Mandatory Qualifications:
 

• The contractor shall possess a master’s degree in epidemiology and have a minimum of two years’ experience in their field of expertise.

 

• The contractor shall be current in Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training, to be able to access and process identified medical data.

 

• The contractor shall demonstrate advanced analytical skills to include visual analytics in population health and health data surveillance.

 

• The contractor shall demonstrate the ability to design, formulate, conduct, and lead data analysis of operational studies on health surveillance data/health records/other relevant military records and risk reduction of negative health outcomes affecting the DAF total force population.

 

• The contractor shall demonstrate advanced analytical skills in statistics and study design and execution.

 

• The contractor shall demonstrate expertise in descriptive statistics, as well as SAS/SAS EG and SQL-related languages and software.

 

• The contractor shall have a minimum of 5 years of using SAS/EG or SQL.

 

• The contractor shall have a signed NDA in place based on the potential access to confidential, proprietary, and/or sensitive information. The NDA shall be provided to the Government Program Manager by start of performance.

Desired Qualifications:

Experience within a health analytics related field and working with DAF related data is desired.


Tasks:
 

• The contractor shall develop, retain and provide expertise in the Aero-Medical Waiver Division’s data processes to support interpretation and access to these databases.

 

• The contractor shall create, maintain, validate, operate and repair a data pipeline from the Aeromedical Waiver Division (AMWD) to a secure location in the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Application Virtualization Hosting Environment (AVHE), ensuring data quality, promptness, accessibility, compliance, and security.

 

• The contractor shall assist in the development of investigation plans, assisting in determining what is feasible and appropriate for investigations based upon the quality and quantity of available data, and its accessibility.

• The contractor shall assist the AMWD in interpreting and accessing the data products produced by the Analysis of Waiver Risk Evidence (AWARE) team, including publications, dashboard products, and when feasible in compliance with HIPAA and data use agreements, data sets.

 

• The contractor shall perform under guidance validation and verification protocols, to ensure that the products of the pipeline are as expected, and assist in performing corrections, in the event of models failing to perform to standard.

 

• The contractor shall assist in the drafting of written communication for internal and external purposes.

 

• The contractor shall participate and provide expert advice in interdisciplinary planning and analysis.

 

• The contractor shall acquire data access permissions necessary to perform stated tasks.

 

• The contractor shall use Air Force medical records systems and standards in performance of job duties.

 

• The contractor shall use all relevant data repositories as part of work, or which are generated in pursuit of work.

 

• The contractor shall collect data from various databases, pursuant to agreements with database owners.

 

• The contractor shall provide conference support assistance by active participation in professional conferences, preparation of posters and presentations, and publication of peer-reviewed manuscripts to support distribution of study product.

 

• The contractor shall brief study findings at appropriate meetings or forums, as determined by the Government.

 

• The contractor shall provide technical automation support for all versions of Microsoft (MS) Windows, MS Office (e.g., MS Access, MS Excel, MS Publisher), MS SQL, and Adobe.

 

• The contractor shall provide data creation and administration in support of model development, analysis, and publication.

 

• The contractor shall document products for the actual computer code used in order for government personnel to access these files for review, approval, or for generating copies as required. All requirements shall be prepared in accordance with USAFSAM programming standards and standard commercial practices inclusive of any/all procedures implanted as part of this task.

 

• The contractor shall assist in briefings and production of documents as appropriate to transfer knowledge of study products to customers in the AFRS and Air Force at large.

BASE SUPPORT:
 

• For all positions working onsite: The contractor shall be provided office/laboratory space, furniture and equipment, routine office/laboratory supplies, computer hardware and software necessary to perform tasks described in this performance work statement. The government will also provide telephone service and access to a fax machine and a copier as required. All software and hardware, passwords/access to military Internet/E-mail and applicable database will be available within the scope of the contract. The contractor shall comply with local, DAF and DoD policies.

 

• For all positions working offsite: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform Support Services as defined in this PWS except for those items specified as government furnished property.

