BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 Bidding Options

A single company may bid for this Statement of Work by proposing a personnel to deliver the scope of works outlined in Section 3 and who meets the required qualifications outlined in Section 8 (Qualifications). The Contractor personnel shall provide one (1) qualified SATCOM Engineering Support personnel profile to deliver the services described in this Statement of Work. Such profile must meet all mandatory technical, professional, and soft skill requirements. The profile shall ensure continuous service coverage, operational resilience, and the ability to support SATCOM projects, including the creation of detailed project proposals aligned with operational requirements, interoperability standards, and emerging technologies within the Alliance's communication and space domains.

All work shall be performed as service-based deliverables, with measurable outputs and documented technical artefacts produced under NCIA's supervision and in close coordination with Allied Command Transformation (ACT), Allied Command Operations (ACO), and other NATO stakeholders.

1.2 Technical Proposal

Bidders shall include in the Technical Proposal the CV of the proposed contractor personnel, clearly indicating relevant experience that demonstrates compliance with the required qualifications (Section 8).

Bidders shall include in the Technical Proposal a compliance matrix for the proposed profile, demonstrating how the contractor personnel meets all required qualifications (Section 8), supported by evidence from their professional experience.

1.3 Price Basis

Bidders shall provide a monthly fee for the services required during the Base Period (Year 1). All prices shall be quoted in EUR. The monthly fee shall be all-inclusive, incorporating all costs necessary for the delivery of the services, including any travel costs as described in Section 3.

Monthly Fee - Provision of Service Delivery Management Services (Network and Unified Communications): Unit Price in EUR: [Bidder to complete]. Quantity for Evaluation: 1.

1.4 Technical Compliance

Each bid will be assessed for technical compliance on a per-profile basis. A bid is considered technically compliant only if the proposed contractor personnel passes the compliance assessment. If the proposed profile is assessed as non-compliant, the bid will be deemed technically non-compliant and will not proceed to price evaluation.

Deadline Date: Tuesday 11 August 2026

Requirement: Provision of SATCOM Engineering Support Services (NIMSC2026-0096)

Location: Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium. On-site work (25%) and off-site work (75%). This location is expected to be vacated during the course of 2027, with final closure no later than 31 December 2027. The place of performance will transition to Brussels or Mons, Belgium during this period, depending on operational requirements and business needs.

Period of Performance: Base Period: Commencing as soon as possible, but no later than 1 October 2026, until 31 December 2026.

Option Year 1: A period of twelve (12) months immediately following the completion of the Base Period.

Option Year 2: A period of twelve (12) months immediately following the completion of Year 1.

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1. INTRODUCTION

The NATO Integrated Mission Services Centre (NIMSC) is responsible for the coordination, planning, and delivery of engineering and operational support capabilities across Mobile CIS Infrastructure, including Deployable CIS Services (DCIS), Dispersible Systems, Highly Mobile Systems, SATCOM, and Wireless Communications. To ensure the sustained availability, performance, and resilience of these mission critical capabilities, NIMSC requires specialized SATCOM Engineering Support Services aligned with NATO governance, interoperability requirements, service management processes, and operational priorities.

Through this Statement of Work (SoW), the NIMSC seeks industry support to deliver SATCOM Engineering Support Services. The Contractor personnel, through the selected personnel, will provide dedicated SATCOM engineering support for SATCOM projects and services, including the development of detailed project proposals, technical assessments, and engineering artefacts supporting NATO communication and space domain capabilities. The support shall ensure alignment with operational requirements, interoperability standards, emerging technologies, and NATO policies, while ensuring that SATCOM capabilities remain operationally effective, secure, resilient, and aligned with NATO standards.

2. INTENDED BUSINESS OUTCOME

The intended business outcome of this Statement of Work is to ensure the effective delivery of SATCOM Engineering Support Services at Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium, through specialized engineering support, analytical activities, and the development of technical project proposals and studies.

The main objectives are as follows.

