ISSUANCE DATE: February 3, 2022
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: August 24, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC)
Dear Prospective Offerors:
The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Middle East, North Africa, and Europe (MENAE), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal service as a Senior Regional Humanitarian Program Officer (SHPO) under a United States Personal Services Contract (USPSC), as described in the solicitation.
Submittals must be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified. Offerors interested in applying for this position MUST submit the following materials:
1. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:
(a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations, and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
(b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
(c) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments. Failure to identify an academic discipline will result in disqualification.
(d) U.S. Citizenship
(e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (SAM.gov, BHA Jobs, Career Fair, etc.).
Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information must be clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.
2. USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted. AID 309-2 is available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.
NOTE REGARDING ENSURING ADEQUATE COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS
The contractor will be required to show proof that the contractor is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on or before the first date of onboarding, or submit an approved reasonable accommodation to the CO. If the contractor does not meet this requirement the contract may be terminated.
NOTE REGARDING DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBERS AND THE SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT
All USPSCs with a place of performance in the United States are required to have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to receiving an award. You will be disqualified if you either fail to comply with this requirement or if your name appears on the excluded parties list. The selectee will be provided with guidance regarding this registration.
NOTE: As of March 28, 2018, all new SAM.gov entity registrations will now require a signed notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number. Additional information on the format of the notarized letter and where to submit can be found via the below Federal Service Desk link:
https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/answer.do?sysparm_kbid=d2e67885db0d5f00b3257d321f96194b& sysparm_search=kb0013183
Offerors can expect to receive a confirmation email when offer materials have been received. Offerors should retain for their records copies of all enclosures which accompany their offers. Your complete resume must be emailed to:
MENAE Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: MENAERecruitment@usaid.gov
Website: www.BHAjobs.net
Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to the MENAE Recruitment Team via the information provided above.
Sincerely,
Sonja Stroud-Gooden
Contracting Officer
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Working under the guidance and supervision of the Regional Director (RD), Deputy RD, or designated Regional Advisor (RA), the SHPO supports the regional office through the management of humanitarian activities in the region, assisting with program analysis, monitoring, strategy development, and coordinating with partners in the humanitarian community. The SHPO will work closely with a program team that may include RDs, Deputy RDs, Regional Humanitarian Advisor (RHAs), Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Program Officers, Regional Team Leaders, Deputy Team Leaders, Humanitarian Assistance Officers (HAOs), and Program Assistants. The SHPO will perform the following:
Contextual Specialty:
● Develop and maintain an expert understanding of humanitarian developments across the region to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts.
● Develop and maintain knowledge of USAID and USG humanitarian priorities and strategies within the region, and BHA’s contributions and comparative advantages to those efforts.
● Provide regular reporting, through cables and other means, on issues related to the humanitarian strategy and programs in the region.
● Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, relevant current events, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.
Portfolio Management:
● Develop and maintain a detailed working knowledge of BHA’s humanitarian portfolio in MENAE.
● Work with BHA’s Washington-based and field-based program staff to develop program strategies for sudden onset or long term responses and ER4 activities across the region. Oversee day-to-day management of the regional portfolio and its budgets.
● Support team members in assessing emergency response and ER4 needs in the region to ensure that BHA’s programs are appropriately responsive.
● Assist Agreement Officer’s Representatives (AORs) in managing humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives.
● Travel as permitted to assess, evaluate, and monitor humanitarian conditions in the region, and make strategic recommendations for appropriate interventions.
● Provide guidance on regulations and policies
Representation:
● Support the regional team in maintaining relations with relevant leadership in the region in representing USAID and BHA on humanitarian issues. This will include but is not limited to, United Nations (UN) agencies, IOs, NGOs, USG personnel, donors, host government authorities, and others.
● Assist the regional team in coordinating with the donor community on policy issues affecting humanitarian operations and developing integrated, non-duplicative programs, as needed.
● Engage in and report on joint donor humanitarian evaluations and UN-led assessments and participate actively in the international community response structures, including participating in UN clusters and Humanitarian Coordination Team (HTC)s.
● Prepare briefing papers, notes, and presentations on BHA programming for official USG visitors interested in humanitarian issues.
● Represent BHA with various audiences, as requested.
Leadership:
● Serve as a peer mentor to team members on grants and portfolio management, to include BHA’s business process, portfolio-specific budget and workload management, and post-award monitoring and management.
