call Order Award.

5.6 Frequency of Ordering

Orders against the agreement are estimated to occur at least once every 12 months from date of BPA award, however, additional ordering is expected as TTS team needs arise for recruiting support. There is no maximum to the number of orders that may be placed.

It shall be noted that BPAs do not promise or guarantee actual orders.

5.7 Discounts

When ordering against the BPA, GSA will:

● Request spot discounts;

● Seek additional price reductions and concessions;

● Continue to monitor the commercial market to ensure this BPA honors the best available price; and

● At the BPA annual review, request additional price reductions when estimated quantities/amounts under the BPA have been exceeded, or as needed.

5.8 Government Furnished Information

With each request, the Government will provide information and documentation related to the hiring needs in full detail, including:

● Performance Profile (TTS’ version of a private sector job description);

● Specialized Experience; and

● Competencies for evaluation.

6.0 Agreement Administration

6.1 Government Points of Contact

Administration of this agreement will be handled by the Contracting Officer (CO) of record within GSA FAS TTS OA. All communications pertaining to contractual and/or administrative matters under this agreement should be sent to the CO.

It is expected that the CO and COR for the BPA will also be the same CO and COR for each order, however, others may assume those roles.

Contracting Officer (CO):

The CO is responsible for:

1. Negotiation and award of contracts, agreements, or orders: COs have sole authority to legally bind their organization within their designated warrant level.

2. The daily interactions of the contracts, agreements, or orders, which include communicating with the contractor in resolving concerns, drafting requirements, award documents, modifications, etc.

3. Administration: Although COs have the ability to manage the contracts, agreements, or orders, the day-to-day administration activities may also be carried out by the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

4. Settlement and Resolution of Contracting Issues: The CO is authorized to settle and resolve contracting issues.

5. Contract Records: The CO is responsible for maintaining a complete record of all contracting documents (electronically and/or manually).

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR):

The Contracting Officer will designate a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at time of award. The COR will be responsible for technical monitoring of the contractor's performance and deliveries. The COR will be appointed in writing, and a copy of the appointment will be furnished to the Contractor. Changes to this delegation will be made by written changes to the existing appointment or by issuance of a new appointment.

The COR is not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions:

● Promise, award, agree to award, or execute any agreement, modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract;

● Waive or agree to modification of the delivery schedule;

● Make any final decision on any contract matters subject to the disputes Clause;

● Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor's right to proceed;

● Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government

The Contractor shall comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR’s appointment, within 3 days of the occurrence. Unless otherwise provided in this agreement, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the categories defined in the paragraph above prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer’s response.

Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, shall be at the Contractor’s risk.

6.2 Contractor Points of Contact

The Contractor must provide centralized administration, in the form of an Account Manager, in support of all work performed under this BPA. The Account Manager, at a minimum, will serve as the Government’s primary point of contact (POC) and will be considered key personnel. Additional functions would include customer service, invoicing, and payment.

The Government should always be provided with the most up to date information on this individual, including their name, email, and phone number.

6.3 Post Award Orientation Conference

The Government's team, CO/COR and the GSA TTS Product Owner, will hold a kickoff meeting with the Contractor within 5 calendar days of the award, unless otherwise agreed upon by all parties in writing (email will be sufficient). This kickoff will include the Contractor’s team and other relevant government staff to review and clarify the project’s objectives, expectations from the government, and address any questions the Contractor may have.

7.0 Call Order Administration

7.1 Contractor Performance

Past performance evaluations shall be prepared at least annually and at the time the work under the BPA or order is completed (to include options of the BPA) when an order, individually, exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. These evaluations are generally for the entity, division, or unit that performed the contract or order.

(1) Evaluating Contractor Performance: The General Services Administration is using the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) module as the secure, confidential, information management tool to facilitate the performance evaluation process. CPARS enables a comprehensive evaluation by capturing comments from both TTS and the Contractor. The website for CPARS is http://www.cpars.gov. Completed CPARS evaluations may then be used by the Federal acquisition community for use in making source selection decisions. CPARS assists acquisition officials by serving as the single source for contractor past performance data.

(2) CPARS Registration: Each award requiring an evaluation must be registered in CPARS. The awardee will receive several automated emails. Within thirty days of award, the contractor will receive an e-mail that contains user account information, as well as the applicable contract and order number(s) assigned. The Contractor will be granted one user account to access all evaluations.