• Ensure the successful development of a project proposal for Enhancing the SATCOM Anchor Stations, aligned with NATO operational requirements, interoperability standards, and future capability needs.
• Support the feasibility assessment for a NATO Anchor Station in North America through the delivery of a comprehensive technical study, including engineering analysis and recommendations.
• Enable proactive engineering and technical management through continuous coordination, technical assessments, and the production of documented engineering artefacts supporting SATCOM capabilities and infrastructure evolution.
• Support operational agility and capability evolution through engineering improvements, technical recommendations, and enhancements aligned with emerging business, operational, and technological requirements.
• Strengthen governance and compliance by ensuring that all engineering activities, technical deliverables, and project support functions are executed in accordance with NCIA processes, NATO standards, and applicable governance frameworks.

The successful delivery will result in comprehensive technical proposals and studies supporting the enhancement and future evolution of NATO SATCOM Anchor Station capabilities, ensuring operational effectiveness, interoperability, resilience, and alignment with Alliance communication and space domain objectives.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope covers SATCOM Engineering Support Services, including engineering analysis, technical assessments, development of project proposals, feasibility studies, and support to SATCOM capability enhancement activities. The Contractor personnel shall deliver the services in a structured and proactive manner, ensuring alignment with operational priorities, interoperability requirements, emerging technologies, and NCIA governance processes. The services shall be delivered through the assignment of one (1) qualified personnel as set out in Section 8.

The assigned personnel shall perform the activities defined herein and contribute to the achievement of the agreed objectives, technical deliverables, and performance targets.

The Contractor personnel shall ensure that the assigned personnel possess the required qualifications and experience, perform the tasks in accordance with NCIA processes and procedures, and maintain continuity and quality of service delivery.

3.1 SATCOM Engineering Support Activities

The Contractor personnel shall provide SATCOM Engineering Support services contributing to the availability, performance, and continuous operation of SATCOM networks and associated communications infrastructure. This includes, but is not limited to, the following activities.

SATCOM Project Proposal Development

• Review available programme documentation for two Projects (existing architectures, requirements, constraints, site data, baselines, interfaces).
• Confirm scope boundaries, assumptions, dependencies, and out-of-scope items for both projects.
• Produce and maintain a Proposal Development Plan, including schedule, deliverables list, information requests, review gates, and stakeholder map.
• Establish requirement and decision traceability approaches, including requirement IDs, decision logs, risk logs, and configuration management for proposal artefacts.
• Identify applicable interoperability and standardization artefacts, including NATO profiles, SATCOM reference architectures, relevant NATO STANAGs, and NATO interoperability profiles.
• Determine the applicability of the Digital IF Interoperability (DIFI) standard, including profiles and compliance criteria for digital-chain options.
• Collect and analyse as-is IF/RF chain performance data, including gain, noise figure, linearity, group delay, spurious, ripple, phase noise, intermodulation, distortion, and EVM where applicable.
• Assess current anchor site, terminal, and network architectures and interfaces, including timing and synchronization, control and management, cybersecurity boundaries, and spectrum management constraints.
• Identify performance bottlenecks, obsolescence drivers, and operational pain points.
• Document as-is architecture diagrams and interface control summaries, including signals, connectors, protocols, timing, and monitoring/alarming functions.
• Define solution options and identify required ancillary elements for each option.
• Develop and maintain system-level functional requirements.
• Perform feasibility analyses for each option.
• Perform trade-off analyses across performance, resilience, spectrum efficiency, and cost drivers.
• Quantify benefits and impacts for instantaneous switching between anchor sites assumptions, including network connectivity prerequisites, latency budgets, and operational constraints.
• Identify constraints and risks specific to each site (S01-S04), including logistics and operational windows.
• Define modelling approaches and assumptions, including link budget elements, IF chain impairment models, quantization effects for converters, and transport latency/jitter.
• Build or extend models to compare analogue versus digital IF chain performance, including ripple compensation effectiveness versus quantization and latency impacts.
• Provide simulation outputs and interpret results into proposal-ready conclusions, including plots, tables, margins, and sensitivity analyses.
• Define functional and technical requirements for four (4) medium-size dual-band (X/Ka) antennas, including performance, pointing, stabilization where relevant, environmental considerations, and interface requirements.
• Assess site readiness per location, including foundations and mounts, clearances, power, grounding, lightning protection, radome requirements, RF cable runs/waveguides, and indoor equipment space.
• Define integration requirements with existing SAC infrastructure, including IF/RF interfaces, BUC/LNB chain assumptions, monitoring and control, and calibration requirements.
• Develop high-level architecture diagrams for both projects, including block diagrams, signal flow, and network interfaces.
• Create and maintain a risk register covering technical, schedule, supply chain, certification/standards, site access, and cyber risks.
• Document assumptions and external dependencies, including network connectivity between anchor sites, timing distribution, and spectrum approvals.
• Define mitigations and contingency options, including alternative suppliers, phased deployment, and fallback modes.
• Provide cost drivers per option, including equipment, installation, engineering, testing, spares, and support.
• Provide level-of-effort estimates by work package and role, including engineering, integration, and testing.
• Provide schedule estimates and key milestones, including design reviews, procurement lead times, and FAT/SAT windows.
• Provide licensing, subscription, and support cost considerations, including recurring cost estimates.

