Remote Senior GIS Cartographic Specialist

Deadline Date: Friday 1 November 2024

Requirement: Senior GIS Cartographic Specialist

Location: Off-site at contractor’s premises, with meetings at NATO premises as required

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: 2024 BASE: As soon as possible and not later than 02nd of December 2024 – 31st December 2024 with possibility to exercise sprints from the following options:

• 2025 Options: 1st January 2025 until 31st December 2025

• 2026 Options: 1st January 2026 until 31st December 2026

• 2027 Options: 1st January 2027 until 31st December 2027

• 2028 Options: 1st January 2028 until 31st December 2028

Required Security Clearance: No Clearance Required

Part I – Bidding Instructions

1. Bidding Instructions

1.1. Technical Proposal

Bidders shall include in the Technical Proposal:

1. CVs of candidates of the proposed team, clearly indicating relevant experience for the requirements, section 11 and qualifications, section 12 in the Statement of work (SoW).

2. Compliance matrix referring how each candidate meets each of the stated requirements, section 11 and qualifications, section 12 of the SoW, justified by relevant (project) experience.

1 INTRODUCTION

The JISR Centre’s Vision is to assure information superiority for NATO. Our Mission is to deliver, support and protect valued Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, expertise and services, to maximise operational effectiveness for NATO.

The GeoMetOc Services Branch within the JISR Centre is responsible for the full lifecycle support of the GeoMetOc Application Services and requires a GIS Subject Matter Expert to provide leadership and technical advice for the execution of geospatial production tasks in support of NATO operations.

The role includes the implementation of rapid mapping techniques as well as custom geospatial solutions using advanced programming languages. With a focus on Quality Assurance (QA)/Quality Control (QC) and data management the candidate will ensure the delivery of high-quality GIS products that align with the NATO`s geospatial standards.

2 SCOPE OF WORK

Scope of this project is to provide the relevant services for the execution of geospatial production and cartographic quality control tasks consisting of:

• Update of NATO mapping standard series including JOGs, TLM and MTMs as well as specific Supplementary Geospatial Information (SGI) to be used in the context of NATO missions;
• Implementation of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) procedures for GIS and mapping projects;
• Quality control of GIS products and NATO Mapping series to agreed standards;
• Perform tasks in the area of cartographic processing and map finishing for NATO Standard mapping series;
• Support TLM/MTM production;
• Support Single Colour Limited Revision Overprint rapid mapping production (SCLRO) for NATO Standard mapping series;
• Feature update/digitisation of the high-density road network data sets;
• Digitisation of built up areas and railroad network features;
• Feature reclassification based on available satellite/aerial imagery and ancillary military mapping;
• Performing ad-hoc geospatial production support tasks;

The list of activities may expand as urgent operational requests emerge and qualification of the candidate allows.

Close coordination of all activities with the NCI Agency Project Manager (PM) as well as strict adherence to agreed timelines is mandatory.

3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This work will be carried out at the contractor’s premises. Access to the relevant NCIA networks and software can be established as needed. The work will be conducted during normal office hours following the NCIA The Hague calendar, as well as outside office hours and on weekends, if necessary.

The Contractors will be part of a team under the supervision of the NCIA project manager (PM) and will provide services using an agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for a duration of 1 week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the project manager and technical staff during the sprint-planning meeting.

The work shall be conducted in close collaboration between the Contractors and NCI Agency project manager as described below:

NCI Agency JISRC-GeoMetOc Services Branch PM: Project lead and main stakeholder

Contractor: To provide services and deliverables as identified above

4 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Detailed resource assessments will be agreed during each sprint meeting as set out in Section 5. Payments shall be dependent upon the successful acceptance of each sprint and the validation as set out under Section 5. All Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS, Annex A) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

Each sprint has a duration of 1 week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed during the sprint‐planning meetings as covered in Section 5. Each payment milestone cycle is planned for a duration of one calendar month. Upon completion and validation of each sprint and at the end of the monthly milestone, all completed sprints can be submitted for payment.

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

In 2024, the following deliverables are expected from the service as set in this statement of work:

Deliverable:  1 Sprint to perform Geospatial production tasks

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2025 OPTION: 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2028 OPTION: 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

5 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

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 1 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 NCI Agency 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 project manager’s 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 project manager, listing all the work achieved 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) – (Annex A) including the EBA Receipt number.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex A) 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.

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 02 December 2024 and will end no later than 31 December 2024.

If the sprints of the annual options are exercised, the period of performance is within 01 January to 31st December of the relevant year.

7 SECURITY

a. All Contractors/Sub-contractors shall be aware of all security rules pertaining to the handling of NATO classified information.

Personnel Security Clearance (PSC): Individuals who require access or may have access to information classified NC or above during the course of their duties shall have a PSC, at the appropriate level, which is valid for the duration of the authorized access. In addition, such individuals are required to: Have a need-to-know; Have been briefed on their security obligations in respect to the protection of NATO Classified Information; and Have acknowledged their responsibilities either in writing or an equivalent method which ensures non-repudiation. For this particular, all data will be classified no higher than NATO UNCLASSIFIED. Therefore no PSC is required.

b. The work will be carried out remotely at the Contractor’s company site but with potential meetings at NCI Agency and NATO Command Structure Sites.

c. NCIA will provide access to relevant networks and resources as required by the project.

