Solicitation for Local Hire United States Personal Services Contractor (U.S. PSC): Partnerships and Operations Manager

Solicitation No.: Mission Notice 22-13

Issuance Date: February 23, 2022

Closing Date/Time: March 22, 2022 04:30 p.m. (Nairobi Time)

SUBJECT: Solicitation for Local Hire United States Personal Services Contractor (U.S. PSC): Partnerships and Operations Manager, GS-14

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking applications from qualified U.S. Citizens and/or U.S. resident aliens residing in Kenya to provide personal services under contract as described in this solicitation.

Offers must be in accordance with the solicitation instructions. Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records. Offers must be submitted electronically via email to [email protected] by the closing date and time indicated above. Late, incomplete, or unsigned offers will not be considered. Scanned copies are accepted by email. Applicants must prominently reference the solicitation number in the application submission.

This solicitation in no way obligates USAID to award a PSC contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the offer.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attachment 1.

Sincerely,

-s-

Matthew Corbin

Supervisory Executive Officer

Attachment 1:

I.GENERAL INFORMATION**SOLICITATION NO.:** Mission Notice (MN) 22-13 ISSUANCE DATE: February 23, 2022 CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: March 22, 2022, at 04:30 p.m. (Nairobi Time) POINT OF CONTACT: Executive Office/Human Resources, Patrick Bii, HR Assistant, email at [email protected] POSITION TITLE: Partnerships and Operations Manager MARKET VALUE: $95,973 to $124,764 annually equivalent to GS-14. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Two (2) year base period, with three one-year options subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance or better. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Nairobi, Kenya ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens and/or U.S Resident Alien currently residing in Kenya^[1]. Citizenship, if dual, must be clearly stated. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: USAID/Washington-issued clearance level at the Facility/Computer Access Level**
STATEMENT OF DUTIES/POSITION DESCRIPTION**

Background/Introduction

USAID/Kenya and East Africa (KEA) is a large, full-service Mission. Sectors targeted are health, governance, agriculture, private sector development, environmental conservation, and education. The Office of Health, Population and Nutrition (HPN) programs are expansive, providing quality health care to millions of Kenyans nationwide through a mix of integrated services designed to strengthen local capacity. It offers life-saving treatment to over one million HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral drug therapy. The FY 2020 health budget is over $400 million; the estimated five-year budget is over $2 billion. Kenya is one of the largest recipients of resources through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), funding levels for HIV/AIDS allocated to the USAID for FY 2020 are approximately $300 million.

HPN includes a cross-cutting HPN Partnerships and Operations team to manage the communications, budgeting, financial management, planning, and reporting needs of the office. The Partnerships and Operations team is tasked with: internal and external communications and outreach, aligned with the Mission Development Outreach and Communications (DOC) team; compiling quarterly, annual, and ad hoc reporting, including USAID’s Operational Plan (OP), Performance Plan and Report (PPR), Quarterly Financial Reviews, and Portfolio Reviews, the PEPFAR Country Operational Plan (COP), and the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) Malaria Operational Plan (MOP), among others; supporting development and design of new Project Appraisal Documents (PADs) and activity designs; and implementing a broad range of activities in support of the Journey to Self-Reliance, developing strategies on improvement of staff performance management, skills and competency development for staff and other important initiatives – all to maximize our development impact with the least amount of US taxpayer dollars.

All of the functions of the HPN Partnerships and Operations team advance Agency priorities by building the capacity of USAID staff, our implementing partners and host governments through more effective management approaches; improving our stewardship of US taxpayer dollars through routine and comprehensive budget analyses; delivering effective messaging to our partners and constituents; and helping lead HPN’s contribution to USAID/KEA’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS).

