RFP 76-20240819 Presidential Search Consulting Firm.pdf

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

South Piedmont Community College

Request for Proposal #: 76-20240819

Presidential Search Consulting Firm

Date of Issue: August 22, 2024

Proposal Opening Date: September 10, 2024

@ 2:00 PM ET

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:

Anthony Barbour

Director of Purchasing & Equipment

Email: abarbour@spcc.edu

Phone: 704-272-5383

Ver: 11/2023

Request for Proposal #: 76-20240819

For internal State agency processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company’s eVP (Electronic Vendor Portal) Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public.

This page will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available for public inspection.

This page shall be filled out and returned with your proposal.

Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.

Vendor Name

Vendor eVP#

Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered vendor in good standing. You must enter the vendor number assigned through eVP (Electronic Vendor

Portal). If you do not have a vendor number, register at https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login

Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.

South Piedmont Community College RFP #76-20240819 Vendor: __________________________________________

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Refer ALL Inquiries to: Anthony Barbour abarbour@spcc.edu 704-272-5383

Request for Proposal #: 76-20240819

Proposals will be publicly opened: September 10, 2024 @ 2:00 PM ET

Using Agency: South Piedmont Community College

Commodity No. and Description: 801116 Temporary Personnel Services

Requisition No.: N/A

EXECUTION

In compliance with this Request for Proposals (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned Vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are bid, at the prices set opposite each item within the time specified herein.

By executing this proposal, the undersigned Vendor understands that false certification is a Class I felony and certifies that:

this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion (G.S. 143-54), none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and it is not an ineligible Vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1.

Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of Vendor’s knowledge and belief, that:

it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency.

As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned Vendor certifies that it, and each of its sub-Contractors for any Contract awarded as a result of this RFP, complies with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system.

As required by Executive Order 24 (2017), the undersigned vendor certifies will comply with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and that it does not and will not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against any employee in connection with performance of any Contract arising from this solicitation.

G.S. 133-32 and Executive Order 24 (2009) prohibit the offer to, or acceptance by, any State Employee associated with the preparing plans, specifications, estimates for public contracts; or awarding or administering public contracts; or inspecting or supervising delivery of the public contract of any gift from anyone with a contract with PCC, or from any person seeking to do business with PCC. By execution of this response to the RFP, the undersigned certifies, for Vendor’s entire organization and its employees or agents, that Vendor is not aware that any such gift has been offered, accepted, or promised by any employees of your organization.

By executing this proposal, Vendor certifies that it has read and agreed to the INSTRUCTION TO VENDORS and the NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS incorporated herein. These documents can be accessed from the ATTACHMENTS page within this document.

Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal may render proposal invalid and it MAY BE REJECTED. Late proposals shall not be accepted.

COMPLETE/FORMAL NAME OF VENDOR:

STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:

CITY & STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO:

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #21):

PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR: FAX NUMBER:

South Piedmont Community College

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VENDOR’S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*: DATE: EMAIL:

VALIDITY PERIOD

Offer shall be valid for at least sixty 60 days from date of bid opening, unless otherwise stated here: ______ days, or if extended by mutual agreement of the parties in writing. Any withdrawal of this offer shall be made in writing, effective upon receipt by the agency issuing this RFP.

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL

If your proposal is accepted, all provisions of this RFP, along with the written results of any negotiations, shall constitute the written agreement between the parties (“Contract”). The NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS are incorporated herein and shall apply. Depending upon the Goods or Services being offered, other terms and conditions may apply, as mutually agreed.

FOR STATE USE ONLY: Offer accepted and Contract awarded this________ day of __________, 20____, as indicated on

The attached certification, by ____________________________________________________________________.

(Authorized Representative of South Piedmont Community College)

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Contents

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.1 PRICING

4.2 INVOICES

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

4.6 REFERENCES

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

4.8 PERSONNEL

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

5.3 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

5.4 TECHNICAL APPROACH

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

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6.1 PROJECT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

6.2 POST AWARD PROJECT REVIEW MEETINGS

6.3 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

6.4 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

6.5 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

6.6 CONTRACT CHANGES

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

ATTACHMENT B: CUSTOMER REFERENCES

ATTACHMENT C: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

ATTACHMENT D: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

ATTACHMENT E: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

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1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The South Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees (SPCC Trustees) seeks to contract with a qualified consultant firm (Vendor) to search for a new President. The selected Vendor shall provide assistance, support, guidance and direction to the SPCC Trustees in all aspects of SPCC Trustees’ national search for a President, including but not limited to, working with the Search Committee to establish minimum candidate qualifications, placing advertisements announcing the position, recruiting candidates, reviewing applications, recommending final candidates for the Search Committee to interview, communicating and complying with necessary deadlines with State Board of Community Colleges and conducting background checks on the final candidates.

