National Office/Executive Administrator

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: National Office/Executive Administrator

Open: January 5, 2024
Closing Date: January 21, 2024, 11:59 pm ET

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1. SUMMARY
   1. Introduction. The National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) is currently accepting proposals from organizations and individuals interested in hosting its National Office and serving as Executive Administrator of the organization. The desired start date for this project is March 1, 2023. A contract will be awarded for a period ranging from 1-3 years.
   2. Purpose. The purpose of this Request for Proposal is to solicit proposals from various candidates, conduct a fair evaluation based on the prescribed criteria, and select a candidate best suited to meet the needs of the organization. NMEA reserves the right to award a contract as it sees fit and to the bidder or bidders of its choosing when and how it deems appropriate.
2. NATURE AND SCOPE OF WORK
   1. Background. National Marine Educators Association is a dedicated, influential member-based organization of classroom teachers, informal educators, university professors, scientists, and more from around the world working together to advance the understanding and protection of our freshwater and marine ecosystems. From scientists working in the deep sea to students studying underwater archeology in the Great Lakes, NMEA members are dedicated to making known the world of water, both fresh and salt. NMEA directs multiple national and international initiatives to further our mission of making known the world of water. These initiatives are led by dedicated committees of active members in NMEA.
   2. Position Description. The National Office/Executive Administrator will support the day-to-day operations of the organization. This position will be accountable to and supervised by the current NMEA President’s Chain (President, Past-President, and President-Elect). The person filling the position should be someone with anticipated longevity with the organization. This person will need a working understanding of financial management, membership databases, reporting tools, website user interfaces, and other management technologies.
   3. Specific Duties. Specific duties of this role include, but are not limited to the following:
      1. Fiscal management. Manage and reconcile PayPal and banking accounts monthly; Handle all deposits, invoicing, and payments of the organization; Manage organization credit card; Submit monthly financial report to Presidents Chain and Treasurer for review; Assist Treasurer with preparation of budgetary and tax documents.
      2. Membership maintenance. Manage and maintain membership database, NMEA website, and other membership-related software; Review new members weekly to ensure the process is working smoothly and members are legitimate; Build and manage online event pages and tickets as needed; Coordinate survey tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, etc) for annual elections, board votes, and membership polls.
      3. Organizational management. Maintain organization’s calendar to coordinate NMEA activities and communicate with the Presidents Chain and Committee Chairs monthly; Check organization email daily and respond to messages or direct to the appropriate NMEA Board Member; Check phone messages for the NMEA National Office line on a daily basis, respond to inquiries or forward to the appropriate NMEA Board Member; Maintain storage of all physical NMEA publications, outreach materials, electronic technology/meeting support supplies; maintain storage of electronic archive of NMEA publications and official documents, including annual conference and membership records; Provide all administrative support to the Presidents Chain as needed for the execution of contracts and organizational initiatives.
      4. Operational support. Coordinate logistics for the three major NMEA meetings (Executive Committee meeting, Mid-Year Board Meeting, Annual Board Meeting), ship necessary materials in advance, and attend in-person to provide additional support; Submit monthly membership reports to the Presidents Chain and Membership Committee Chair(s); Complete organizational mid- and annual reports; Collect and manage mid- and annual reports from all NMEA Officers, Board Members, and Committee Chairs; Support the organizations peer-review journal, Current, by assisting with billing and printing of special issues, and assisting Presidents Chain, Committee Chair, and Journal Editor with other duties as needed.
      5. Annual conference support. Serve as a member of the conference planning committee; Coordinate the conference budget and manage conference finances; Attend the annual conference and provide in-person conference support, including but not limited to staffing registration and coordinating the NMEA exhibit; Manage registration process, including creating events page and tickets and assisting members with registration issues as needed; Assist the Awards Committee and Scholarship Committee chairs with the annual call for nominations/applications, selection and awarding process.
3. SELECTION CRITERIA
   1. All submissions that meet the requirements of this RFP and are submitted by the deadline will be considered based upon the materials provided. The organization retains the option to conduct candidate interviews. The following criteria will be used in selecting the winning bid:
      1. Use of correct format (i.e., submission of complete proposal as outline in Section IV)
      2. The proposal’s ability and likelihood of meeting the needs of the organization
      3. Past performance of bidders similar services
      4. Experience and expertise of bidder/bidder’s management and staff
      5. Proposed budget
   2. NMEA reserves the right to suspend or terminate acceptance of proposals at any time as it sees fit, for any reason, without notice or obligation to any bidder.
4. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIRED INFORMATION
   1. Submissions should include the following items as part of their proposal for consideration:
      1. Description of relevant experience (cover letter)
      2. Resume or curriculum vitae of individual or organization’s management
      3. Resources bidder will assign to this project (full resumes of additional individuals, if included in proposal, description of office amenities and location, etc)
      4. Full plan of action, including proposed budget and budget narrative, expected hours to accomplish work as outlined, approach to position responsibilities, support needed from NMEA, expected date work can begin
      5. References, testimonials, or samples of work (as applicable)
5. DELIVERABLES
   1. Proposals will be accepted until 11:59pm ET on January 21, 2024. Any proposals received after this date and time will not be reviewed. The proposal must be signed by an official agent or authorized representative of the bidder.
   2. Any outsourced or contracted work is subject to the requirements of this RFP and must be clearly disclosed in the proposal. Any and all costs must be listed in the proposal, including any outsourced or contracted work. Proposals that include outsourced or contracted work must provide a name and description of the individuals and/or organizations being contracted. All costs must be itemized and include a detailed explanation of all fees and associated costs.
   3. Terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder and will be subject to review by NMEA and/or its legal advisors, including but not limited to scope, costs, timeline, and anything else applicable to the project.
   4. Proposal materials must be submitted electronically to: president@marine-ed.org.
6. ANTICIPATED TIMELINE
   1. RFP open: January 5-21, 2024
   2. Review of proposals: Through January 26, 2024
   3. Winning Bidder selected: No later than January 31, 2024
   4. Contract negotiations with the winning bidder will begin immediately following notification of selection. Contract negotiations will be completed by February 16, 2024.
   5. Bidders who were not selected will be notified electronically by February 19, 2024.