(3) Contractor CPARS Training: The Contractor may sign up for CPARS training. A schedule of classes will be posted to the CPARS training site (http://www.cpars.gov/allapps/cpcbtdlf.htm ) and updated as needed.

(4) Contractor Representative (CR) Role: All evaluations will be sent the Contractor Representative (CR) named on your award. The CR will be able to access CPARS to review and comment on the evaluation. If your CR is not already in the CPARS system, the Contracting Officer will request the name and email address of the person that will be responsible for the CR role on your award.

Once an evaluation is ready to be released the CR will receive an email alerting them the evaluation is ready for their review and comment. The email will indicate the time frame the CR has to respond to the evaluation; however, the CR may return the evaluation earlier than this date.

TTS shall provide for review at a level above the Contracting Officer (i.e., Contracting Director) to consider any disagreement between TTS and the Contractor regarding TTS’s evaluation of the Contractor. Based on the review, the individual at a level above the Contracting Officer will issue the ultimate conclusion on the performance evaluation.

Copies of the evaluations, Contractor responses, and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the contract file.

http://www.cpars.gov/ http://www.cpars.gov/allapps/cpcbtdlf.htm

7.2 Payment and Invoicing

Note - As the BPA vehicle does not have attached funding, the information contained within this invoicing section shall apply and flow-down to Call Orders issued against the BPA. Detailed invoicing procedures will be available at the call order level.

7.2.1 Invoicing Schedule

Payments for this activity will be Fixed Price per iteration. The Government is paying for the repeatable process resulting in the delivery of technical experts which meet the definition of done established within each Call Order. At a minimum, the definition of done will include: formal (final) offer of employment, successful acceptance of position, candidate entrance on duty.

The Contractor may invoice once the definition of done has been met (which includes, but is not limited to confirming that the services were rendered and meet all elements defined within the definition of done) and accepted by written confirmation of the COR through the CO. Electronic acceptance of the invoice by the COR is considered concurrence and acceptance of services.

The Contractor will invoice one time (per Period of Performance, as applicable) for the amount matching the order amount once inspection and acceptance is complete. This one time invoice is also considered the final invoice.

The Contractor must submit a final invoice within 60 calendar days from government acceptance. No further charges are to be billed following the final invoice submission.

7.3.2 Content of Invoice

In addition to the items below, the Contractor shall submit proper invoices as specified in FAR 52.212-4(g):

● GSA Call Order Number

● Call Order ACT Number

● QP Number (funding document number)

● Prompt Payment Discount

● Remittance Address

● POP for Billing Period

● POC and Phone Number

● Invoice Amount

● Invoice Marked as ‘Final’

● Name of Product, Quantity of Product, and Part Number of Product Matching award documents.

All of this information, along with the Period of Performance covered by the invoice, must be included on each invoice in addition to the requirements for a proper invoice.

7.2.1 Invoice Submission

Contractors shall electronically transmit/submit invoices and supporting documentation for invoices through the GSA web-based procurement system, through the Central Invoice Service (CIS), the Contractor shall submit invoices electronically by logging into the ASSIST portal (https://portal.fas.gsa.gov ), navigating to the appropriate order, and creating the invoice for that order. This is the only acceptable means for invoice submissions.

No paper invoices shall be accepted. For additional assistance, contact the ASSIST Helpdesk at 877-472-4877 .

8.0 Terms and Conditions

8.1 Security and Privacy

Performance of work may or may not require the Contractor’s personnel to have access to and use of data and information which may be considered proprietary to regulated industry, a Government agency or Government contractor, or which may otherwise be of such a nature that its dissemination or use, other than in performance of a subsequent work statement, would be adverse to the interest of GSA TTS or others. The Contractor agrees not to divulge or release data or information discussed in connection with the performance of the resulting agreement/call orders, unless made public by GSA TTS, except to be authorized by GSA TTS personnel or upon written approval of the Contract COR.

All Contractor key personnel, employees, agents, subcontractors and subcontractor personnel who will have access to documents or data during the performance of their duties under the BPA shall execute a Non-Disclosure Agreement and return it to the CO and COR within 5 calendar days of award and before being given access to such information or documents.

https://portal.fas.gsa.gov/

9.0 Clauses

See Attachment X https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bRcwVGzXO_x0ILVIGswO-c0xtVfIFEUYZ1AdAszkQWQ/edit