North American SATCOM Anchoring Study

• Create and coordinate high-level requirements.
• Create and coordinate evaluation models.
• Create and coordinate Courses of Action (defined alternatives).
• Create Site Data Package structures.
• Define hard filters (pass/fail gates).
• Create scoring methodologies and coordinate weighting criteria.
• Conduct evidence-based feasibility analyses.
• Develop cost, schedule, and risk assessments.
• Deliver draft study documentation.
• Review and update the study based on stakeholder feedback.

Stakeholder Coordination and Reporting

• Liaise with ACT, ACO, and NCIA technical authorities, providing engineering inputs and consolidated documentation.
• Prepare technical briefings, reports, and data packages supporting NATO capability planning.
• Participate in workshops, technical meetings, and industry engagement events as required.

3.2 SATCOM Engineering Support Deliverables

The Contractor personnel shall produce and maintain the following deliverables as part of the SATCOM Engineering Support Services.

Deliverable D1: Project Proposal for SATCOM Ground Segment Mid-Life Upgrade and Anchor Station Enhancements - Draft and final versions (Project Proposal template will be provided by the Purchaser).

Deliverable D2: North American SATCOM Anchoring Study - Draft and final versions (Technical Report template will be provided by the Purchaser).

Deliverable D3: Technical briefings, reports, presentations, and meeting minutes supporting SATCOM engineering activities, stakeholder coordination, and technical discussions.

Deliverable D4: Updates to the documents identified in Deliverable D1 and Deliverable D2 based on external stakeholder reviews and feedback.

All deliverables shall be produced in accordance with NCIA requirements and shall be subject to review and acceptance as part of the service performance validation process.

3.3 Continuous SATCOM Engineering Improvement

The Contractor personnel shall identify opportunities for SATCOM engineering optimisation, performance enhancement, and operational efficiency improvements.

The Contractor personnel shall propose and track corrective and preventive technical actions.

The Contractor personnel shall monitor technical trends, recurring issues, and stakeholder feedback to support long-term SATCOM capability improvements.

All improvement actions shall be documented, reviewed during technical and governance meetings, and tracked to completion.

3.4 SATCOM Engineering Report

The Contractor personnel shall establish, maintain, and operate a structured reporting framework to ensure full visibility of SATCOM engineering activities, project proposal development progress, technical study status, and compliance with the requirements of this Statement of Work (SoW).

The reporting framework shall provide transparent and auditable evidence of progress against agreed deliverables, milestones, and performance objectives.

The reporting framework shall enable continuous monitoring of engineering activities, technical risks, dependencies, assumptions, and project constraints.

The reporting framework shall provide visibility of operational and engineering activities, including technical assessments, modelling activities, architecture development, feasibility analyses, and stakeholder coordination.