● In close coordination with the RD, RHA, and HAO, work with NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies that are developing proposals for BHA (including grant amendments and extensions) to ensure compliance with BHA’s guidelines.
● Participate in office-wide discussions on initiatives that impact program implementation to provide field-based perspectives, as assigned. Conducts field monitoring of USG-funded humanitarian assistance projects and assessments of affected areas as required.
● Maintains contact with relief organizations conducting humanitarian operations, particularly with USG current and potential partners, obtaining information on in-country response activities and sharing BHA’s strategic approach and priorities.
● Leverages advanced understanding of BHA grant guidelines and USAID business practices to advise implementing partners and the BHA AORs of the field’s preferred course of action on concept notes, new proposals, and decision points that arise during award implementation and management.
● Provides input to strategies and related operational plans.
General Duties:
● Serve in planning or program positions on response teams, assessment teams, or to provide coverage for field offices with field for extended periods of time.
● Work effectively in a challenging and restrictive work environment and strictly adhere to U.S. Embassy security guidelines.
● As needed, serve on a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time.
● May serve as needed, on Washington-based Response Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary.
● As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the Bureau to meet operational needs during staff shortages. Duties performed while in detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the scope of work provided.
● Become certified and serve as an AOR/Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), as assigned. The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, month status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment Review System. They prepare and review contract/assistance modifications documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the FAR, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)
Bachelor’s degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field (including, but not limited to: international relations, economics, food policy, or a related field of study) plus seven (7) years of progressively demonstrated experience in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including at least two (2) years of overseas Humanitarian Assistance field experience as demonstrated by short-term deployments or assignments in emergency situations.
OR
Master’s degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field (including, but not limited to: international relations, economics, food policy, or a related field of study) plus five (5) years of progressively demonstrated experience in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including at least two (2) years of Humanitarian Assistance overseas field experience as demonstrated by short-term deployments or assignments in emergency situations.
SELECTION FACTORS
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the selection factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)
● Offeror is a U.S. Citizen.
● Complete resume submitted. See cover page for resume requirements. Experience that cannot be quantified will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
● USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Department of State medical clearance throughout the contract.
● Must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
● Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.
OFFEROR RATING SYSTEM
The offeror rating system factors are used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors. Offerors must demonstrate the rating factors outlined below within their resume, as they are evaluated strictly by the information provided. The rating factors are as follows:
Professional Experience (30 points):
● Experience monitoring and/or reporting on rapidly evolving humanitarian crises in an international disaster context.
● Experience working across the entire disaster management cycle to include any of the following: emergency response, early recovery and transition, disaster risk reduction, or resilience.
● Specific experience implementing humanitarian interventions including any of the following: needs assessment, strategy development, budget management, resource prioritization, program development, or program management.
● At least six months of demonstrated experience working in any of the following: a grantmaking organization, a humanitarian donor organization, or a development donor organization.
● At least six months of demonstrated experience including any of the following: supporting budgeting, grant processing, funding levels, or analyzing strategic priorities.
● Demonstrated experience managing USG awards from the USG, NGO/Private Voluntary Organization, or Public International Organization side to include any of the following: strategy or program design, proposal development or review, or implementation of regulatory compliance.
● Demonstrated experience with internal representation to leadership on program or policy issues.
● Demonstrated experience with external representation to humanitarian or development partners on program or policy matters.
Program Management (10 points):
● Demonstrated knowledge of USG acquisition and assistance regulations.
● Experience developing, designing, or evaluating proposed humanitarian interventions against response or disaster risk reduction strategies and identified needs.
● Demonstrated experience managing USG acquisitions or assistance awards to include post-award administration and regulatory compliance.
Interview Performance (50 points)
Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks (10 points)
Total Possible Points: 100
BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated in accordance with the Offeror Rating System. Those offerors determined to be competitively ranked may also be evaluated on interview performance and satisfactory professional reference checks.
Offerors are required to address each factor of the Offeror Rating System in their resume, describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received as it pertains to each factor. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each additional page. Failure to address the selection factors and/or Offeror Rating System factors may result in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards.
The most qualified offerors may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. BHA will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. Professional references and academic credentials will be evaluated for offerors being considered for selection. Note: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror. BHA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies become available during the future phase of the selection process.
This vacancy is archived.