2025-0284 Engineering Services for Satellite Communications (NS) - TUE 9 Sep

Deadline Date: Tuesday 9 September 2025

Requirement: Engineering Services for Satellite Communications

Location: Off-Site

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: 2025 Base: As soon as possible but not later than 17 October 2025 – 31 December 2025, with the possibility to exercise following options:

• 2026 Option: 01 January 2026 – 31 December 2026

• 2027 Option: 01 January 2027 – 31 December 2027

• 2028 Option: 01 January 2028 – 31 December 2028

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1 PROJECT SPECIFICS

Background

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) has been established with a view to meeting the collective requirements of some or all NATO nations in the fields of capability delivery and service provision related to Consultation, Command & Control as well as Communications, Information and Cyber Defence functions, thereby also facilitating the integration of Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Target Acquisition functions and their associated information exchange.

NCIA is dedicated to acquiring, deploying, and defending communication systems for NATO’s political decision-makers and Commands. It operates on the frontlines against cyber-attacks, collaborating closely with governments and industry to prevent future debilitating attacks. NCIA plays a crucial role in maintaining NATO’s technological edge and ensuring the collective defence and crisis management capabilities of the Alliance. In pursuit of our mission, we require specialized advisory services to enhance our interim workforce capacity.

Introduction

NIMSC SATCOM Business Unit provides NATO and its Partners with scalable, protected, secure, reliable, and integrated SATCOM Services with focus on NATO Operations, Crisis Response, Missions, Exercises and Business Continuity. NIMSC SATCOM has Life-Cycle responsibility for SATCOM Capabilities and Services. NIMSC SATCOM offers Capabilities and Services that are designed, integrated and tested to operate based on Satellite Communication Technologies, accessible from any location on the Globe.

Problem Statement

• Current State: Two projects under CP130 — Project 4, providing Extended Core SATCOM Services for Military X-band and Military Ka bandwidth, and Project 7, augmenting SATCOM services with commercial bandwidth — face workload constraints due to limited NCIA resources. Consequently, the heavy workload on experienced NCIA personnel requires additional contractor support.

• Impact: Without dedicated contractor support, engineers spend extra time analysing data such as market surveys, assisting in the preparation of IFBs, and managing bid evaluations.

This diverts them from their core tasks, causing delays in acquisition timelines, increased administrative workload, and risks of non-compliance with NATO policies—ultimately affecting project efficiency and operational readiness.

• End State: To ensure efficient execution of the projects and timely delivery of critical SATCOM services, dedicated contractor support will be appointed to alleviate workload pressures on NCIA personnel. This contractor will assist engineers by managing administrative and support tasks such as data analysis support, IFB preparation, bid evaluation management, meeting coordination, documentation control, and compliance monitoring. These efforts will enable engineers to focus  on their core responsibilities, reduce acquisition delays, maintain compliance with NATO policies, and ultimately enhance overall project efficiency and operational readiness.

2 SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor will deliver comprehensive project support services for the SATCOM team located at Braine l’Alleud, Belgium under the direction / guidance of the local NCIA point of contact. The contractor will support the following activities:

1. Technical Analysis and Documentation:

• Analyse and document SATCOM system requirements and interfaces

• Perform technical evaluations of proposed SATCOM solutions

• Prepare technical analysis based on market survey results to support development of IFB (Invitation for Bid) documents

• Create high-level architectural diagrams in line with project requirements and overall architecture

2. Procurement and Contract Support:

• Support preparation of technical sections for procurement documents

• Support all technical and administrative activities necessary to facilitate contract award

• Provide advice on best courses of action to ensure programme success

3. Technical Leadership and Stakeholder Support:

• Provide technical leadership and guidance to support project teams and decision-making

• Support multidisciplinary teams and technical and operational stakeholders

• Participate in meetings with technical and operational experts, offering advice and seeking/applying solutions

• Liaise with Chief Technology Office (CTO), engineering, project management, and operational teams

3 SPRINT MANAGEMENT

The measurement of execution for this work is sprints, with each sprint being planned for a duration of 5 working days. The specific deliverables and associated acceptance criteria will be defined for each sprint between NCIA and the contractor. This includes sprint planning, execution and review processes, which are detailed below:

1. Sprint Planning:

• Objective: Plan the objectives for the upcoming sprint.

• Planning meeting: Conduct a weekly meetings with the contractor to plan the sprint tasks for the upcoming week and review contractor’s manpower to meet the agreed deliverables.

• Set sprint goals: Define clear, achievable sprint goals and associated acceptance criteria, including specific delivery targets, quality standards and KPIs.

