Vermont Army National Guard State Family Program Office Seeks Call Center Support

MONTPELIER, VT--(Marketwired - March 07, 2017) - The Vermont Army National Guard State Family Program Office on Tuesday, March 7 released a sources sought notice in which its indicated a potential requirement for a contractor to provide assistance to veterans at a 24-hour call center. The contractor must respond to calls and e-mails, which can range from questions about available services to more serious situations.

The Vermont Army National Guard State Family Program Office requests that interested SBA 8(a) registered participants submit a response that includes a brief description of same/similar services they've offered to the government and/or to commercial customers and any existing/anticipated teaming arrangements (i.e., prime contractor/subcontractor, joint venture, mentor protégé relationship, etc.).

The Vermont Army National Guard State Family Program Office wants the contractor they bring on board to design and develop protocols for tracking, responding, referring, and managing information related to veteran and family requests for information and/or assistance; to develop and implement programs to identify emergency response organizations at the national, state, and local levels; and to educate veterans and unit members on available resources and services.

The contractor must provide these services in support of a call center that operates 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year; maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks; and, when hiring personnel, keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential. The government also waives responsibility to pay for overtime hours incurred in excess of the minimum required coverage.

When interviewing and hiring potential workforce members, the contractor must pre-screen applicants using the E-verify Program, to meet the established employment eligibility requirements; ensure that the applicant has two valid forms of government-issued identification; and provide an initial list of applicants to the COR no later than seven business days after contractor employee hire to start the CI-focused security screening process.

The contractor shall demonstrate knowledge in the following areas:

• Family Readiness Program (AR/NGB 600-12)
• Suicide Prevention and Awareness Programs
• Resiliency programs
• Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention
• Programs VA Enrollment Priority Groups
• Domestic Violence programs
• Equal Opportunity and Discrimination programs
• Emergency Services
• Administrative policies, procedures, regulations, and directives
• Other National Guard Bureau and VT Family-related programs to provide recommendations, develop technical user manuals, and develop course instruction materials
• Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint proficiency

Interested contractors also must have excellent oral and written communication skills, since they must convey information; explain issues to management, individuals, and/or groups; and accomplish objectives with which they might initially disagree or are hesitant to accept.

Contractors who believe they can provide the services must e-mail Michael.l.follett.civ@mail.mil by no later than 3 p.m. EDT on March 21, 2017 the following information:

• Company name, address, telephone number, and technical point of contact
• Brochures/literature
• Information related to the programs/skills with which they must be comfortable using

To receive the contract, contractors also must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database, and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications.

US Federal Contractor Registration, the world's largest third-party government registration firm, completes the required Registrations on behalf of its clients. It also makes available information about opportunities like this, as well as training on how to locate, research, and respond to opportunities.

For more information, to get started with a SAM registration, or to learn more about how US Federal Contractor Registration can help your business succeed, call 877-252-2700, ext. 1.

We also make available for our clients and for contracting officers our proprietary Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS). Our Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS) gives you in one place instant bid notifications, bid proposal prospecting, and information about government procurement officers. We make this search tool available to clients, as part of our commitment to helping each and every USFCR client succeed and thrive as a government contractor.

For contracting officers, the AFPDS gives them in one place access to a database of available contractors and also a place to post information about opportunities. Contracting officers get free access to AFPDS. We also provide interested contracting officers a list of contractors who may be able to provide a service and/or product that they need.

To learn more about how we can help you succeed as a government contractor, call 877-252-2700, ext. 1.