8 CONSTRAINTS

All the documentation provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates and/or agreed with the NCIA project manager.

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

All developed solutions, tools and code under this project will be property of the NCI Agency.

9 TRAVEL

The contractor will provide the services under this SOW at their own premises but may need to travel to NATO sites in support of the project including the NCI Agency in The Hague, NL as needed. The vendor may also host coordination meetings as required at its facility.

Once defined, travel costs will be set as a separate PO line with a not to exceed value to cover and reimburse of actual expenses upon submissions of all receipts and invoices in line with NCIA processes.

10 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Working environment is at contractor’s office environment. The Contractor shall work at their company site with the exception of required travel to NATO Sites.

Working environment is normal office environment. Technical configurations should be performed at contractor premises using its own licenses and transferred to NCIA once developed. Alternatively, a solution can be provided via the NCIAgency GeoLab, to be agreed with the NCIAgency Project Manager.

A Sole contractor must accomplish this work, and identified as the primary contractor for each sprint. In the event that the contractor leaves during the contract period, a new contractor who has the proven required qualifications and is evaluated qualified and suitable shall replace them, having received a training and handover of the performed history of the project. All normal NCI Agency Terms and Conditions apply.

The contractor will work under on-site under an NCI Agency contract. They will access the networks of the NCI Agency as a member of the JISR Centre under the supervision of Deputy Branch Head in JISR GeoMetOc Services (PM) or delegated staff.

The contractor shall be able to work in a team approach synchronised by the providing company.

The Deputy Branch Head in JISR GeoMetOc Services (PM) or delegated staff, will interact primarily with the Manager/Support-Coordinator as the main Point of Contact.

11 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

The GeoMetOc Branch requires the support of contractors for the execution of geospatial production related tasks performed in support of NATO operations.

Under the direction of the GeoMetOc Deputy Branch Chief, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Update of NATO mapping standard series including JOGs, TLM and MTMs as well as specific Supplementary Geospatial Information (SGI) to be used in the context of NATO missions;
• Implementation of rapid mapping techniques for the update of NATO Standard mapping series;
• Implementation/Execution of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) procedures for GIS and mapping projects;
• Quality control of GIS products and NATO Mapping series to agreed standards;
• Perform tasks in the area of cartographic processing and map finishing for NATO Standard mapping series as well as Supplementary Geospatial products in support of NATO mission ;
• Support TLM/MTM production;
• Support Single Colour Limited Revision Overprint rapid mapping production (SCLRO) for NATO Standard mapping series;
• Feature update/digitisation of the high-density road network data sets;
• Digitisation of built up areas and railroad network features;
• Feature reclassification based on available satellite/aerial imagery and ancillary military mapping;
• Performing ad-hoc geospatial production support tasks.

The list of activities may expand as urgent operational requests emerge and qualification of the candidate allows.

Close coordination of all activities with the NCI Agency Project Manager (PM) as well as strict adherence to agreed timelines is mandatory.

12 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

13 GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

NCIA Hours of Operations: Monday to Thursday 0830 – 1700 and Friday 0830 – 1500 (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 Geospatial data processing networks can be provided by NCIA as agreed in sprint meetings.

12 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum A level education complemented with GIS formal map production training.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience on mapping production using Arc GIS SW. Including manipulation and edition of complex vectorial data using Arc GIS Tools.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in the usage of the following ESRI extensions in the context of MTM production and others projects based on MGCP data: Data Reviewer; Defense Mapping; Production Mapping; Spatial Analyst; Task Assistant Manager.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience on GIS projects involving photointerpretation and feature classification upon aerial imagery and ancillary military mapping.
• Proven experience on the usage of ESRI Data Driven Pages functionality, enhanced with Python scripting, for the creation of complex map books with consistent styling, symbology, grids and graticules as well as layout/legend elements throughout the series. This skillset guarantees superior accuracy, readability, visual balance and map clarity, resulting in high quality cartographic products.
• Proven experience on the implementation of colour management systems for GIS mapping projects, ensuring consistent colour palettes, ICC profile application and accuracy across digital (RGB) and print formats (CMYK), essential for achieving high-quality cartographic finishing maps with enhanced clarity and readability.
• Proven experience in the production of rapid mapping – Single Colour Limited Revision Overprint (SCLRO) for NATO standard mapping series.
• Minimum 10 years’ professional experience of real world mapping production according to NATO standard series, including Joint Operations Ground (JOG) maps, Topographic Line Maps (TLM) and MGCP Topographic Maps (MTMs), in the areas of cartographic processing and map finishing.
• Minimum 2 years’ experience on MTM production in the areas of cartographic edition and map finishing.
• We require proof by a recognized geographic mapping entity that MTMs produced by the candidate were 100% compliant with the MTM Data Product Specifications
• Proof that the candidate has the required knowledge and experience to perform MTM Quality Control according to the MTM Data Product Specifications.
• Solid GIS Background complemented with extensive experience in the area of quality control in the cartographic domain.
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to high-quality standards.
• Fluent in Business English.