South Piedmont Community College is the newest of the 58 institutions that operate under the North Carolina Community College System. The College is a comprehensive two-year community college offering 55 curriculum and continuing education academic programs as well as many occupational and life enrichment courses through its continuing education courses.

As the 18th largest among the 58 community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System, the College has experienced steady growth in both enrollment and FTE. The College serves nearly 10,000 students annually.

Located in south-central North Carolina, the College’s service area encompasses Anson and Union Counties. South Piedmont’s two campuses are located in Polkton and Monroe with education centers in both Monroe and Wadesboro. The College footprint continues to grow with planned expansion in Monroe to construct an Aseptic Training Facility and Center for Entrepreneurship and renovations to uplift campus buildings in both Polkton and Monroe.

The College’s mission is to foster life-long learning, student success, and workforce and community development. The student success focus is shared not only by the college’s employees and trustees, but also with its local partners. The college has strong, successful educational partnerships with public and private K-12 schools and transfer agreements with public and private universities. As a leader in workforce development, College administrators work closely with business and industry leaders to develop and implement programs that are essential for students’ current and prospective career opportunities and economic development.

The intent of this solicitation is to award an Agency Contract.

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

The Contract shall have an initial term of six (6) months beginning on the date the Contract is executed by the SPCC Trustees (the “Effective Date”) and ending on the date that the contract with the selected candidate is signed. The Vendor shall begin work under the Contract within seven (7) business days of the Effective Date.

Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award, which are incorporated herein by reference.

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

ATTENTION: This is NOT an E-Procurement solicitation. Paragraph entitled ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT subsections (d) and (e) of the North Carolina General Contract Terms and Conditions, do not apply to this solicitation.

General information on the E-Procurement Services can be found at: http://eprocurement.nc.gov/.

2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions to Vendors, the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, all relevant exhibits and attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications herein. Vendors are also responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFP.

If Vendors have questions or issues regarding any component of this RFP, those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in the PROPOSAL QUESTIONS Section. If SPCC determines that any changes will be made as a result of the

Ver: 11/2023 6 questions asked, then such decisions will be communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. SPCC may also elect to leave open the possibility for later negotiation of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question-and-answer period, prior to contract award.

Other than through the process of negotiation under 01 NCAC 05B.0503, SPCC rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal or otherwise. This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’ instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall constitute a firm offer that shall be held open for the period required herein (“Validity Period” above).

SPCC may exercise its discretion to consider Vendor proposed modifications. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and will be disregarded unless expressly agreed upon through negotiation and incorporated by way of a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. SPCC will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.

Event Responsibility Date and Time Issue RFP SPCC August 22, 2024 Submit Written Questions Vendor August 30, 2024 by 5:00 PM ET Provide Response to Questions SPCC September 6, 2024 by 5:00 PM ET Bid Opening Vendor September 10, 2024 @ 2:00 PM ET Tentative Contract Award SPCC September 18, 2024

2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by the “Submit Written Questions” date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum.

Written questions shall be emailed to abarbour@spcc.edu by the date and time specified above. Vendors should enter “RFP # 76- 20240819 Questions” as the subject for the email. Question submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section and be submitted in the format shown below:

Reference Vendor Question

RFP Section, Page Number Vendor question …?

Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, SPCC’s response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by SPCC will be posted in the form of an addendum to the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP), https://evp.nc.gov, and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in the RFP and an addendum to this RFP.

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an absolute requirement. Late bids, regardless of cause, will not be opened or considered, and will be automatically disqualified from further consideration. Vendor shall bear the sole risk of late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. It is the Vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure its proposal has been received as described in this RFP by the specified time and date of opening. The time and date of receipt will be marked on each proposal when received. Any proposal or portion thereof received after the proposal deadline will be rejected.