 

• Per the approval of the Contracting Officer or COR, a government laptop may be provided to the contractor employee performing duties for this contract. Government laptops will be provided to facilitate needed access to the Virtual Private Network (VPN), .mil access, and shared file access. All software and hardware passwords/access to military Internet/E -mail and applicable databases will be available within the scope of the contract. Data analyses software will be provided as necessary to perform tasks described in this performance work statement such as accessing and storing data on US Air Force network drives and communication via DAF government email. Software will be available through the use of the government-provided laptops. The contractor shall comply with local, DAF and DoD policies concerning information technology applications and connectivity to military systems when using their government issued laptops.

 

• The contractor will need Air Force network accounts to use the computers and will be subject to the requirements for a normal computer account to include IA training that is current within the previous 12 months, a favorable National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI) background investigation, and a signed AF 4394 (AF Network User Agreement). Non-compliance with IA policies and principles can result in computer access being suspended or withdrawn.

 

• Any Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on the computer must be encrypted at all times except during use; Encryption Wizard is provided on every computer. All CUI. Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and HIPAA data MUST be sent encrypted; Outlook has digital encryption capabilities for this.

 

• Computers may not connect to the contractor network or other systems, networks, or equipment. Computers may only be used by the personnel that have Air Force accounts on this contract; allowing anyone else to use the systems is considered "inappropriate use" and will result in loss of access.

• Each user is required to connect the laptops to the Air Force network for a minimum of two days per week, for a minimum of 4 hours per day for updates and patches. The screen needs to be locked and device secured to prevent theft or unauthorized access, as applicable.

 

• All maintenance and adjustments with the computers must be done by 711 HPW/OMC (IT Operations); no contractor modifications or changes are authorized. NOTE: the computers need to be brought to the help desk for repair. Off-site support cannot be provided.

 

• In the event of a network tasking order mandating compliance, e.g. validating users face-to-face, the user needs to report to the help desk upon request. If the computer becomes overdue with patches/updates or needs to be updated, user is required to report to help desk.

 

• Nothing (flash drives, hard drives, and printers) may be connected to computers without 711 HPW/USAFSAM IAO approval (both functions are in OMCO). Policy questions should be directed to the IAO.

 

• The Contractor shall assume responsibility for all Government provided equipment/property in their possession. Government-issued badges, identification cards, passes, and vehicle registration media are accountable forms and, as such, are U.S. Government property to be accounted for, protected, and returned to the Government. This responsibility shall extend to any subcontractors.

 

• The office of 711 HPW/OMC shall be responsible for shipping the computers and will be the POC for returning computers.

 

• The office of 711 HPW/OMC shall ensure that all training has occurred within 5 days or accounts will be turned off.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Work will be accomplished at an off-site location for the Epidemiologist beginning on 30 September 2024.

Work schedule is normally Monday – Friday, 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM ET; however, there may be times when it is necessary for the contractor to work after duty hours in support of specific tasks. The schedule may have to be flexible, but is not to exceed 40 hours per week without prior authorization from the Reef Systems Program Manager and the Government.


U.S. Citizenship:

Employee must be a U.S. citizen. For the purpose of base and network access, possession of a permanent resident card (“Green Card”) does not equate to U.S. citizenship.


TRAVEL:

Contractor will be required to travel when authorized to participate in customer business line related travel, to include meetings and conferences, to fulfill respective mission goals. Such travel will only be as directed and coordinated through the Government two weeks in advance of all contractor travel in order to obtain proper authorizations. The specific travel locations, duration, and number of trips will be upon direction of the Government without modification to the task order, as long as adequate travel funding is available in accordance with the resulting task order. When travel is identified, the contractor shall provide an estimate of all travel costs by location, broken out by item, to the Reef System’s Program Manager and Government for review prior to travel.


SECURITY:

 

• Position of Trust. All contractor personnel require a minimum of a Tier 1 background check (T1)/SF85 for any position that requires access to the internet, use of automated information systems to cover standalone computers or unescorted entry into restricted or controlled areas prior to reporting for duty in support of any requirement. The investigation is not for a security clearance; it is for a position of trust. This is a mandatory requirement set forth in DoDM 5200.02_AFMAN 16-1405, Air Force Personnel Security Program. All documentation required for security certification shall be the responsibility of the contractor.