2025-0078 Support for Project Management (NS) - MON 31 Mar

Deadline Date: Monday 31 March 2025

Requirement: Support for Project Management

Location: Off-Site (with occasional travel to other NATO facilities)

Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)". Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs

Period of Performance: BASE period: as soon as possible but not later than 5th May 2025 – 31st December 2025 with possibility to exercise the following options:

2026 Option: 1st January 2026 until 31st December 2026

2027 Option: 1st January 2027 until 31st December 2027

2028 Option: 1st January 2028 until 31st December 2028

2029 Option: 1st January 2029 until 31st December 2029

2030 Option: 1st January 2030 until 31st December 2030

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1 INTRODUCTION

Supporting NATO throughout all its geographical locations, the NCI Agency is looking for Support for Project Management, joining the journey of NATO’s modernisation of IT services, through leveraging the public cloud (Microsoft Azure, M365 and Amazon AWS), delivering managed, protected, security-centric and reliable IT Services.

NCIA– Migration to Cloud

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is dedicated to supporting NATO's strategic objectives, including the ambitious NATO 2030 agenda. As part of this commitment, we are spearheading the modernization and digital transformation of NATO’s IT services. Our focus is on leveraging public cloud technologies, incorporating a security-by-design approach, and ensuring a seamless transition to a modern, collaborative workplace environment.

Support for Project Management

In scope of Project Management Support, the service provider is expected to support the management and coordination of cloud-related projects within NCIA, ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within scope, and meet quality standards. The service provider will assist in tracking progress, managing resources, and coordinating communication between stakeholders. Strong organizational and problem-solving skills will be essential to identify project risks and ensure successful project delivery. The service provider will also provide administrative support to project teams, monitor project documentation, and assist in the planning and execution of project milestones.

The individuals supporting this role shall have experience in project administration, with a strong understanding of project management principles. Familiarity with cloud technologies and platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Microsoft 365 is an asset. The individuals should have excellent organizational, communication, and time-management skills to coordinate complex projects and interact with multiple teams. A proactive, solution-oriented mindset and the ability to work effectively in a remote and dynamic environment are essential for this role.

2 OBJECTIVES

The NCI Agency is looking for a service provider who can support the principal and senior project managers in a cloud migration project.

3 SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of the work comprises the tasks mentioned below:

1) Resource Planning and Scheduling

a) Assist the senior project managers in resource planning activities, ensuring that the required personnel and resources are available for project tasks.

b) Maintain and update project resources and project schedule using project management tools (e.g., ServiceNow).

c) Coordinate the allocation of resources with resource managers.

d) Monitor project milestones and ensure tasks are completed on time.

2) Data and Knowledge Management

a) Maintain project data repositories, ensuring that all project-related documents, reports, and communications are organized, up-to-date, and accessible to the project team.

b) Assist in the creation of knowledge management materials to support project deliverables.

c) Ensure that documentation and reports are stored in accordance with the organization’s guidelines and best practices for data governance.

3) Issue and Risk Tracking

a) Support the senior project manager by keeping track of project issue and risk registers.

b) Ensure that all project-related records are accurate, complete, and aligned with organizational standards.

4) Meeting Organization and Documentation

a) Organize and coordinate project meetings, including setting up virtual or physical meetings, sending out invitations, and preparing meeting agendas.

b) Take detailed and accurate notes during meetings, capturing key points, decisions, and action items.

c) Distribute meeting minutes to stakeholders and ensure that follow-ups on action items are timely.

5) Procurement Support

a) Assist senior project managers with project procurement activities, including initiating procurement requests, follow-up on procurement activities, creating receipts.

b) Keep track of procurement-related communications and documentations

6) Collaboration and Communication:

a) Collaborate with Cloud Operations Centre, Project Managers, Technical Leads, and other relevant teams to ensure cohesive project management activities.

b) Communicate effectively with stakeholders to understand project management requirements and address concerns.