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All proposal responses shall be submitted electronically via the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). Additional information can be found at the eVP updates for Vendors link: https://eprocurement.nc.gov/news-events/evp-updates-vendors.

If confidential and proprietary information is included in the proposal, also submit one (1) signed, REDACTED copy of the proposal.

Such information may include trade secrets defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-152 and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §132- 1.2. Vendor may designate information, Products, Services or appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent permitted under the statutes and rules set forth above. By so redacting any page, or portion of a page, the Vendor warrants that it has formed a good faith opinion, having received such necessary or proper review by counsel and other knowledgeable advisors, that the portions determined to be confidential and proprietary and redacted as such, meet the requirements of the Rules and Statutes set forth above. However, under no circumstances shall price information be designated as confidential.

If the Vendor does not provide a redacted version of the proposal with its proposal submission, the Department may release an unredacted version if a record request is received.

Failure to submit a proposal in strict accordance with these instructions shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s proposal(s). Vendors are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to upload proposals.

Critical updated information may be included in Addenda to this RFP. It is important that all Vendors responding to this RFP periodically check the State’s eVP website for any Addenda that may be issued prior to the bid opening date. All Vendors shall be deemed to have read and understood all information in this RFP and all Addenda thereto.

2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Vendors shall populate all attachments of this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and include an authorized signature where requested. Failure to provide all required items, or Vendor’s submission of incomplete items, may result in SPCC rejecting Vendor’s proposal, in SPCC’s sole discretion.

Vendor RFP responses shall include the following items and attachments, which shall be arranged in the following order:

a) Cover Letter, which must contain the following: (i) a statement that confirms that the proposer has read the RFP in its entirety, including all links, and all Addenda released in conjunction with the RFP, (ii) a statement that the Vendor agrees to perform in accordance with the scope of work, requirements, and specifications contained herein; and (iii) Vendor’s agreement to comply with all instructions, terms and conditions, and attachments.

b) Title Page: Include company name, address, phone number and authorized representative along with the Proposal Number.

c) Completed and signed version of all EXECUTION PAGES, along with the body of the RFP.

d) Signed receipt pages of any addenda released in conjunction with this RFP, if required to be returned.

e) Vendor’s Proposal addressing all Specifications of this RFP. (Sections 4.1, 4.6, and 5.0-5.4)

f) Completed version of ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

g) Completed version of ATTACHMENT B: CUSTOMER REFERENCES

h) Completed version of ATTACHMENT E: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

i) Completed version of ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

j) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

North Carolina G.S. 143-52 provides a general list of criteria the SPCC Trustees shall use to award contracts, as supplemented by the additional criteria herein. The Goods or Services being procured shall dictate the application and order of criteria; however, all award decisions shall be in the SPCC Trustees’ best interest. All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to

Ver: 11/2023 8 the Vendor(s) meeting the specific RFP Specifications and achieving the highest and best final evaluation, based on the criteria described below.

While the intent of this RFP is to award a Contract(s) to a single Vendor, SPCC reserves the right to make separate awards to different Vendors for one or more line items, to not award one or more line items or to cancel this RFP in its entirety without awarding a Contract, if it is considered to be most advantageous to SPCC to do so.

SPCC reserves the right to waive any minor informality or technicality in proposals received.

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

While this RFP is under evaluation, the responding Vendor, including any subcontractors and suppliers, is prohibited from engaging in conversations intended to influence the outcome of the evaluation. See the Paragraph 29 of the Instructions to Vendors entitled

COMMUNICTIONS BY VENDORS.

Each Vendor submitting a proposal to this RFP, including its employees, agents, subcontractors, suppliers, subsidiaries and affiliates, is prohibited from having any communications with any person inside or outside the using agency; issuing agency; other government agency office or body (including the purchaser named above, any department secretary, agency head, members of the General Assembly and Governor’s office); or private entity, if the communication refers to the content of Vendor’s proposal or qualifications, the content of another Vendor’s proposal, another Vendor’s qualifications or ability to perform a resulting contract, and/or the transmittal of any other communication of information that could be reasonably considered to have the effect of directly or indirectly influencing the evaluation of proposals, the award of a contract, or both.

