2024-0225 System Adm. Supp.For Academy Learning Environment (Ns) - Fri 1 Nov

Deadline Date: Friday 1 November 2024
Requirement: Technical Help Desk Support
Location: Oeiras, PT
Full Time On-Site: Yes
Time On-Site: 100%
Period of Performance: 2025 BASE: 02 January 2025 with possibility to exercise the following options:
2026 Option: 1st January 2025 until 31st December 2026
2027 Option: 1st January 2026 until 31st December 2027
Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET
INTRODUCTION
The NATO Communications and Information Academy (NCI Academy) located in Portugal, Belgium and The Netherlands reinforces NATO's technological edge through excellence in Cyberspace learning.
The NCI Academy has the Academy Learning Environment, which is the toolset associated with all back-end learning and development activities, the transfer of knowledge from trainers to students and the support of the student learning process. To secure the Academy Learning Environment, there is a team responsible for all activities related to the operation and maintenance of this infrastructure.
SCOPE OF WORK
The NCI Academy is looking to outsource part of the system administration of the ALE systems. The service contractor will work closely with the Technical Capability and Support Section (TCS) on system administration tasks. The services shall be primarily provided at the NCI Academy in Oeiras, but may involve some travel to other NATO and NCI Agency elements.
The contractor will be part of a team and will provide the service using an Agile and iterative approach during multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for a duration of 1 week. Main activities of the sprint are as follows:
Regularly update and patch all software systems to ensure they are secure and up to date.
Implement strong security protocols such as multi-factor authentication, access control and data encryption to protect sensitive data.
Monitor the network for performance issues and suspicious activity and promptly respond to security threats.
Regularly backup critical data and test the restore process.
Develop and maintain documentation and procedures for IT processes and systems to ensure consistency and efficiency.
Enhance and support the ALE virtualization platform.
Automate repetitive tasks and implement monitoring tools to reduce workload and improve efficiency.
Proactively identify and resolve issues before they become a problem.
Continuously evaluate and optimize the IT infrastructure to ensure it meets the Academy's needs and goals.
Provide User Support.
Perform other duties as may be required.
Document IT processes and procedures, including system configurations and network diagrams.
Make recommendations for improvements of security procedures and technologies.
The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed during the sprint-planning meeting, based on the activities mentioned above, in writing.
DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILESTONES
The NCI Academy team reserves the possibility to exercise the described options, depending on the project priorities and requirements. The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance of the Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS)–Annex A including the EBA Receipt number. Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex A) signed by the Contractor and line manager.
2025 BASE: 2 January 2025 to 31 December 2025
Deliverable: 48 sprints of System Administration support. Number of sprints is estimated considering a starting date as 2 January 2025. This will be adjusted depending on the actual start date.
Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.
2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026
Deliverable: 48 sprints of System Administration support.
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: 48 sprints of System Administration support.
Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work.
COORDINATION AND REPORTING
The contractor shall participate in status update meetings, sprint planning, and other meetings, physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to line manager's 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 will be aligned with the line manager mentioning briefly the work held and the development achievements during the sprint. Acceptance of each sprint completion will be documented in Annex A – Delivery Acceptance Sheet.
SCHEDULE
This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties. The BASE period of performance starts 2nd January 2025 and will end no later than 31st December 2025. If the 2026 option is exercised, the period of performance is 1st January 2026 to 31st December 2026. If the 2027 option is exercised, the period of performance is 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2027.
CONSTRAINTS
All the deliverables provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates or agreed with the line manager. All documentation will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools. All the deliverables of this project will be considered NATO UNCLASSIFIED. Part of the work may involve handling classified networks, therefore, a security clearance at the right level is expected for the contractor(s) undertaking this service. This security must be in place before applying for this contract to be considered compliant.
SECURITY
The security classification of the service will be up to NATO SECRET. The contractor providing the services under this SOW is required to hold a valid NATO SECRET security clearance.
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS
The contractor will be required to provide the service on-site in NCI Academy Oeiras (PRT). Travel costs are out of scope and will be borne by the NCI Agency separately in accordance to the provisions of the AAS+ Framework Contract. He or she will work under the direction and guidance of the NCI Academy Technical Capability Support Section Head or their designated representative. This service must be accomplished by ONE contractor.
QUALIFICATIONS
This work requires a resource with the following qualifications and experience:
The candidate has a NATO SECRET security clearance, provided by the national security organization valid at the time of submission of the bid and covering the period of the contract.
Fluent in English and must be able to read and write technical and user documentation.
Experience in Microsoft computer network architecture and maintenance.
Experience working with virtualization technologies including VMWare.
Experience in creating technical documentation.
Experience in network and system security.
Experience in computer scripting.
Recent experience on performing low level system administration tasks on a NATO accredited system.
Recent experience in working with a system adhering to NATO security guidelines.
Desirable qualifications and experience:
Experience in administering a network within the NATO enterprise.
Good technical knowledge of NATO CIS Security governance and policy for local area network and enterprise networks.
Cybersecurity training and/or certifications, such as COMPTIA Security+.
Prior experience of working in an international environment comprising both military and civilian elements.
Language Proficiency:
Level 3 English language skills according to NATO STANAG 6001: Listening (3); Speaking (2); Reading (3); and Writing (2) or according to Common European Framework of Reference for Language level B2-C1/Upper Intermediate-Advanced level.

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