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

2. Sprint Execution:

• Objective: Contractor executes the agreed sprint with continuous monitoring and adjustments.

• Regular meetings (physical or virtual, according to NCIA Point of Contact instructions) between NCIA and the contractor to review sprint progress and address any issues.

• Progress Tracking: Contractor to maintain a shared tool or dashboard to track sprint deliveries and issues.

• Quality Assurance/Quality Check: Contractor shall ensure agreed quality standards throughout the sprint.

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 NCIA and the Contractor to review performance and progress of the sprint.

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

4. Sprint Payment:

• Payment milestones are monthly, for the completed and accepted sprints within the month. At the end of each month, the contractor must submit a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex B) report summarizing completed sprints and confirming acceptance.

• Payments will be made upon successful acceptance of deliverables as documented in the monthly report.

• If agreed acceptance criteria are not met for any task or sprint, NCIA reserves the right to withhold payment for that task/sprint.

4 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILESTONES

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

2025 BASE period: from 17 October 2025 to 31 DEC 2025:

Deliverable: 14 sprints of project support (Number of sprints is estimated and will be adjusted based on actual starting date.)

Payment Milestones: Monthly payment for the completed and accepted sprints within the month.

The Purchaser (NCIA) reserves the right to exercise a number of options of one or more sprints based on the same deliverables, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements, at the following cost: for base year (2025) at the same cost, for outer years (2026, 2027 and 2028) the Price Adjustment Formula will be applied in accordance with paragraph 6.5 of the Framework Contract Special Provisions.

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 the project authority.

2026, 2027 and 2028 OPTION: from 01 JAN to 31 DEC

Deliverable: Up to 46 sprints of project support

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: Monthly payment for the completed and accepted sprints within the month.

5 PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

Coordination and reporting:

• The contractor shall participate in weekly planning and progress meetings with the NCIA Point of Contact, either physically or virtually, to discuss sprint tasks for the upcoming week, according to the NCIA Point of Contact instructions.

• Progress on sprint tasks will be reviewed verbally during these meetings and confirmed by email at the end of each week.

• For payment purposes, a formal Delivery Acceptance Sheet (Annex B) report covering all completed sprint deliverables shall be submitted monthly.

• This monthly report must be signed by both the contractor and the NCIA project authority to confirm acceptance.

Place of Performance:

Work will be conducted primarily remotely. However, if the NIMSC SATCOM Project Management team requires it, the contractor may be asked to work on-site at NCIA locations within the designated Class II Security Area. The contractor will be notified in advance should their presence on-site be necessary.

Travel Requirement:

Travel may be required on an exceptional basis to other Purchasers’ locations, including destinations in European countries and the US. Travel arrangements are the responsibility of the contractor and the expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of the AAS+ Framework Contract and within the limits of the NCIA Travel Directive.

Hours of Operation:

The Contractor is expected to follow the Purchaser’s working hours—Monday to Thursday from 08h30 until 17h30 and Friday from 08h30 until 15h30.

Safety and Compliance and other arrangement:

• Follow all safety protocols to prevent accidents and injuries.

• Ensure compliance with agency, industry standards and regulations.

• The Contractor personnel shall manage and be responsible for all activities mentioned in Section 2.

• The Contractor shall strive to lower the rotation of Contractor’s personnel and maintain the same Contractor personnel delivering services under this SoW.

• The Purchaser will support the Contractor with access to the IT systems as required.

• The Contractor shall install and operate the equipment following the manufacturer’s requirements.

• The Contractor shall minimize the impact to the service during the execution of the work.

• The Contractor shall bring immediately to the attention of the NCIA Point of Contact on-site any issues preventing the execution of the work.

6 SERVICE DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

[See Requirements]

6 SERVICE DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall fulfil the following:

Requirements:

• Security Clearance: The Contractor shall possess valid NATO SECRET Personal Security Clearances for the duration of the Contract performance
• Language Proficiency: English: C1

Qualifications:

• Extensive knowledge of SATCOM systems, including ground terminals, ground infrastructure, and military/commercial SATCOM space services, with minimum 10 years of experience
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in concept, development, and execution of projects and scientific programmes
• Nationally recognized/ certified engineering university qualification, preferably a Master of Science degree
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office and Visio
• Ability to receive and execute tasking in accordance with direction from NCI Agency leadership
• Ability to plan and execute assigned project tasks considering policies, programme goals, priorities, funding, and planning constraints
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Motivated, strong communication skills, and team player
• Strong listening and communication skills in English

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working within NCIA or similar defence-related environments
• Knowledge of NATO Communication and Information Systems Infrastructure
• Prior experience working in an international environment comprising both military and civilian elements.