The reporting framework shall support governance, decision-making, and prioritisation of SATCOM capability enhancement activities.

The reporting framework shall facilitate performance validation and application of service credits.

3.4.1 SATCOM Engineering Report

The Contractor personnel shall produce monthly SATCOM Engineering Reports, including, as a minimum, the following.

• Progress status against agreed deliverables, milestones, and project schedules.
• Status of project proposal development activities and technical studies.
• Summary of engineering analyses, modelling activities, simulations, and technical assessments performed.
• Status of architecture development, interoperability assessments, and standards compliance activities.
• Risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, and mitigation actions related to SATCOM projects and studies.
• Status of corrective, preventive, and improvement actions.
• Summary of stakeholder coordination activities, workshops, technical meetings, and review outcomes.
• Operational topics, including configuration management, documentation updates, and security compliance status.

3.4.2 Technical Issue Reporting

For high-priority technical issues or risks impacting project deliverables, schedules, or feasibility assessments, the Contractor personnel shall provide support to initial notification through timely technical input; regular technical status updates to relevant stakeholders and project management; and Technical Issue Reports including root cause analysis, impact assessment, and corrective and preventive actions.

The Contractor personnel shall ensure that all technical communication is timely, clear, and aligned with NCIA governance and project management practices.

3.4.3 KPI Reporting

The Contractor personnel shall provide KPI measurement data and supporting evidence, identification of KPI breaches, and calculation of applicable service credits.

This report shall serve as the basis for performance validation and payment.

3.4.4 Reporting Obligations

The Contractor personnel shall ensure that all reports are completed and submitted no later than the fifth (5th) working day following the end of the respective reporting period, unless otherwise agreed.

All reports shall be accurate, complete, and aligned with data recorded in the NCIA ITSM toolset; suitable for performance validation, KPI assessment, and payment adjustment; produced using NCIA-approved formats and tools; traceable and auditable; and reviewed during regular service review meetings.

NCIA reserves the right to request clarification of reported data, validate reported information against system records and require corrective actions in the event of discrepancies or deficiencies.

3.5 Governance Model

The Contractor personnel shall establish and operate a structured Governance Model to ensure effective oversight, control, coordination, and continuous improvement of the services delivered under this Statement of Work.

The Governance Model shall ensure visibility of SATCOM engineering activities, project proposal development progress, technical study status, and associated operational and technical risks.

The Governance Model shall provide a structured mechanism for reviewing technical quality, interoperability considerations, risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, and overall engineering effectiveness.

The Governance Model shall enable timely technical input to support decision-making, prioritisation, and escalation of project- and service-related matters.

The Governance Model shall support continuous improvement of SATCOM engineering activities, including tracking and closure of improvement actions, risks, and mitigation measures.

The Governance Model shall ensure alignment with NCIA processes, applicable NATO governance frameworks, interoperability requirements, and operational priorities.

The Governance Model shall support coordination and collaboration with ACT, ACO, and other NATO stakeholders involved in SATCOM capability development and technical studies.

3.5.1 Governance Structure

The governance structure shall include the following levels.

Operational Level (Day-to-Day Management): Focus: to ensure effective execution, coordination, and control of daily SATCOM engineering support activities. Scope: review of ongoing engineering activities, technical studies, proposal development tasks, and escalations; coordination with NCIA, ACT, ACO, and relevant stakeholders for technical issue resolution and alignment of deliverables; monitoring of project progress, technical risks, dependencies, assumptions, and emerging issues; coordination and execution of planned engineering activities, technical reviews, modelling tasks, and documentation updates; identification of technical or operational issues requiring escalation or follow-up actions. Frequency: daily or as required.

