OTI Program Advisor/Senior Program Advisor (Program Office) (GS-13/14)

The OTI Program Advisor/Senior Program Advisor (Program Office) is an intermittent Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-13/14 equivalent level and located Worldwide. Offers for this position are due no later than May 31, 2022 at 1:00pm Eastern Time. For full information about this position, as well as instructions on how to apply, please read the entire solicitation at www.OTIjobs.net.

INTRODUCTION:

The OTI Program Advisor/Senior Program Advisor (Program Office) is a member of the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS)/OTI Program Office, and reports to the OTI Program Office Team Leader or their designee who are based in Washington, D.C. The Program Office, as part of OTI’s Program, Learning, and Innovation (PLI) Division, provides the office with strategic guidance on country-level and office-level procurement, policy, budgeting, strategy, and program performance issues, and increases key stakeholder awareness of and support for OTI as a key instrument in carrying out U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Key functions of the Program Office are to: manage core procurement mechanisms that support country programs; provide management and oversight for budgeting decisions and allocation of resources; set standards and provide guidance to country programs on strategic planning, decision-making, and implementation; and facilitate the flow of information regarding OTI programs with internal and external audiences. The Program Advisor/Senior Program Advisor (Program Office) will provide ad hoc support and advice and assistance to the Program Office as well as to OTI program managers, technical and financial specialists, co-workers, and/or others on contract procurement policies, problems, or issues. This person will support OTI country program staff through advice, guidance, and assistance on new and ongoing contractual issues to ensure effective implementation of programs that target political crises, prevent and mitigate conflict, and address stabilization needs in countries critical to U.S. foreign policy.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

At the GS-13 level Program Advisor level:

• Support the Procurement Team and Office in resolving procurement-related and post-award management issues to avoid the impairment of U.S. foreign assistance and U.S. Government’s (USG’s) foreign policy objectives;
• Review, analyze, and/or interpret acquisition and assistance statues, regulations, policies, concepts, guidance, or procedures for use in the solution of procurement or contracting problems or the accomplishment of projects or programs and provide regular reporting on any changes or updates to current acquisition and assistance policies and procedures as they affect OTI field programs;
• Develop and review acquisition and assistance documents, including indefinite quantity contracts (IQCs), for all components necessary for solicitations, scopes of work, estimated budgets, draft contracts and agreements, and purchase orders to ensure policies and procedures are being followed;
• Provide backstop support and guidance to country program staff for new and ongoing programs through resolution of regular and special procurement needs associated with waiver requests, budget modifications, local procurement issues, design and development of large or complex grant activities or subcontracts to be implemented in the field, and other issues related to program startup, implementation, and closeout;
• When required, provide support to OTI country program teams as an auxiliary team member in the field and in Washington, D.C.;
• Serve on technical evaluation committees as necessary for OTI procurements;
• Provide training and mentoring on OTI program implementation for OTI staff and implementing partners both in Washington, D.C. and the field, and assist in the development and updating of training materials as required for acquisition and assistance issues;
• Liaise with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) and others as necessary (e.g. mission contracting officers, implementing partner procurement officers) to ensure that current procurement policies and procedures are being appropriately applied throughout the startup, implementation, and closeout phases of OTI country programs;
• Analyze office-level procurement systems and internal systems to provide advice and guidance and determine overall needs and priorities related to acquisition and assistance issues; and,
• Serve on temporary details within OTI, other USAID bureaus/offices, or other USG agencies under this scope of work for a period not to exceed six (6) months. Duties performed while on detail must be directly related to the scope of work. Contracting Officer (CO) approval is required for the temporary detail. Any extension past the six (6) months requires CO approval.

At the GS-14 level Senior Program Advisor level:

• Advise the Procurement Team and Office in resolving procurement-related and post-award management issues to avoid the impairment of U.S. foreign assistance and USG’s foreign policy objectives;
• Review, analyze, and/or interpret acquisition and assistance statues, regulations, policies, concepts, guidance, or procedures for use in the solution of procurement or contracting problems or the accomplishment of projects or programs and provide regular reporting on any changes or updates to current acquisition and assistance policies and procedures as they affect OTI field programs;
• Supervise staff as delegated by the supervisor (e.g. Program Office Team Lead, Program Office Deputy Team Lead.). Evaluate staff performance; recognize good performance; communicate where performance needs to be improved; resolve complaints; and approve leave requests and timesheets as well as training, travel and program and operations requests;
• Provide orientation, training, and mentoring for staff supervised; assign work, explain how duties are to be performed to meet expectations and communicate how the successful performance of those duties will be measured;
• Develop and review acquisition and assistance documents, including indefinite quantity contracts (IQCs), for all components necessary for solicitations, scopes of work, estimated budgets, draft contracts and agreements, and purchase orders to ensure policies and procedures are being followed;
• Provide backstop support and guidance to country program staff for new and ongoing programs through resolution of regular and special procurement needs associated with waiver requests, budget modifications, local procurement issues, design and development of large or complex grant activities or subcontracts to be implemented in the field, and other issues related to program startup, implementation, and closeout;
• When required, provide support to OTI country program teams as an auxiliary team member in the field and in Washington, D.C.;
• Lead technical evaluation committees as necessary for OTI procurements;
• Provide training and mentoring on OTI program implementation for OTI staff and implementing partners both in Washington and the field, and assist in the development and updating of training materials as required for acquisition and assistance issues;
• Liaise with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) and others as necessary (e.g. mission contracting officers, implementing partner procurement officers) to ensure that current procurement policies and procedures are being appropriately applied throughout the startup, implementation, and closeout phases of OTI country programs;
• Analyze office-level procurement systems and internal systems to provide advice and guidance and determine overall needs and priorities related to acquisition and assistance issues; and,
• Serve on temporary details within OTI, other USAID bureaus/offices, or other USG agencies under this scope of work for a period not to exceed six (6) months. Duties performed while on detail must be directly related to the scope of work. Contracting Officer (CO) approval is required for the temporary detail. Any extension past the six (6) months requires CO approval.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

At a minimum, the applicant must have:

At the GS-13 Program Advisor (Program Office) level:

(1) A Master’s Degree with five (5) years of work experience;

OR

A Bachelor’s Degree with seven (7) years of work experience;

OR

An Associate’s Degree with nine (9) years of work experience;

OR

A High School Diploma with eleven (11) years of work experience;

AND

(2) Four (4) years of experience designing procurements or managing contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.

At the GS-14 Senior Program Advisor (Program Office) level:

(1) A Master’s Degree with seven (7) years of work experience;

OR

A Bachelor’s Degree with nine (9) years of work experience;

OR

An Associate’s Degree with eleven (11) years of work experience;

OR

A High School Diploma with thirteen (13) years of work experience;

AND

(2) Six (6) years of experience designing procurements or managing contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.

Please direct questions about this position or the offer process to the OTI Recruitment Team at [email protected].