MISSION AUSTRALIA AFTER-HOURS ANSWERING SERVICE

This is a firm-fixed-price contract for the provision of outside-of-business hours answering services for Mission Australia, including the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, U.S. Consulates General in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, and future Mission Australia locations in Brisbane and Adelaide. The answering service shall serve as the first point of contact after hours for the general public seeking to contact any Mission Australia facility. Callers after hours reach an answering machine at U.S. Mission facilities, which directs them to call the answering service in the event of an emergency.  The contractor shall furnish managerial, administrative and direct labor personnel to accomplish all work as required in this contract. In general, the answering service will be required to field calls from across Australia and internationally, screen calls, provide limited information to callers, resolve calls that do not meet the threshold for onward forwarding within Australia, and direct emergency calls to the appropriate duty officer(s). Specific definitions of emergencies and information on relevant topics will be provided to the successful offeror and updated on a periodic basis.