Any Vendor not in compliance with this provision shall be disqualified from evaluation and award. A Vendor’s proposal may be disqualified if its subcontractor and/or supplier engage in any of the foregoing communications during the time that the procurement is active (i.e., the issuance date of the procurement until the date of contract award or cancellation of the procurement). Only those discussions, communications or transmittals of information authorized or initiated by the issuing agency for this RFP or inquiries directed to the purchaser named in this RFP regarding requirements of the RFP (prior to proposal submission) or the status of the award (after submission) are excepted from this provision.

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

Only responsive submissions will be evaluated.

SPCC will conduct a One-Step evaluation of Proposals:

Proposals will be received according to the method stated in the Proposal Submittal Section above.

All proposals must be received by the issuing agency not later than the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum. Vendors are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract, and SPCC reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of SPCC.

At the date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum, the proposal from each responding Vendor will be opened publicly and all offers (except those that have been previously withdrawn, or voided bids) will be tabulated. The tabulation shall be made public at the time it is created. When negotiations after receipt of bids is authorized pursuant to G.S. 143-49 and 01 NCAC 05B.0503, only the names of offerors and the Goods and Services offered shall be tabulated at the time of opening. If negotiation is anticipated, cost and price shall become available for public inspection at the time of the award. Interested parties are cautioned that these costs and their components are subject to further evaluation for completeness and correctness and therefore may not be an exact indicator of a Vendor’s pricing position.

At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussions with any or all Vendors for clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal. Vendors are cautioned, however, that the evaluators are not required to request presentations or other clarification—and often do not. Therefore, all proposals should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the Vendor.

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Upon completion of the evaluation process, SPCC will make award(s) based on the evaluation and post the award(s) to the State’s eVP website under the RFP number for this solicitation. Award of a Contract to one Vendor does not mean that the other proposals lacked merit, but that, all factors considered, the selected proposal was deemed most advantageous and represented the best value to SPCC.

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

In addition to the general criteria in G.S. 143-52 which may or may not be relevant to this RFP, all qualified proposals will be evaluated, and award made based on considering the following criteria, to result in an award most advantageous to SPCC:

BEST VALUE: "Best Value" procurement methods are authorized by N.C.G.S. §§143-135.9 and 143B-1350(h). The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the Vendor's offer; the Vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the specifications stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance. The intent of "Best Value" procurement is to enable Vendors to offer and the Agency to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement.

A ranking method of source selection will be utilized in this procurement using evaluation criteria listed in order of importance in the Evaluation Criteria section below to allow the State to award this RFP to the Vendor(s) providing the Best Value and recognizing that Best Value may result in award other than the lowest price or highest technically qualified offer. By using this method, the overall ranking may be adjusted up or down when considered with, or traded-off against, other non-price factors.

EVALUTION METHOD: Narrative and by consensus of the evaluating committee, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal and why the recommended awardee(s) provide the best value to SPCC.

All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and award made based on considering the following criteria listed in descending order of importance, to result in an award most advantageous to SPCC:

1. Vendor Technical Approach

2. Vendor Qualifications

3. Vendor Experience (Include 3 references from community college presidential search clients)

4. Pricing

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Vendor shall complete ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR. In addition to any other evaluation criteria identified in this RFP, PCC may also consider, for purposes of evaluating proposed or actual contract performance outside of the United States, how that performance may affect the following factors to ensure that any award will be in the best interest of PCC:

a) Total cost to SPCC

b) Level of quality provided by the Vendor

c) Process and performance capability across multiple jurisdictions

d) Protection of SPCC’s information and intellectual property

e) Availability of pertinent skills

f) Ability to understand SPCC’s business requirements and internal operational culture

g) Particular risk factors such as the security of SPCC’s information technology

h) Relations with citizens and employees

i) Contract enforcement jurisdictional issues

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought by SPCC; and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms of the Contract resulting from this procurement. The use of phrases such as “shall,” “must,” and “requirements” are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. In determining whether

Ver: 11/2023 10 proposals should be evaluated or rejected, SPCC will take into consideration the degree to which Vendors have proposed or failed to propose solutions that will satisfy SPCC’s needs as described in the RFP. Except as specifically stated in the RFP, no one requirement shall automatically disqualify a Vendor from consideration. However, failure to comply with any single requirement may result in SPCC exercising its discretion to reject a proposal in its entirety.