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The HPN Partnerships and Operations Manager will be based in the HPN Office, supporting the HPN leadership and the entire staff, expected to reach 122 individuals under the new organogram, and will report directly to the HPN Deputy Office Director-Analytics, Policy, Partnerships, and Systems (APPS). The HPN Partnerships and Operations Manager will manage two teams, the eight-person Partnerships Team, as well as the five-person Operations Team, and two support staff (a PMA and an Administrative Assistant).S/he will advise the HPN Office and Mission regarding issues affecting partnerships and operations programming, planning, development, budgeting, and implementation, providing formal and informal training to staff in skills and competencies relevant to their areas of expertise and position responsibility.

S/he will lead all health (PEPFAR, PMI, FH, other) financial and programmatic reporting to the HPN Office Director and other relevant stakeholders (Deputy Directors, Team and Sub-Team Leaders, PEPFAR Coordinator, and the Strategic Planning and Analysis, or SPA Office) and to Washington. The incumbent ensures that the entire HPN Office is following detailed programmatic and technical guidance from Washington. The incumbent works with the HPN Team, the SPA Office, and Controller’s Office to further develop practical financial tracking systems, and works with OFM and the SPA Office to provide formal and informal training to staff in these areas. The HPN Partnerships and Operations Manager will assure accurate, well-documented reporting on achieving the PEPFAR, PMI, Global Health Security Agenda, TB, Family Health, and the Mission’s overall program; assures that such reporting represents and justifies the Government of Kenya’s and the Mission’s future program plans to USAID/Washington and Congress;, and assures that such reporting contributes to effective management of the health program.

The Partnerships role will include engaging and maintaining contacts with the myriad of stakeholders the HPN Office engages with throughout the portfolio. This includes national and county governments, private and public sector entities, civil society organizations including NGOs and CBOs, regional organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors and organizations, among others. Currently, USAID is expanding its connections with Government of Kenya entities at all levels, with a particular focus on Counties and Regions. The HPN Partnerships and Operations Manager will play a key role in the development of MOUs with Regions and Counties, a key step in formalizing and strengthening these important relationships.

Planning and Reporting: 30%

● Ensure the effective and efficient development, implementation, and reporting of the HPN program.

● Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of project management efforts across the seven technical teams within HPN.

● Advise and support the HPN leadership regarding HPN portfolio adherence to the Foreign Assistance (F), Agency, Africa Bureau, State/Africa and Mission policies and directives.

● Ensure adherence of the HPN portfolio to USAID and Mission-specific processes and requirements for design and formal approval of all new and amended projects and activities.

● Prepare and disseminate process and procedural advice and guidance, both written and verbal, to HPN staff on cross-cutting programming and operations issues.

● Contribute to HPN’s preparation of the PEPFAR Country Operational Plan (COP), the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) Malaria Operational Plan (MOP), the Mission’s annual Operational Plan (OP), and its Performance Plan and Report (PPR), as well as Portfolio Reviews and other processes as required.

● Lead Portfolio Reviews of activities consisting of central (i.e. USAID/W) and bilateral projects or activities and programs, with multiple program elements and sub-elements, through development, implementation and closeout.

Budgeting and Procurement: 25%

● Provide overall direction, quality control and oversight of HPN’s budgeting and procurement efforts through the Budget Specialist.

● Lead HPN’s preparation of the Mission’s Quarterly Financial Reviews, accrual reporting, and the annual obligation of funds processes.

● Assure rigorous monitoring and analysis of financial outlays against planning levels and reprogramming in conjunction with the PEPFAR Coordinator’s Office and the Mission’s SPA Office.

● Coordinate and stay abreast of all procurement actions in HPN, primarily through the Mission’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA), but also through USAID/Washington-led and other procurement mechanisms in order to provide updates to HPN leadership.

● Provide HPN leadership with routine and ad-hoc requests for information on HPN’s budget and procurement plan for current management and planning for out-years, including providing recommendations for budgetary and procurement related decisions.

● Contribute to the narrative design of activities (projects), amendments and related statements of work.

● Leads and coordinates the reviews or arranges for the review of proposals for new activities as well as for commitments, obligation and de-obligation actions.

● Lead and coordinate the HPN Office procurement planning including annual planning and longer-term procurement planning

● Outline timeline and track progress toward procurement of new awards and amendments to existing awards.

