FBO: Federal Business Opportunities

Request for Information:
This is a Request for Information (RFI) for Commercial Service in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.1, (FAR) 13.5 under Simplified Acquisition Procedures, (FAR) 37.1 Personal Services Contracts, and 5 USC Sec 3109. No proposals are requested by this announcement; all responses shall be solely in the form of information and materials.
In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government is under no obligation to issue a solicitation or to award any contract on the basis of this RFI. Further, the African Development Foundation is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals or any cost or pricing data. Personal Services contractors are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be the sole responsibility of the contractor. All submissions will be treated as business confidential materials, become Government property, and will not be returned.
Background:
The African Development Foundation (ADF) is an Agency of the United States Government established by the Congress as a public corporation with the charter to seek and support self-help initiatives of grassroots communities in sub-Saharan Africa (USC 22, Chapter 7, Section 290h). The Foundation gives grants to small and medium-sized businesses and community organizations to carry out development activities.
Objective:
The United States African Development Foundation (ADF), Office of Management and Administration (M&A), Contracting Division, seeks to acquire information related to employing one or more contractors for Acquisition Support Services. This requirement would establish direct support for the Acquisition Operations staff and the Contracting Officer within (M& A). ADF is heavily engaged in acquiring a wide range of products and services at the best value for the government, in terms of cost, quality, and service. Typical contracting needs of ADF include: IT-related products, personal services contracts, procurement of African-based goods and facilities including real property leases, vehicles, security services, and supplies. Work will be performed under the guidance and supervision of the agency Contracting Officer.
Technical/Functional Requirements:
The contractor shall provide acquisition support that includes, but is not limited to: pre-award contract support, post-award contract administration, preparation of acquisition plans, and preparation of source selection evaluation documents. The contractor shall identify acquisition problems or concerns, develop innovative and practical solutions, and provide recommendations for improvements and/or corrective actions as appropriate. The contractor shall perform contract close-out services, participate in the review of contract documentation such as purchase request packages, statements of work, solicitations, synopsis, and contract files identifying deficiencies, and provide recommendations for corrective action. The contractor shall also help customers identify and define requirements; help write Statements of Work (SOW), Statements of Objectives (SOO), and Performance Work Statements (PWS) during the acquisition process, and provide an array of administrative senior and junior contract operational duties such as the processing of ratification packages, contract file preparation, workload tracking and reporting, etc.
Minimum Acceptable Experience and/or Qualifications:
The contractor shall possess the following minimum acceptable experience andor qualifications, as described below:
Educational Requirements: The contractor shall have at least 24 semester hours among one of the following disciplines: accounting, law, business, finance, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management and/or a Bachelor's degree in a related field. Note: 24 semester hours and a Bachelor's degree are both preferred.
Experience Requirements: The Contractor shall have a minimum of six (6) to eight (8) years of experience in conducting comprehensive acquisition support activities, as described below:
•Maintain current knowledge of contracting concepts and applicable public contract acquisition regulations (i.e., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)).
•Possess strong written and verbal communication and organizational skills.
•Possess up to date knowledge of commercial off-the-shelf business software applications such as Microsoft Office Suite.
•Demonstrate strong analytical and negotiation skills.
•Have the ability to interpret data, study trends, and conduct market research into various business environments.
•Possess mastery of price and cost analysis principles and techniques and industry principles and practices.

Submission of Information:
Please submit your Capability Statements to this RFI via email to Lottie Plater at: lplater@usadf.gov by January 23, 2009 at 12:00 P.M. noon EST. Responses should be 2-3 pages in 10 or 12 pitch fonts, Times New Roman. Further, please include your salary history for prior work experience related to this requirement. If you have any questions, please call Ms. Plater at (202) 673-3916 ext. 127.