Social Media Public Relations Specialist

CITY OF GARFIELD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

SOCIAL MEDIA PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST

Issued by the
GARFIELD MAYOR AND COUNCIL

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR THE POSITION OF

SOCIAL MEDIA PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST

FOR THE CITY OF GARFIELD

FOR THE TIME PERIOD MAY 1, 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025

The GARFIELD Mayor and Council (hereinafter “City”) is soliciting proposals for the position of Social Media Public Relations Specialist (hereinafter “Specialist”) to provide professional services to the City on all matters and services related to the projects of the City. The Mayor and Council of the City will select an individual or firm as the Specialist for the provision of these services based upon a fair and open process, pursuant to N.J.S.A.19-44A-20.4 et. seq. and in accordance with the Resolution previously adopted by the City to secure such services through a fair and open process. In order to have a proposal considered by the City, an interested party must provide evidence that he/she satisfies the minimum requirements as set forth in this document and that he/she otherwise complies with the proposal requirements set forth in the City's REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS section of the City web site.

SECTION I                     Appointment Social Media Public Relations Specialist

One Specialist or firm shall be appointed by the Mayor and Council to serve as the official City Social Media Public Relations Specialist, for a term from May 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, to perform services for the City including but not limited to those services as described in Section II of this document.

The City may select, at its sole discretion, individuals, or firms for this position, so long as those individuals or firms meet or exceed the minimum requirements set forth in Section III hereof. Once an appointment is made, no substitution of personnel may be made without the express written consent of the City, which consent may be withheld in their sole discretion

SECTION II                    Scope of Services

The functions enumerated are not meant to be limiting.

1. Develop and implement a social media strategy.
2. Partake in community engagement and public interaction.
3. Provide crisis communication and reputation management.
4. Content creation and brand building.
5. Analytics & performance tracking to improve outreach, etc.
6. Collaborate with all City Departments for content, messaging, branding, etc.

Response Content

Firms should address in their Responses the following:

1. Description of Firm - Provide a history and description of your firm.
2. Experience - Please briefly summarize your experience as a Social Media Public Relations Specialist in the State of New Jersey.
3. References - Provide three (3) references. Include the issuer name, contact person, his/her title and address and telephone number for whom you have provided similar services.
4. Investigations/Litigation - Provide details of any criminal or regulatory investigation or pertinent litigation pending against your firm or members of your firm.
5. Certificates Required - The respondent must submit the following certificates: (i) Affirmative Action Employee Information Report or Certificate of Employee Information Report; (ii) Proof of general liability insurance coverage and professional liability insurance coverage; and, (iii) Proof of NJ Business Registration.
6. Other Information - Please discuss any factors which you believe are relevant to the City’s selection of your firm.
7. Compensation - Please attach your fee schedule for providing the Scope of Services requested in this Request for Qualifications. Include a description of any out-of-pocket expenses which might be included and of hourly rate charges which relate to this engagement.

SECTION III                Minimum Requirements for Vendor Responses

In order for an individual or firm to be considered by the City, interested parties submitting proposals in response

to this solicitation must meet the following minimum qualifications:

1. Interested parties wishing to provide a proposal in response to the CITY OF GARFIELD’s solicitation shall provide the following minimum information in its proposal, which proposal must be submitted at the location and within the time constraint set forth on page 1 of this document; said proposal must contain fully executed originals and copies of all documents contained in this Request for Proposal;
2. Full name and business address of entity or person submitting the proposal and the name of the key contact person;
3. A description of the business organization (i.e., corporation, partnership, joint venture, etc.) of each firm, its ownership and organizational structure;
4. The number of years your organization has been in business under the present name and the number of years the business organization has been under the current management;
5. List of all individuals who, if selected, will provide services to the CITY OF GARFIELD, along with a summary of the post high school education and licenses held by each such person;
6. Number of years each individual has provided representation to municipal entities in the State of New Jersey;
7. A description of the services that will be provided to the CITY OF GARFIELD, in addition to those set forth in Section II above;
8. A copy or description of the professional liability insurance policy, $1,000,000.00 or higher, maintained by business organization for the proposed calendar year;
9. A statement and listing of professional service fees that the business organization can offer to the CITY OF GARFIELD;
10. A statement that the applicant complies with N.J.S.A 10:5-1, et. seq., (Law Against Discrimination) and P.L.1975, c. 127 (Affirmative Action Law of the State of New Jersey);
11. The name and addresses of at least three (3) references consisting of clients for which the applicant has provided services in the past five (5) years, which should include at least one (1) municipal entity client;
12. A list and description of all professional liability claims, if any, brought against the applicant during the past five (5) years; and
13. Number your responses using the sequential order listed in paragraphs A and B of Section III.
14. The applicant shall provide the CITY OF GARFIELD with an original and zero (0) copies of its proposal.