7) The contractor will be part of the project management team. Close coordination of all activities with the NCI Agency Project Manager (PM) as well as strict adherence to agreed timelines is mandatory

8) Due to the AGILE approach of this project, there is a need to define a set of specific arrangements between the NCI Agency and the contractor that specifically defines the deliverables to be provided for each sprint as well as their associated acceptance criteria. This includes sprint planning, execution and review processes, which are detailed below:

1. Sprint Planning:

Objective: Plan the objectives for the upcoming sprint

Kick-off meeting: Conduct a monthly meeting with the contractor to plan the objectives of upcoming sprints and review contractor`s manpower to meet the agreed deliverables.

Set sprint goals: Define clear, achievable goals for the sprint and associated acceptance criteria, including specific delivery targets, Quality standards as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each task to be recorded in the sprint meeting minutes.

Agree on the required level of effort for the various sprint tasks.

Backlog Review: Review and prioritise the backlog of tasks, issues, and improvements from previous sprints.

Assess each payment milestone cycle duration of one calendar month. State of completion and validation of each sprint status and sign off sprints to be submitted for payment as covered in Section 4.

2. Sprint Execution

Objective: Contractor to execute the agreed “sprint plans” with continuous monitoring and adjustments.

Regular meetings between NCIA and the contractor to review sprint progress, address issues, and make necessary adjustments to the processes or production methodology. The Meetings will be physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to the NCI Agency staff instructions.

Continuous improvement: Contractor to establish a continuous feedback loop to gather input from all stakeholders for ongoing improvements and their subsequent implementation depending on NCIA approval.

Progress Tracking: Contractor to use a shared dashboard or tool to track the status of the sprint deliveries and any issues.

Quality Assurance/Quality Check: Contractor shall ensure that the quality standards agreed for the sprint deliverables are maintained throughout the sprint.

Quality Control: NCIA to perform the Final Quality Control of the agreed deliverables and provide feedback on any issues.

3. Sprint Review

Objective: Review the sprint performance and identify areas for improvement.

At the end of each sprint, there will be a meeting between the NCI Agency and the Contractor to review the outcomes against the acceptance criteria comprising sprint goals, agreed quality criteria and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Define specific actions to address issues and enhance the next sprint.

4. Sprint Payment

For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of their work during the sprint, first verbally during the retrospective sprint review meeting and then in writing within three days after the sprint’s end date. A report must be sent by email to the NCI Agency manager, highlighting all work performed against the agreed tasking list set for the sprint.

The contractor's payment for each sprint will be depending upon the achievement of agreed Acceptance Criteria for each task, defined at the sprint planning stage. This will include specific delivery targets, quality standards as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each task.

The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance as set in the above planning/review meetings. This will follow the payment milestones that shall include a completed Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) including the EBA Receipt number

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

If the contractor fails to meet the agreed Acceptance criteria for any task, the NCI Agency reserves the right to withhold payment for that task/sprint. Each sprint has a duration of one week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed during the sprint‐planning meetings as covered in this section.

4 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILESTONES

The following deliverables are expected from this statement of work:

1. Complete the activities/tasks agreed in each sprint meeting as per sections 2 and 3 above.

2. Produce sprint completion reports (format: e-mail update) or the formal documentation required per specific task;

3. The Contractor will participate in the daily reporting and planning activities (daily stand-ups) as well as the required participation in workshops, events and conferences related to the supported services, as requested by the Project Manager.

The following deliverables are expected from the work on this statement of work:

Deliverable:  37 sprints (Number of sprints will be adjusted based on actual starting date.)

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance of the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex B)

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex B) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

2028 OPTION: 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

2029 OPTION: 01 January 2029 to 31 December 2029

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

2030 OPTION: 01 January 2030 to 31 December 2030

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.

5 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

The contractor shall report to the Project Manager.

The contractor shall participate in daily status update meetings, activity planning and other meetings as instructed, via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to the Project Managers instructions.