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

This Section lists the requirements related to this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the Vendor agrees to meet all stated requirements in this Section as well as any other specifications, requirements, and terms and conditions stated in this RFP. If a Vendor is unclear about a requirement or specification, or believes a change to a requirement would allow for SPCC to receive a better proposal, the Vendor is urged to submit these items in the form of a question during the question-and-answer period in accordance with the Proposal Questions Section 2.4.

4.1 PRICING

Proposal price shall constitute the total cost to SPCC for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and specifications herein, including all applicable charges for handling, transportation, administrative and other similar fees. Complete ATTACHMENT A: PRICING FORM and include in Vendor’s proposal. The pricing provided in ATTACHMENT A, or resulting from any negotiations, is incorporated herein and shall become part of any resulting Contract.

4.2 INVOICES

Should the Vendor’s proposal result in an award, instructions for invoicing will be presented and agreed by all parties during the Contract Administration phase.

INVOICES MAY NOT BE PAID UNTIL SERVICES HAVE BEEN RENDERED.

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

As a condition of contract award, the Vendor must certify that it has the financial capacity to perform and to continue to perform its obligations under the Contract; that Vendor has no constructive or actual knowledge of an actual or potential legal proceeding being brought against Vendor that could materially adversely affect performance of this Contract; and that entering into this Contract is not prohibited by any contract, or order by any court of competent jurisdiction.

Each Vendor shall certify it is financially stable by completing ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION. SPCC is requiring this certification to minimize potential issues from contracting with a Vendor that is financially unstable. From the date of the Certification to the expiration of the Contract, the Vendor shall notify the State within thirty (30) days of any occurrence or condition that materially alters the truth of any statement made in this Certification. The Contract Manager may require annual recertification of the Vendor’s financial stability.

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-48, it is State policy to encourage and promote the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in purchasing Goods and Services. As such, this RFP will serve to identify those Vendors that are minority owned or have a strategic plan to support the State’s Historically Underutilized Business program by meeting or exceeding the goal of 10% utilization of diverse firms as 1st or 2nd tier subcontractors. Vendor shall complete

ATTACHMENT E: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION.

4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

In its Proposal, Vendor shall demonstrate experience with public and/or private sector clients with similar or greater size and complexity to the State. Vendor shall provide information as to the qualifications and experience of all executive, managerial, legal, and professional personnel to be assigned to this project, including resumes citing experience with similar projects and the responsibilities to be assigned to each person.

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4.6 REFERENCES

Vendor shall provide at least three (3) references, using ATTACHMENT B: CUSTOMER REFERENCES, for which it has provided Services of similar size and scope to those proposed herein. SPCC shall contact these users to determine whether the Services provided are substantially similar in scope to those proposed herein and whether Vendor’s performance has been satisfactory.

The information obtained shall be considered in the evaluation of the Proposal.

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

Any personnel or agent of Vendor performing Services under any Contract arising from this RFP may be required to undergo a background check at the expense of the Vendor, if so requested by SPCC.

4.8 PERSONNEL

Vendor warrants that qualified personnel shall provide Services under this Contract in a professional manner. “Professional manner” means that the personnel performing the Services will possess the skill and competence consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry. Vendor will serve as the prime contractor under this Contract and shall be responsible for the performance and payment of all subcontractor(s) that may be approved by SPCC. Names of any third-party Vendors or subcontractors of Vendor may appear for purposes of convenience in Contract documents; and shall not limit Vendor’s obligations hereunder. Vendor will retain executive representation for functional and technical expertise as needed in order to incorporate any work by third party subcontractor(s).

Should the Vendor’s proposal result in an award, the Vendor shall be required to agree that it will not substitute key personnel assigned to the performance of the Contract without prior written approval by the Contract Lead. Vendor shall further agree that it will notify the Contract Lead of any desired substitution, including the name(s) and references of Vendor’s recommended substitute personnel. SPCC will approve or disapprove the requested substitution in a timely manner. SPCC may, in its sole discretion, terminate the Services of any person providing Services under this Contract. Upon such termination, SPCC may request acceptable substitute personnel or terminate the contract Services provided by such personnel.

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

If Vendor’s Proposal results in an award, Vendor agrees that it will not enter any agreement with a third party that may abridge any rights of PCC under the Contract. If any Services, deliverables, functions, or responsibilities not specifically described in this solicitation are required for Vendor’s proper performance, provision and delivery of the Service and deliverables under a resulting Contract, or are an inherent part of or necessary sub-task included within such Service, they will be deemed to be implied by and included within the scope of the Contract to the same extent and in the same manner as if specifically described in the Contract.

Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, Vendor will furnish all of its own necessary management, supervision, labor, facilities, furniture, computer and telecommunications equipment, software, supplies and materials necessary for the Vendor to provide and deliver the Services and/or other Deliverables.

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

The South Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees (SPCC Trustees) seeks to contract with a qualified consultant to search for a new President.

The selected Vendor shall provide assistance, support, guidance and direction to the SPCC Trustees in all aspects of the SPCC Trustees national search for a President, including but not limited to, working with the Search Committee to assist with the minimum candidate qualifications, placing advertisements announcing the position, recruiting candidates, reviewing applications, recommending candidates for the Search Committee to interview, communicating and complying with necessary deadlines with the State Board of Community Colleges and conducting background checks on the final candidates.

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5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

The successful Vendor shall help formulate the necessary qualifications for a new SPCC President; publish these qualifications on a nationwide basis; request applications from qualified candidates; review and summarize the applications received; present a narrowed set of applications to the Search Committee for consideration for interviews; aid in conducting the candidate interviews.

The Vendor shall provide a schedule with key benchmark dates, including but not limited to, identification of position requirements, dates for ad placements, closing date for receipt of applications, date for submission of candidates to the Search Committee, dates necessary to meet the State Board of Community College deadlines for consideration and dates for interviews.

a. Provide assistance, support, guidance, and direction to the SPCC Trustees in all aspects of the national search for a President-Elect.

b. Assist with planning & facilitating meetings designed to seek input from the state’s citizens as to the desirable characteristics and qualifications for South Piedmont Community College’s next leader.

c. Work with the search committee to establish the minimum qualifications for candidates and job description.

d. Prepare and place advertisements in state and national publications announcing the position and seeking qualified applicants after review by the Search Committee.

e. Actively recruit potential candidates and encourage their submission of applications.

f. Receive, at a place other than South Piedmont Community College, all applications.

g. Review applications and prepare a one-page summary of all applicants describing the strengths and weakness of each applicant. Submit the summaries to the search committee upon request.

h. Forward to the search committee a narrowed selection of applications of candidates warranting evaluation by the search committee. The Search Committee reserves the right to review all applications.

i. Recommend questions to be posed during the interviews to each finalist, including questions individualized to explore the strengths and weakness of the individual finalists.

j. Determine and establish dates necessary to comply with the State Board of Community College review process.

k. Conduct extensive background and reference checks on each finalist to include reference checks of individuals provided by the finalists as well as additional persons found through the consultant’s research.

l. Provide or arrange for evaluation of finalist’s creditworthiness and criminal history.

5.3 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

Vendor shall describe the organizational and operational structure it proposes to utilize for the work described in this RFP and identify the responsibilities to be assigned to each person Vendor proposes to staff the work.

5.4 TECHNICAL APPROACH

Vendor’s proposal shall include, in narrative, outline, and/or graph form the Vendor's approach to accomplishing the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work section of this RFP. A description of each task and deliverable and the schedule for accomplishing each shall be included.

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

All Contract Administration requirements are conditioned on an award resulting from this solicitation. This document is not a contract; it is, instead, a request for proposals. This information is provided for the Vendor’s planning purposes.

6.1 PROJECT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Vendor shall be required to designate and make available to SPCC a project manager. The project manager shall be SPCC’s point of contact for Contract related issues and issues concerning performance, progress review, scheduling, and service.

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6.2 POST AWARD PROJECT REVIEW MEETINGS

The Vendor, at the request of SPCC, shall be required to meet as needed with SPCC for Project Review meetings. The purpose of these meetings will be to review project progress reports, discuss Vendor and SPCC performance, address outstanding issues, review problem resolution, provide direction, evaluate continuous improvement and cost saving ideas, and discuss any other pertinent topics.

6.3 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

SPCC encourages the Vendor to identify opportunities to reduce the total cost SPCC. A continuous improvement effort consists of various ways to enhance business efficiencies as performance progresses.

6.4 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

Performance of the work and/or delivery of Goods shall be conducted and completed at least in accordance with the Contract requirements and recognized and customarily accepted industry practices. Performance shall be considered complete when the Services or Goods are approved as acceptable by the Contract Administrator.