SECTION IV               Basis of Award of Professional Services Contract

The CITY OF GARFIELD shall award all professional service agreements based upon qualifications, merit, cost competitiveness, references and experience with issues confronting the CITY OF GARFIELD. The final determination will be based upon the most advantageous price and other factors to the CITY OF GARFIELD. The specific basis of award will include:

A. Documented evidence that the Proposer fulfills all of the Minimum Qualifications as listed in Section III, paragraph A., and all of the information required under paragraph B. Affirmative Action Compliance and professional service fees are provided for review and consideration.

B. Technical Criteria:

1. Does the proposal demonstrate a clear understanding of the scope of work and related objectives?
2. Does the proposal document knowledge of the issues and operations of the CITY OF GARFIELD, and how the proposed services will address these issues?
3. Is the proposal complete and responsive to the specific requirements?
4. Has successful past performance of the firm and its principals been documented?

C. Management Criteria:

1. How well does the proposed scheduling timelines meet the City’s needs?
2. Does the proposer document a record of reliability of timely delivery of deliverables?
3. Does the proposer document municipal/State experience?
4. Does the proposer document its availability to attend all scheduled/required public and special meetings?
5. To what extent does the proposer rely on in-house resources vs. contracted services?
6. Is there the availability of in-house and contract resources documented?
7. Documentation of experience in performing similar work by employees?
8. Does the proposer make use of business capabilities or initiatives that involve women, the disadvantaged, small and/or minority owned business establishments?
9. Does the proposer demonstrate cultural sensitivity in hiring and training staff?

D. Cost Criteria:

1. Relative Cost – How does the cost compare to other similarly scored proposals?
2. Is the price and its component charges, fees, etc., adequately explained and documented?
3. Does the proposal include quality control and assurance programs?
4. Does the proposer have the sufficient financial resources to meet its obligations?

All awards are and shall be subject to the availability of funds for the professional services in the Temporary and/or Final Budgets.

SECTION V                 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

One (1) copy of the Proposal (one (1) unbound, original) must be submitted marked “Social Media Public

Relations Specialist” and addressed to:

Erin Nora Delaney, City Manager/City Clerk

CITY OF GARFIELD

111 Outwater Lane

GARFIELD, N.J. 07026

The City will not be responsible for any expenses in the preparation of the Proposals and for the preparation of any information or material received in connection with this solicitation, whether by negligence or otherwise.

The City reserves the right to request additional information if necessary, or to request an interview with bidder(s), or to reject any and all proposals with or without cause, and, in its sole discretion, waive any irregularities or informalities, such as minor elements of non-compliance with regard to the requirements of this RFP, in the Proposals submitted. The City further reserves the right to make such investigations as it deems necessary as to the qualifications of any and all firms submitting proposals. In the event that all Proposals are rejected, The City reserves the right to re-solicit proposals.

The Authority, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to waive minor elements of non-compliance of any bidder’s proposal with regard to the requirements of this RFP.

Responding bidders may withdraw their Proposals at any time prior to the final filing date and time, as indicated on the cover page to this RFP, by written notification signed by an authorized agent of the firm(s). Proposals may thereafter be resubmitted, but only up to the final filing date and time.

The responding bidder assumes sole responsibility for the complete effort required in this RFP. No special consideration shall be given after the Proposals are opened because of a bidder’s failure to be knowledgeable about all requirements of this RFP. By submitting a Proposal in response to this RFP, the bidder represents that it has satisfied itself, from its own investigation, of all of the requirements of this RFP.

Documents and information submitted in response to this RFP shall become property of The City and generally shall be available to the general public as required by applicable law, including the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act and the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.

Communications with representatives of The City by the bidder or the bidder’s representatives concerning this RFP are not permitted during the term of the submission and evaluation process Communications regarding this RFP in any manner will result in the immediate rejection of your firm’s Proposal.

The successful bidder is prohibited from sub-contracting any part of the work covered by this RFP.

The successful bidder is prohibited from assigning, transferring, conveying, subletting, or otherwise disposing of its obligations under this engagement or its rights, title or interest therein to any other person, company, or corporation without the previous consent and approval in writing by the Authority.

If it becomes necessary for the Specialist to substitute any management, supervisory or key personnel, The City shall be notified, and the firm shall identify the substitute personnel and the work to be performed. The firm must provide detailed justification documenting the necessity for the substitution. The substitution must have qualifications and experience equal to or better than the individual originally proposed or currently assigned.

The Proposal to be submitted by the bidder consists of a Technical Proposal and a Cost Proposal. The original and copies of the Cost Proposal is to be submitted in a separate sealed envelope. Additionally, the requested supporting documents listed in Section 10.0 below must be included with the Technical Proposal.

The bidder shall describe its approach and plans for accomplishing the work outlined in the Scope of Services on a separate attachment hereto.

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