Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Argonne National Laboratory Statement of Work “Temporary Personnel Support” March 19, 2024 UChicago Argonne, LLC (“Argonne”) requires professional-level contract workers with specialized knowledge and... Argonne National Laboratory Statement of Work “Temporary Personnel Support” March 19, 2024 UChicago Argonne, LLC (“Argonne”) requires professional-level contract workers with specialized knowledge and skills to perform staff augmentation assignments. I. STATEMENT OF NEED The Contractor must be able to accept or provide qualified replacements for an existing population of approximately 300-350 contract workers employed under the incumbent contract and process requests for new workers throughout the year. The Laboratory may suggest a candidate to fill a Task Order, but the Contractor should be prepared to source candidates as needed as well. Contract workers will be professional-level individuals with specialized knowledge and skills in the career structures of Research and Development (RD), Professional Technical (PT), and Professional Administrative (PA). Services are required at six levels within each structure. Non-professional staff, such as general administrative assistants and other personnel subject to the federal Service Contract Labor Standards, are not in scope. Additional details are provided in the enclosures to this Statement of Work: Enclosure A: General description for each career structure, and examples of job types. Enclosure B: “Level Guide Charts” describing the differences in education, experience, and skill between each level within a career structure. Enclosure C: Historical base pay ranges expressed in terms of an equivalent hourly rate for each level (for informational purposes only). The hours for an assignment may be scheduled on an intermittent or regular basis based on the Laboratory’s need. Task Orders will specify the period of performance for the worker. Some assignments may require individuals to hold certain active security clearances, or to hold U.S. citizenship. See Section V below for additional information. II. SELECTION OF WORKERS Argonne will notify the Contractor of its need for services by email specifying the estimated hours, statement of work/position description, requested level and classification, anticipated pay range or ceiling, and any special requirements (e.g. U.S. citizenship, on-site availability, etc). The Laboratory may identify a particular worker who it believes is qualified to fill the need. The Contractor may elect to hire the Laboratory-identified worker to fulfill the Laboratory’s requirement but is not obligated to do so. If the Contractor elects not to utilize the suggested candidate or if there is no selected candidate, the Contractor shall furnish resume(s) and pay rate(s) for proposed workers for review by Argonne within five (5) business days of the original request (or as otherwise specified in the request), and only email responses will be accepted. The individual whose services are proposed to be utilized shall be within the sole and absolute discretion of Argonne. Argonne will have no obligation to the Contractor if the services of the Contractor’s candidate(s) are not utilized. Argonne shall not be obligated to notify the Contractor if a candidate is rejected. Argonne shall not be obligated to provide a rationale for rejecting a candidate. If Argonne desires to utilize the services of any of the Contractor’s employees, Argonne shall issue to the Contractor a Task Order identifying the task order number, name of the worker, cost center (if necessary), projected labor hours, statement of work, estimated classification/level, and billable rate to the Contractor. If applicable, Argonne will also confirm FAVOR approval (see Section V). The Contractor shall complete onboarding as soon as possible and place the contract worker on Argonne work as soon as possible but no later than within 30 calendar days of receiving the Task Order (or as otherwise specified in the request). Contractor must complete all required background screening and submit conflict of interest disclosures for its personnel as required by the agreement prior to personnel's placement in a Task Order. III. TIMEKEEPING AND BILLING The Contractor will bill Argonne only for time worked on Specific Assignments under Task Orders. Each worker will be under a unique Task Order. The Contractor’s timekeeping system must include the following: The system must able to accommodate multiple work project identifiers and multiple approvers per contract worker and have the ability to calculate the total accumulated hours for each worker. If access to the system is provided to Argonne staff, the system must not have any click-through terms and conditions and must not require the Laboratory or its employees to indemnify Contractor, software provider, or any other party. The Contractor will provide detailed billing for each contract worker by project/task, hours and dollars, and total accumulated hours worked to date on a weekly basis. Overtime rates will not apply. Argonne will not pay the Contractor for any time that is not worked on Specific Assignments, including during the following times: Holidays: Unless work is ordered and approved in advance in writing by an Argonne authorized representative and performed by the worker, no payment shall be made to the Contractor for any of the following holidays: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day (or observed day if July 4 is on a weekend), Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving, and the laboratory’s annual holiday closure period (all days from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day (or observed days if the holidays occur on weekends). The Laboratory’s annual holiday schedule will be provided to the Contractor on request. Closing or Change in Operational Status: In the event of an unscheduled closing or partial closing of the Laboratory (e.g., closing due to bad weather), the contract worker is not authorized to work, and no payment shall be made to the Contractor for work performed during an unscheduled closing unless the initial work order authorization states in writing the ability to work remotely and the remote work performed is approved in writing by an Argonne-authorized representative. The Contractor will be notified in writing of any longer-term change in operational status, such as changes related to a pandemic or natural disaster, and all contract workers will be required to conform to any special limitations associated with that status. IV. REPORTING The Contractor is expected to provide standard reports on utilization on a weekly basis. In addition, the Contractor will provide ad hoc reporting on quality, population, last utilization date, demographics/EEO, and other data as requested by the Argonne Technical Representative, Argonne Procurement, or Argonne Financial Management staff. Examples of the Utilization and Employee Demographics reports include the following information: Utilization report (weekly) – Employee name, Hours worked, % of hours worked, Total dollars invoiced, date of last work performed, start date, end date. Employee Roster & Demographics Report (as requested): emergency contact information, phone, email address, home address, ANL host name, Directorate, Division, Retiree/Not Retired, Security Clearance (yes or no). The Contractor will be responsible for continuously tracking the total amount charged under the agreement and alerting the authorized Laboratory Procurement Official in writing whenever it has reason to believe that the costs it expects to incur under this agreement will exceed 75 percent of the current obligated total. The Contractor shall notify the Laboratory Technical Representative or other designated contact when a worker has worked 80% of their projected hours for a Task Order. V. