Web Development & Maintenance Provider

FAS•Washington, DC

About The Position

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) seeks a WordPress development provider with strong design judgment to update FAS.org and support its sister sites. The initial fixed-fee enhancement engagement runs from December 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027, with an optional ongoing maintenance retainer at FAS’s discretion. The base-scope budget may not exceed $14,500. The required work covers FAS.org, heatagenda.us, cri.fas.org, and essentialdata.us. It includes reusable photo, video, and data-visualization components; social media integration; a reusable microsite template and navigation, including a pilot microsite for FAS’s Future of Science work; and miscellaneous improvements to footer links, redirects, and publication tags. Optional items include cross-microsite search, bulk tag editing, GA4 improvements, data-visualization enhancements, and publication sidenotes or margin notes. All new templates and components must meet WCAG 2.1 AA, support current desktop and mobile versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, and avoid measurable page-load performance regression. Work must be built and reviewed on staging, with FAS approval before deployment. The provider must supply written documentation and staff training, and fix defects at no charge for 60 days after final acceptance. The engagement follows discovery, planning, staged build and rollout, launch and handoff, and warranty phases. The provider will work with an FAS-assigned project manager, meet every two weeks, and maintain a shared tracker. FAS expects the provider to recommend improvements and flag poor uses of budget. FAS will own the code, designs, and other work product, with source code and credentials provided at handoff. The selected provider is expected to demonstrate WordPress development capability, including custom blocks and templates, and both design and development capability. Proposals must identify the project lead and team, provide an approach and workplan, relevant work samples, case studies and references, pricing, and conflict-of-interest disclosures. An optional maintenance proposal should describe its monthly retainer, included hours and services, response times, and rate for work beyond the retainer.

Requirements

Demonstrated WordPress development experience, including custom blocks and templates.
In-house design and development capability to design components and build and deploy them; bidders using subcontractors must identify them.
Meet WCAG 2.1 AA for all new templates and components.
Support current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge on desktop and mobile.
Build and review changes on a staging site and obtain FAS approval before each deployment.
Ensure no measurable drop in page-load performance compared with the current site.
Provide written documentation for each new component and staff training before the end of the engagement.
Submit a proposal as a single PDF of no more than 10 pages, excluding team bios and appendices, by October 30, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET.
Include an authorized representative’s signed cover letter naming the proposed project lead; understanding and approach; phased workplan; named team members, roles, and project lead’s expected monthly hours; 3–5 live work samples; three relevant client case studies; three client references; required pricing; and disclosures of potential conflicts of interest.
Provide base-scope fixed-fee pricing broken down by phase and items A through D, with estimated hours and hourly rates; separate fixed prices for optional items; and proposed maintenance pricing.
Observe the approved plan as binding scope; obtain FAS’s written estimate approval before beginning out-of-scope work.
Transfer ownership of work product to FAS and provide source code and credentials at handoff.

Nice To Haves

Past work for nonprofits, think tanks, or policy organizations.
Work samples preferably consisting of WordPress websites for nonprofits or policy organizations.
Ability to propose better approaches and identify requests that may be a poor use of budget.
Proposal for an optional ongoing maintenance retainer after May 2027.

Responsibilities

Review the current websites and staff publishing workflow, conduct stakeholder interviews, and provide UX recommendations.
Develop reusable WordPress blocks or templates for carousels, image grids, video embeds, and featured data visualizations that FAS staff can edit without developer assistance and that work on mobile.
Implement social media content display for Instagram, LinkedIn, and X on the homepage, staff and fellow bio pages, and publication pages, using automated feeds or an approved documented manual process.
Create a reusable program microsite template and navigation linking microsites with FAS.org, and launch a pilot microsite highlighting Future of Science work.
Implement miscellaneous improvements, including editable footer links, CMS-managed redirects, and visible publication tags, or operational alternatives.
Build and review all changes on a staging site, secure FAS approval for each deployment batch, and avoid measurable page-load performance regressions.
Provide written documentation for new components and conduct a staff training session before the engagement ends.
Fix defects in delivered work at no charge during the 60-day warranty after final acceptance.
If proposing ongoing maintenance, specify the monthly retainer, included hours and coverage, response times, and hourly rate for additional work.
Coordinate with the FAS project manager, meet every two weeks, and maintain a shared tracker of open items, decisions, and deadlines.