Experienced Services

Enable the agency to work with select NGOs to fill a wide variety of temporary human resource needs with skilled, experienced workers, aged 55 and older, while also providing opportunities to qualified older Americans to have meaningful work and fair

The Experienced Services Program offers a flexible option for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to complete targeted priority projects and fill in administrative or program needs by using the services of experienced workers across all sectors of business. This program awards cooperative agreements to two nonprofit partner organizations who provide recruitment and staffing services as requested by the Service. Each agreement funds the work of one or more enrollees, aged 55+, who are selected for their experience, knowledge, and skills to complete tasks and projects which the Service would otherwise be unable to complete. These enrollees are able to fill critical gaps in staffing, and allow the Service to carry out its mission.

Applicants must be nonprofits and eligible to receive funds from the Department of Labor under Title V of the Older Americans Act (Senior Community Service Employment Program).

Individuals (Americans, age 55 and older) who qualify for temporary positions, as described in approved position descriptions provided by the contracting, Federal agency. These individuals may include Federal pension recipients.

Recipients will use funding to cover overhead or administrative costs to fulfill its obligations under the cooperative agreement, as well as salary and benefits for enrollees. Overhead or administrative costs may include payroll and benefits management, required reporting, and providing interactive portal for enrollee supervisors, among others.

The only applicants eligible are those designated by the Secretary of Labor under title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965. These organizations then are allowed to enroll workers aged 55+ to work under the cooperative agreements.

The Experienced Services Program assistance is available after being awarded every five years. The program is not funded; each project is funded through existing program budgets as it arises. Funding may be provided to individual projects until those projects expire, including over multiple years, unless statutory authority is not provided in a given year.

All required forms must be filled out properly; the project proposal must include all of the items noted in the NoFO Project Proposal section, including proof of eligibility; the mission and objectives of the applicants must relate to the DOI priorities addressed in the announcement objectives; the applicant must be qualified to carry out the work described in the NoFO; the applicant must demonstrate it has the techniques, processes, etc. to carry out the work; the applicant must have qualified personnel; the applicant must have knowledge and experience in planning, collaboration and evaluation; and the applicant must apply for adequate resources and be able to leverage resources effectively. The budget review and audit review must be correct and complete and not raise any concerns. It must show its record of past performance of similar work.

An award is made after there is a cooperative agreement with an eligible nonprofit organization and the agency has a project to propose under the terms of that agreement.

This program will fund any approved renewal application as new award, not as an amendment to an existing award. Recipients may request approval for budget and project plan revisions of funded projects, including period of performance and reporting due date extensions, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.