The State shall have the obligation to notify Vendor, in writing ten (10) calendar days following completion of such work or delivery of a deliverable described in the Contract that it is not acceptable. The notice shall specify in reasonable detail the reason(s) it is unacceptable. Acceptance by the State shall not be unreasonably withheld; but may be conditioned or delayed as required for reasonable review, evaluation, installation, or testing, as applicable to the work or deliverable. Final acceptance is expressly conditioned upon completion of all applicable assessment procedures. Should the work or deliverables fail to meet any specifications, acceptance criteria or otherwise fail to conform to the Contract, the State may exercise any and all rights hereunder, including, for Goods deliverables, such rights provided by the Uniform Commercial Code, as adopted in North Carolina.

6.5 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

During the performance of the Contract, the parties agree that it is in their mutual interest to resolve disputes informally. Any claims by the Vendor shall be submitted in writing to SPCC for resolution. Any claims by SPCC shall be submitted in writing to the Vendor’s Project Manager for resolution. The Parties shall agree to negotiate in good faith and use all reasonable efforts to resolve such dispute(s).

During the time the Parties are attempting to resolve any dispute, each shall proceed diligently to perform their respective duties and responsibilities under this Contract. The Parties will agree on a reasonable amount of time to resolve a dispute. If a dispute cannot be resolved between the Parties within the agreed upon period, either Party may elect to exercise any other remedies available under the Contract, or at law. This provision, when agreed in the Contract, shall not constitute an agreement by either party to mediate or arbitrate any dispute.

6.6 CONTRACT CHANGES

Contract changes, if any, over the life of the Contract shall be implemented by contract amendments agreed to in writing by the State and Vendor. Amendments to the contract can only be through the contract administrator.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

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7.0 ATTACHMENTS

**IMPORTANT NOTICE**

RETURN THE REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS WITH YOUR RESPONSE

FOLLOW THE LINKS TO ACCESS EACH ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

Describe any and all compensation and any and all fees and expenses that would be paid to your firm in connection with this search along with the terms of payment. Cost should be itemized by category.

The Cost Proposal shall contain a breakdown of anticipated costs and expenses. The following breakdown is for example only.

A. Consultant Services

1. Lead Consultant

2. Associates

B. Travel and Subsistence Expenses

1. Mileage

2. Meals

3. Lodging

C. 3rd Party Sub-contracts Cost (if any)

D. Printing

E. Overhead/Indirect Cost:

1. Phone

2. Postage

3. Advertising

4. Other

TOTAL COST: A total not to exceed cost representing the maximum amount for all work to be performed, including travel costs and expenses, must be clearly indicated under this heading.

Additional reimbursements will NOT be made.

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ATTACHMENT B: CUSTOMER REFERENCES

CUSTOMER REFERENCES

Instructions: Please use this form to submit three (3) customer references.

Organization Name

Point of Contact Name

Address

Phone Number

Email Address

Contract Start Date

Contract End Date

Describe the quantity and type of products or services provided by your company to the customer.

Describe any service level agreements your company had in place with this customer, how your company performed against these service level agreements during the term of the contract, and describe any issues that came up during the contract period and how they were resolved.

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ATTACHMENT C: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

The Instructions to Vendors, which are incorporated herein by this reference, may be found here:

https://files.nc.gov/ncdoa/pandc/OnlineForms/Form_North-Carolina-Instructions-to-Vendors_09.2020.pdf https://ncadmin.nc.gov/formnorth-carolina-instructions-vendors032023/download?attachment

ATTACHMENT D: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

The North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, which are incorporated herein by this reference, may be found here:

https://www.doa.nc.gov/form-north-carolina-general-terms-and-conditions-11-2023/open

ATTACHMENT E: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

Complete and return the Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Vendor Information form, which can be found at the following link:

https://files.nc.gov/ncdoa/pandc/OnlineForms/Form_HUB-Supplemental-Vendor-Information_9.2021.pdf

ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

Complete and return the Location of Workers Utilized by Vendor, which can be found at the following link:

https://files.nc.gov/ncdoa/pandc/OnlineForms/Form_Location-of-Workers_09.2021.pdf

ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

Complete, sign, and return the Certification of Financial Condition, which can be found at the following link:

https://files.nc.gov/ncdoa/pandc/OnlineForms/Form_Certification-of-Financial-Condition_09.2021.pdf