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS Contractor personnel who are not U.S. citizens are subject to additional approval through the Argonne Foreign Assignment/Visit Online Report (FAVOR) System before they may begin a new assignment or have a current assignment extended. The Argonne host Division’s administrative staff shall be responsible for obtaining this approval, but the Contractor is responsible for ensuring the approval is granted before work begins. If an assignment requires U.S. citizenship, this will be indicated in the initial request to the Contractor. Contractor personnel performing on-site services under this Agreement shall primarily hold Building Access Only (BAO) clearance. However, the Contractor must also obtain and maintain a facility security clearance (FCL) for its organization in order to host some workers with L and Q security clearances. If the Contractor does not already hold a FCL, it will be required to complete a Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) review. VI. GENERAL TERMS The following general terms apply: Benefits: The Contractor will offer personnel performing staff augmentation services under this agreement employee benefits to the extent required by law, including sick leave and health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, if applicable. Conflict of Interest: The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that any individuals who will be placed at Argonne are not simultaneously billing any U.S. government agency or government Contractor for the same or similar work. The Contractor shall obtain a Conflict-of-Interest form signed by each Associate certifying that there are no personal or financial conflicts of interest present prior to beginning work. Offsite Work: Contract workers are permitted to telecommute with prior written permission of the sponsoring Division and the Contractor. Argonne is not responsible for any telecommuting expenses. Onsite Work: Argonne is not responsible for any commuting or relocation expenses if onsite work is required. Compliance and Training: While working under this agreement, in addition to Contractor’s own requirements, contract workers are required to conform to all applicable Laboratory policies and procedures, including but not limited to those for security, health, professional conduct, conflict of interest, and safety. The contract worker may also be required to participate in any special actions required to comply with Department of Energy (DOE) Orders and Directives. The host Division is responsible for assigning appropriate training and will notify the Contractor if the employee has failed to complete required training within a reasonable time frame. Government-Furnished Property: Argonne may provide certain contract workers with an approved laptop and other work-related items as outlined in the Task Order’s Statement of Work. Laptops will be assigned a CSI number for tracking and labeled Federal Government Property. Each item furnished shall be tracked and logged and reported annually as requested by Argonne’s property control department. All government property must be returned to Argonne at the completion or termination of the worker’s assignment, and Contractor shall be required to reimburse the Laboratory for any damaged or missing property. Travel: Certain contract workers may be asked to travel domestically and/or internationally as part of their task order. Travel destination(s), budget, justification, frequency (as available at the time the task order is issued and subject to change during performance of the task), and any other travel-related requirements will be detailed in the relevant Specific Assignment’s Statement of Work and subject to the terms outlined in Appendix “A”. Travel expense reimbursement is outlined in Appendix “A”, clause 78 – Consideration and Allowable Costs. Prior written approval of the Technical Representative or their designee shall be required for all travel. For international travel, Argonne’s Technical Representative or their designee must obtain approval through Argonne’s Global Travel Office. Enclosure (A) Career Structure descriptions and sample job types 1. Research and Development (RD) Comprises individuals engaged in broad areas of research, development, and analysis. Directly performs creative and intellectual work in scientific discovery, technological innovation, and assessment for programs and/or user facilities. Brings the Laboratory’s capabilities and external needs together in the identification and pursuit of new research opportunities and/or to capture new funding or partnership opportunities that align with strategic priorities. Enables scientific discovery and technological innovation/assessment in programs and/or within user facilities by contributing knowledge, skills, and expertise within a field of science or engineering. Sample job types include: Atmospheric and Earth Science, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Computational Science, Computer Science, Electrical- Electronics Engineering, Engineering Systems Modeling-Simulation-Analysis, Environmental Science and Engineering, Infrastructure Assurance Analysis, Materials-Ceramics-Metallurgical, Mathematics-Statistics, Mechanical-Civil Engineering, Nuclear-Reactor Engineering, Operations Research and Decision Analysis, Physics, Software Engineering, and Systems and Design Engineering. 2. Professional Technical (PT) Comprises individuals not directly performing research and development but providing intellectual and technical knowledge organized on scientific and/or engineering principles in support of operational/ infrastructure activity. Typically includes professional work in areas such as plant facilities, project management, environmental, safety and health, computing security, or network engineering. Sample job types include: Analytical Chemistry, Applications Development, Computing Security, Data Management, Environmental Safety and Health, Environmental Protection and Sustainability, Facilities Engineering, Information Technology, Industrial Safety, Manufacturing Engineering, Network Engineering, Nuclear Facilities Operations, Quality Assurance, Systems Integration, Administration and Support, Telecommunications, Web Development 3. Professional Administrative (PA) *Professional staff only – non-exempt staff, such as general administrative assistants, are not in scope. Comprises individuals providing knowledge of business principles and organizational practices in support of business and management activities and other Laboratory services. Typically includes professional work in areas such as financial, human resources, library, or communications. Sample job types include: Accounting, Audit-Internal, Budget-Resource Administration, Business Analysis, Communications-Marketing, Emergency Management, Facilities/Space Planning, Financial Analysis, Human Resources Administration, Intelligence/Counterintelligence, Issues Management, Performance Assurance, Library and Information Services-Technical, Media Services, Process Improvement, Procurement, Property Control, Records Management, Security, and Writing/Editing.