Service Review Level (Performance Management): Focus: to provide structured oversight of SATCOM engineering activities, project performance, and continuous improvement. Activities: review of KPI performance and compliance against agreed deliverables and milestones; validation of Monthly SATCOM Engineering Reports; review of major technical issues, risks, feasibility assessment outcomes, and engineering analyses; review of stakeholder feedback, technical review outcomes, and escalations; review and prioritisation of corrective, preventive, and improvement actions; identification and management of risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies; alignment on upcoming engineering activities, technical reviews, project risks, and forward planning. Frequency: monthly (or as agreed).

3.6 Security Clearance

The assigned personnel by the Contractor personnel shall possess valid NATO-SECRET Personal Security Clearance for the duration of the Period of Performance.

3.7 Working Provisions

3.7.1 Place of Performance

The primary place of performance shall initially be Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium.

The services shall be delivered using a hybrid working model consisting of approximately twenty-five percent (25%) on-site work and seventy-five percent (75%) remote off-site work. The Purchaser reserves the right to modify the required on-site and remote work ratio during contract execution, based on operational or business requirements.

The Braine-l'Alleud premises are expected to be vacated during the course of the contract. During this period, the place of performance shall transition to Brussels or Mons, Belgium, depending on operational requirements and business needs.

3.7.2 Hours of Performance

The services shall be performed during standard NCIA working hours from Monday to Thursday from 08:30 until 17:30 and Friday from 08:30 until 15:30.

3.7.3 NCIA-Furnished Property and Services

NCIA shall provide access to necessary tools, data, and NATO networks, subject to applicable Agency policies, security authorisation, and coordination requirements.

3.7.4 Travel Requirements

No travel shall be required for the performance of the Services. Should travel become necessary on an exceptional basis ("Extraordinary Travel"), such travel shall be subject to prior written approval by NCIA and shall be formalised through a contract amendment. The cost of such travel and associated subsistence shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of the AAS+ Framework Contract, based on actual expenses and in line with NCIA processes, and may be established through a separate Purchase Order line with a not-to-exceed value.

All travel arrangements shall be the responsibility of the Contractor personnel.

4. SERVICE PERFORMANCE

The performance of each assigned personnel shall be measured against the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) defined in this Section. Performance shall be assessed through the following indicators.

KPI 1 - Deliverables Submission Timeliness: Ensuring that all required deliverables, including technical reports, studies, models, and project documentation, are submitted in accordance with agreed schedules and milestones.

KPI 2 - Technical Quality of Documentation: Ensuring that all deliverables meet required standards of clarity, completeness, technical accuracy, and consistency with NATO and NCIA expectations.

KPI 3 - Responsiveness to Tasking and Change Requests: Ensuring timely and effective response to tasking, evolving requirements, clarification requests, and adjustments to deliverables or scope.

KPI 4 - Stakeholder Coordination Effectiveness: Ensuring active and effective contribution to coordination activities with NCIA, ACT, ACO, and other NATO stakeholders, including participation in meetings, workshops, and technical exchanges.

KPI 5 - Customer Satisfaction: Ensuring satisfactory performance as reflected through feedback from NCIA leads and relevant stakeholders regarding quality, collaboration, and overall support effectiveness.

All KPI thresholds, performance monitoring, and associated Service Credits shall be applied as defined in this Section and linked to the reporting and payment mechanism.

4.1 KPI Measurement

The performance of the assigned personnel shall be measured on a monthly basis (except where noted) as follows.

KPI 1 - Deliverables submitted on schedule (Monthly): Compliant (Met) where ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of deliverables are submitted in accordance with agreed milestones and deadlines. Non-Compliant (Not Met) where less than ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of deliverables are submitted on time.

KPI 2 - Technical quality of documentation (Monthly): Compliant (Met) where ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of deliverables meet the required technical quality standards. Non-Compliant (Not Met) where less than ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of deliverables meet the required standards.

KPI 3 - Responsiveness to tasking and change requests (Monthly): Compliant (Met) where one hundred percent (100%) of tasking and change requests are addressed within agreed timelines. Non-Compliant (Not Met) where less than one hundred percent (100%) of tasking and change requests are addressed within agreed timelines.