For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of his/her work during the sprint, first verbally during the retrospective meeting and then in written within three (3) days after the sprint’s end date. The format of this report shall be a short email to the NCIA Point of Contact mentioning briefly the work held and the development achievements during the sprint.

6 SCHEDULE

This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties

The BASE period of performance is as soon as possible but not later than 5th May 2025 and will end no later than 31st December 2025.

If the 2026 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2026 to 31st December 2026.

If the 2027 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2027 to 31st December 2027.

If the 2028 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2028 to 31st December 2028.

If the 2029 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2029 to 31st December 2029.

If the 2030 option is exercised, the period of performance is 01st January 2030 to 31st December 2030.

7 CONSTRAINTS

All the deliverables provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates or agreed with the project point of contact.

All code, scripts, documentation, etc. will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools.

8 SECURITY

Delivering services under this SoW requires a valid NATO SECRET security clearance.

All the deliverables of this project will be considered NATO UNCLASSIFIED, while access to networks exceeding this classification level is required.

With this role being of technical nature providing administrative support, a security clearance at the NATO Secret level is required prior to the start of the engagement.

9 PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The contractor will be required to work 100% off site NCI Agency.

The contractor will be required to work within a NATO country, following the rules and regulations applicable for the operations of NATO CIS.

NCIA Recognised Business hours/Holidays: NCIA-BLA official holiday schedule applies and will be provided to the contractor.

NCIA Hours of Operations: Monday to Thursday 0830 – 1730 and Friday 0830 – 1530 (CET)

Contractor Furnished Services: Contractor shall furnish everything required to perform the contract except for the items specified and covered under NCIA Furnished Property and Services below.

NCIA Furnished Property and Services: Access to relevant networks and environments will be provided by NCIA.

The work depicted in this SOW is expected to be carried by a SINGLE RESOURCE.

10 TRAVEL

Contractor will be required to travel to a NCIA location or a NATO site on 10% of his/her time on the average, for meetings, conferences, on-boarding, off-boarding, etc., for periods not exceeding 1 week.

Travel expenses will be borne by the NCI Agency separately in accordance to the provisions of the AAS+ Framework Contract.

11 QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

8 SECURITY

• With this role being of technical nature providing administrative support, a security clearance at the NATO Secret level is required prior to the start of the engagement.

11 QUALIFICATIONS

The Support for Project Management requires a Junior Project Manager with the following qualifications:

1) Project Management Knowledge

• Basic understanding of project management principles, methodologies, and tools.
• Familiarity with project management software such as ServiceNow, Microsoft Project, or similar tools to track resources, schedules, and milestones.
• Understanding of project life cycles and the ability to assist in the planning and execution of projects from initiation to completion.

2) Organizational Skills

• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Proven ability to maintain and update project schedules, resource allocations, and documentation.
• Capacity to handle and prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment.

3) Communication Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and senior project managers.
• Ability to prepare and distribute meeting agendas and minutes, ensuring clarity and accuracy in communication.
• Strong interpersonal skills for coordinating with different teams and stakeholders and ensuring timely follow-ups.

4) Team Collaboration

• Proven ability to work collaboratively within a team, ensuring smooth coordination of project activities.
• Willingness to support technical leads and other teams to ensure project success and resolve project-related issues.

5) Adaptability and Learning Ability

• Eagerness to learn and grow in project management, with a proactive approach to personal development and skill enhancement.
• Adaptability to changing project requirements and an evolving work environment.

6) Technical Proficiency

• Advanced proficiency in using standard office software including Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
• Familiarity with cloud-based platforms (e.g., Microsoft 365) and project management tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira) is an advantage but not mandatory.

7) Others:

• The candidate has strong customer relationship skills, including negotiating complex and sensitive situations under pressure.
• Full proficiency in the English language. French language proficiency is of advantage.
• The candidate must have the nationality of one of the NATO nations.