RFQ-DC-16-00026.docx

REQUEST FOR QUOTE # RFQ-DC-16-00026

COMBINED ANNOUNCEMENT AND SOW FOR STUDENT SERVICES CONTRACTS

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory

SECTION I - ANNOUNCEMENT

1. Summary

2. Agency and the Office Mission

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

The Gulf Ecology Division of the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking four (4) individuals, at least 18 years of age who have completed a B.S. or B.A. degree in, ecology, biological or environmental sciences, statistics or related field. For more detailed information regarding the Gulf Ecology Division, visit its home page at http://www.epa.gov/ged/.

Students or recent graduates, who are EPA ORD employees, or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee, are not eligible to participate.

These contracts are expected to begin approximately January 2016. The hourly rate is commensurate with the minimum required level of education and experience, as follows: $21.52 per hour for a student who has completed a bachelor’s degree. The student contractor must be currently enrolled in a degree program at an accredited University/College or a recent graduate within the last 24 months. The student contractors will be paid the basic hourly rate only for the number of hours worked and will not receive overtime pay for any hours worked beyond the 40-hour work week. The student contractors do not accrue leave or holiday benefits and are not paid for any non-work days, regardless of the reason. The student contractors are considered independent contractors; therefore, Federal, State, Local, Social Security, and Medicare taxes will not be withheld. The student contractors are responsible for reporting income to authorities and paying all taxes.

The student contractors are responsible for all costs of transportation to and from the principal duty station location. EPA does not provide housing, meals or other living expenses while working at the principal duty station. Non-U.S. citizens may be eligible to participate, depending on their immigration status and the applicable regulations of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). All non-US citizens must submit, as part of their proposal package, evidence of their immigration status that allows them to work in the United States. Students should possess a current US Visa and be able to obtain US work authorization in a timely manner if offered a contract. Students without a US Visa are not eligible.

Academic degrees fulfilled outside of the United States must be judged to be equivalent to that achieved in accredited U.S. education programs in order to be acceptable for this contract. More information about the evaluation of foreign education can be found at the U.S. Department of Education's web site at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

If applicable, applicants shall submit all necessary documents to a recognized private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, usually named a credential evaluation service. To be suitable, the foreign credential evaluation must include and describe (i) type of education received by the applicant (i.e., conventional, by mail, or online), (ii) degree of education relative to the U.S. education system, and testify that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the U.S. National Council for the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials, (iii) the content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained, (iv) the ranking of the awarding foreign schools’ credit and authenticity in its own country's education system, (v) what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, (vi) the qualifications of the evaluator, and (vii) any indications as to other concerns such as falsification. Foreign credential evaluations that do not include all the above information or indicate there is not enough information on which to make a sound evaluation will not be accepted.

INTERESTED PARTIES MUST COMPLETE ATTACHMENT 2, “STUDENT PROPOSAL FORM FOR RFQ-DC-16-00026”. Please provide a one or two page resume or statement of qualifications, this proposal form and attach a copy of all your college/university transcripts (unofficial copies are acceptable, if it is apparent from the transcript copy that is a copy of an official document and that the school is identified), submit via FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net referencing RFQ# RFQ-DC-16-00026, AND via email to Helen Britz, Contracting Officer, at britz.helen@epa.gov. The submission deadline is 6:00 PM EST November 30, 2015.

The Government will make contract award based on all evaluation factors (student's knowledge and skills, course work, work or volunteer experience, research laboratory experience, research publications and grade point average as it relates to the services described in this Announcement and the Statement of Work). Evaluation factors will be listed in the website mentioned above, please check the evaluation factors document on the website given above. Personal or telephone interviews may be conducted with the most promising candidates. The Government may elect to award contracts to multiple students under this Announcement.

Questions regarding this student contract should be directed to the contracting officer Helen Britz at britz.helen@epa.gov. Questions regarding the technical aspects of the contracted duties and responsibilities should be directed to the technical mentor listed in Attachment 1 – Statements of Work.

SECTION II - STATEMENT OF WORK

1. Project Description

See Attachment 1 – Statements of Work for specific position details

2. Description of Student Services:

3. Required Expertise, Skills, Education and/or Experience:

4. Required Background Investigation and Suitability Determination:

Student contractors awarded a contract will have to undergo a background investigation, a check of FBI fingerprint files, and a suitability determination by the Environmental Protection Agency. Upon receipt of the contract award, go immediately to link http://cdx.epa.gov/warning.asp and register with the Central Data Exchange (CDX) and complete the iBoard application. Notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) as soon as this process is completed. The student contractor must review and complete the requirements before beginning work on-site at the EPA. If a background check reveals information to indicate the student contractor represents a risk to the interests of EPA and the national security, the contract may be terminated.

5. Description of Working Conditions:

The majority of work will be performed in a research laboratory at the EPA’s Gulf Ecology Division in Gulf Breeze, FL; however some field work in the local area may be required. Students will be required to wear appropriate safety apparel and to closely adhere to laboratory safety requirements. The job may require moderate lifting and the climbing of stairs and ladders.

6. Duration and Compensation:

The work will begin approximately January 2016 and terminate approximately December 2016. The contract may be continued to include two (2) optional periods. The initial contract (base period) will be for 12 months, not to exceed 1,928 hours. The first optional period will be for 12 months, not to exceed 1,928 hours. The second optional period will be for 12 months, not to exceed 1,928 hours. All optional periods are dependent on the availability of funds and performance of the student contractors. It is anticipated that the student contractor will work up to an average of 40 hours per week. The majority of the work will be Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; evening, week-end and holiday work may be requested by the COR or Mentor with COR approval. Work may be performed under a variety of settings including office, library, laboratory, and field.

The rate of compensation for this position includes the cost of self-employment taxes for social security and Medicare.

7. Taxes:

The student is responsible for paying all Federal, State or local income taxes required as a result of income received under this order.

8. Quality Assurance Requirements:

The student contractor will be governed by the US EPA quality system, as described in the approved quality management plan for the organization where the student contractor is working. Approved quality management plans are in full compliance with the US EPA’s quality system requirements as expressed in these two documents:

Policy and Program Requirements for the Mandatory Agency-wide Quality System, EPA Order 5360.1 A2, May 2000

EPA Quality Manual for Environmental Programs, EPA Order 5360 A1, May 2000

Work performed by the student contractor in a laboratory setting must be in compliance with the above referenced quality management plan. The Mentor is responsible for ensuring this compliance.

Additionally, the student contractor must be taught the basic principles of ORD Policies and Procedures Manual, Chapter 13--Quality Assurance, policies 13.2 (PAPER LABORATORY RECORDS) and 13.4 (MINIMUM QUALITY ASSURANCE [QA]/QUALITY CONTROL [QC] PRACTICES FOR ORD LABORATORIES CONDUCTING RESEARCH), and other ORD and EPA QA policies as they are approved.