KPI 4 - Contribution to stakeholder coordination (Monthly): Compliant (Met) where ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of required stakeholder coordination activities are effectively supported. Non-Compliant (Not Met) where less than ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of coordination activities are supported.

KPI 5 - Customer satisfaction, feedback from NCIA leads (Bi-annual): Compliant (Met) where the average stakeholder satisfaction rating is equal to or greater than four (4) out of five (5). Non-Compliant (Not Met) where the average rating is below four (4) out of five (5).

4.2 Service Credits

4.2.1 KPI Weighting

Each KPI shall contribute to the overall service performance as follows.

KPI 1 - Deliverables submitted on schedule: Weight: 2%.

KPI 2 - Technical quality of documentation: Weight: 3%.

KPI 3 - Responsiveness to tasking and change requests: Weight: 2.5%.

KPI 4 - Contribution to stakeholder coordination: Weight: 2.5%.

KPI 5 - Customer satisfaction: Weight: 5%.

4.2.2 Calculation of Service Credits

Where a KPI is determined to be Non-Compliant (Not Met) in accordance with Section 4.1, the corresponding percentage specified in Section 4.2.1 shall be applied as a Service Credit.

Service Credits shall be calculated based on validated KPI results; documented in the Service Performance Report; reviewed and confirmed during service review meetings; and deducted from the corresponding invoice.

For KPI 1 to KPI 4: where one or more KPIs are assessed as Non-Compliant during the applicable reporting period, the corresponding KPI weightings shall be cumulative. The Total Service Credit applicable for the reporting period shall be calculated as the sum of the KPI weightings for all KPIs assessed as Non-Compliant.

The monetary value of the applicable Service Credit shall be calculated as follows: Service Credit Value = Total Service Credit (%) x Monthly Performance-Based Fee.

For KPI 5 (Customer Satisfaction / CSAT): as it is measured on a bi-annual basis, the associated Service Credit shall be assessed separately from the monthly KPIs. Where KPI 5 is assessed as Non-Compliant, the applicable Service Credit shall be calculated as follows: CSAT Service Credit Value = KPI 5 Weighting (%) x Six (6) x Monthly Performance-Based Fee.

The applicable CSAT Service Credit shall be calculated once per bi-annual assessment period; documented in the corresponding Service Performance Report; and deducted from the first applicable invoice following completion of the bi-annual assessment period.

4.3 Audit and Verification

The Contractor personnel shall ensure that all KPI measurements and service credit calculations are accurate, transparent, and auditable.

The Purchaser reserves the right to verify KPI results, request supporting evidence, and challenge any calculation deemed incorrect.

5. PAYMENT

5.1 Monthly Service Fee

The work carried under this Statement of Work shall be delivered on the basis of a fixed monthly service fee. The monthly service fee shall cover all costs associated with the delivery of the services, including personnel, management, tools, overheads, and travel as defined in this SoW.

The Monthly Service Fee shall be structured as follows: Monthly Fixed Fee, equal to eighty-five percent (85%) of the Monthly Service Fee and payable upon acceptance of the services delivered during the applicable reporting period; and Monthly Performance-Based Fee, equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the Monthly Service Fee and subject to performance assessment against the applicable KPIs defined in Section 4.1, adjusted through the application of Service Credits in accordance with Section 4.2.

5.2 Payment Adjustment

The monthly payment shall be subject to adjustment based on the Contractor's personnel performance against the KPIs.

The payable Monthly Performance-Based Fee shall be calculated as follows: Payable Monthly Performance Based Fee = Monthly Performance Based Fee - Service Credit Value.

The final payable amount shall be calculated as follows: Final Payment = Monthly Fixed Fee + Payable Monthly Performance-Based Fee.

5.2.1 Invoicing

The Contractor personnel shall submit invoices on a monthly basis in arrears. Each invoice shall correspond to the services delivered during the relevant calendar month; include the applicable monthly service fee; clearly identify any applicable service credits in accordance with Section 4.2; and be supported by the Service Performance Report for the same period.

