AHEC-26921-D - Project Management Consultant

The Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) on behalf of its Facilities Management Department issued a Documented Quote (DQ) solicitation seeking a Project Management Consultant to evaluate, refine, and modernize the organization's project management tools, methodology, and processes across its 150-acre campus serving three partner institutions: Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and University of Colorado Denver. The consultant will review existing project processes and tools used by approximately four project and facilities team leaders, develop a comprehensive and ready-to-use toolkit including templates and governance documents, create an intake and prioritization rubric with input from partner institutions, provide training to 10-15 team members through live workshops and recorded sessions, and explore portfolio reporting options. Key deliverables include a refined project management toolkit, an intake and prioritization process with a rubric for sequencing projects, training materials and recordings, and formal review cycles with testing through actual project cycles to ensure practical applicability. Required qualifications include demonstrated experience within the past ten years working with government entities, experience working in or with project management teams, and experience facilitating customer groups toward consensus. The solicitation requires submission of a signed coversheet, at least one reference from projects completed in the last decade, proof of qualifications, a draft project plan with a proposed project schedule, and a completed W-9 form; quotes must not exceed 25 pages and are due May 1, 2026, at 2:00 PM Mountain Time. Questions must be submitted by April 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM Mountain Time. The eight-month engagement is estimated to begin in May 2026 with anticipated completion by December 2026, with an option for AHEC to extend services for one additional year at its discretion. No site visits or bidders' conferences are specified, though on-site presence is required for interviews, stakeholder discussions, training, and periodic project updates, with most independent work to be completed remotely.

The solicitation contains no stated set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to specific categories of organizations, though AHEC's W-9 submission form includes extensive voluntary self-certification opportunities for vendors to identify themselves across multiple diversity categories including woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQBE-owned, and disabled-owned business designations, as well as small business status and SBA certifications such as 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, VOSB, and SDVOSB. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed in the solicitation documents. AHEC's current project management infrastructure utilizes Excel spreadsheets, Adobe templates, and a TMA CMMS system for project tracking and reporting; the selected consultant is not required to recommend or integrate specific project management software platforms such as MS Project, Smartsheet, or JIRA. All tools, processes, and documents created by the selected consultant will become the exclusive property of AHEC. Quoted costs must remain firm for 90 days from the quote due date and for the duration of the project, with vendors required to submit a not-to-exceed amount broken down by personnel, hourly rates, proposed commitment levels, reimbursable expenses, and a payment schedule tied to milestones or deliverables. AHEC does not make advance payments and will pay upon project completion and receipt of all deliverables unless an alternative payment schedule is proposed; standard payment terms allow 45 days from invoice receipt and acceptance for payment. No specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the solicitation documents.