Payment of the monthly invoice shall be subject to delivery of the services in accordance with the provisions of this Statement of Work; submission of the Service Performance Report; and validation of KPI performance and service credit calculations.

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

This Statement of Work is expected to commence as soon as possible but no later than 1 October 2026 until 31 December 2026, which is considered the Base Period. The Period of Performance may be extended through the exercise of the following option periods, at the sole discretion of the NCIA: Option Year 1, a period of twelve (12) months immediately following the completion of the Base Period; and Option Year 2, a period of twelve (12) months immediately following the completion of Year 1.

7. REPLACEMENT

Any replacement of the personnel assigned shall be subject to prior written approval by NCIA and shall meet or exceed the qualifications, experience, and security requirements defined for the respective profile. In the event that assigned personnel become unavailable during the Period of Performance, the Contractor shall propose a suitable replacement personnel and ensure seamless continuity of the services at no additional cost, including the provision of appropriate knowledge transfer.

The Contractor personnel shall ensure an orderly handover of services both in the case of personnel replacement and at the conclusion of the Period of Performance. This shall include the transfer of all relevant documentation, data, work products, system configurations, and operational procedures necessary to maintain continuity of service delivery. The Contractor personnel shall also provide reasonable support to NCIA and, where applicable, to any follow-on contractor personnel, including clarification of activities and assistance in mitigating disruption.

All transition activities shall be completed within a timeframe agreed with NCIA and in accordance with NCIA instructions. All applicable NCIA Terms and Conditions shall apply.

8. QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

Requirements

3.6 SECURITY CLEARANCE

• The assigned personnel by the Contractor personnel shall possess valid NATO-SECRET Personal Security Clearance for the duration of the Period of Performance.

8. QUALIFICATIONS

The support required under this SoW demands a combination of advanced technical expertise, operational experience, and strong communication and coordination skills. The Contractor's personnel shall meet the following minimum qualifications.

8.1 Specific Technical Qualifications

• Assigned personnel shall possess a University Degree in Telecommunications, Electronics, SATCOM Engineering, or a related field, with at least two (2) years of post-related experience; or Higher Vocational Training with a minimum of five (5) years of post-related experience.
• Assigned personnel shall possess a minimum of three (3) years of practical experience in SATCOM systems, including UHF and SHF domains.
• Assigned personnel shall possess deep knowledge of SATCOM architecture principles, including link budget analysis, modulation schemes, error correction coding, and satellite network topologies.
• Assigned personnel shall possess a strong understanding of RF engineering and antenna systems, including propagation modelling in SATCOM frequency bands.
• Assigned personnel shall possess knowledge of SATCOM cybersecurity architecture principles, including encryption and secure communications design.
• Assigned personnel shall have familiarity with SATCOM-related standards such as DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, MIL-STD-188, and experience with Software Defined Networking (SDN) in SATCOM environments.
• Assigned personnel shall have familiarity with modern military communication networks, including interfaces, protocols, and SATCOM operational environments.
• Assigned personnel shall have experience in service management processes (incident, problem management, etc.) and a customer-focused approach in operational or control centre environments.

8.2 General Technical Qualifications

• Experience in NATO or multinational military environments is strongly desirable.
• Personnel shall demonstrate a solid understanding of NATO operational standards, procedures, and communication protocols.
• Personnel shall demonstrate experience with SATCOM operations, engineering support, or related defence communication systems.
• Personnel shall demonstrate strong analytical capability applied to system performance, interoperability, and technical assessment activities.
• Personnel shall demonstrate English language proficiency at minimum C1 level.

8.3 Professional Competences

• Personnel shall possess strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical SATCOM concepts.
• Personnel shall possess strong interpersonal skills, enabling effective collaboration with technical teams and stakeholders.
• Personnel shall possess the ability to work independently with minimal supervision while contributing effectively as part of a team.
• Personnel shall possess strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Personnel shall possess a high level of motivation, adaptability, and collaboration.
• Knowledge of NATO and NCIA structures, roles, and organisational context is desirable.