Outreach and Communications: 20%

● Participate in the update of HPN’s strategic communication strategy, and support messaging to highlight the progress of HPN-funded activities towards the achievement of their overall goals and USAID/KEA objectives. The communications strategy should also advance policy and strategic engagements under USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance agenda.

● Maintain an HPN repository of publications, fact sheets and briefers and work with the DOC to ensure periodic publications are completed and submitted on time.

● Provide overall direction, quality control and oversight of HPN’s outreach and communications efforts through the Communications Advisor.

● Provide quality control of communications products and services to ensure consistent and high-quality messaging and engagement.

● Improve HPN internal coordination with East Africa bilateral USAID missions and Embassy Staff to ensure all parties are well informed of HPN activities and programs and are effectively coordinating implementation activities.

● Coordinates internal communications and requests for information in support to the HPN leadership, through drafting and providing comments on various documents, such as position papers, talking points, concept papers, activity progress reports and evaluations, briefings checklists (BCLs), newsletters, etc.

General Management and Partnerships: 25%

● Proofread and edit HPN materials to provide quality control.

● Directly supervise up to four members of the 15-member HPN Partnerships and Operations Team.

● Plan and oversee the professional development of the newly-expanded team, including skills and competency development, mentorship and professional development of HPN Partnerships and Operations Team staff, with the goal of building human and institutional capacity and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the staff through inclusive and involved supervision and leadership.

● Facilitate the management of relationships with key HPN partners’ technical and senior leadership counterparts including Government of Kenya representatives, USAID mission staff, regional entities outside and inside Kenya, AID/W staff, and USAID interagency colleagues.

● Leads the development, implementation, and monitoring of MOUs with Counties, Regions, and other entities as relevant

● Oversee planning and management of logistics for HPN and USAID/KEA health conferences, training events, press interviews, VIP visits, launches of project activities, or other events to ensure events run smoothly and meet USAID messaging goals.

● The HPN Partnerships and Operations Manager will oversee the Partnerships Team, which includes five Regional Liaison Specialists who will support these efforts in specific regions, a Health Regional Intergovernmental Organization (RIGO) Specialist who will focus on regional linkages inside and outside of Kenya, and a Health and Civil Society Specialist who will strengthen already existing linkages with NGOs and CBOs, and establish new partnerships

● Convene and lead meetings as needed to address activity (project) issues.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The primary location of work will be on the U.S. Embassy/USAID compound in Nairobi, Kenya. No special demands are required to perform the work.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

The incumbent must meet the following requirements in education and professional experience:

1. Education: A Master’s degree in a relevant professional discipline such as International Development/Affairs, Political Science, Public Administration, Business Administration or a related discipline is required.

2. Professional Experience: The candidate is required to have a minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible international development experience, which includes a combination the following: effective leadership of teams, strategy design, activity management, communications, budgeting/financial management, human resource development, and procurement, preferably related to HIV/AIDS, child survival, reproductive health/family planning, tuberculosis, health systems and/or policy, food security, water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH), or nutrition. The candidate must also have significant experience in program development and implementation; a broad and in-depth experience in implementing technical programs and strategies; experience in consultations and facilitation of various teams with diverse backgrounds and development perspectives; applying broad USG (or similar development organizations) principles, policies and strategies; effective coordination of the interagency, partner country, and/or other donors; and collaborating with USG leadership at working and senior levels. Experience in Kenya and/or East Africa is preferred.

3. Skills and Abilities: Leadership skills that demonstrate a focus on professional growth, inclusiveness, and collaboration across a diverse workforce to promote unity and teamwork are essential. Demonstrable high-level management and coordination skills to lead fast-paced, results-driven, multiple technical teams are required, as is the ability to work under pressure to meet project or event deadlines. The incumbent must have proven skills in capacity building and mentoring local staff in a developing country context, including excellent interpersonal, facilitation, and team building skills. The Contractor must have a clear understanding and demonstrated skills in developing, implementing, and reporting on international assistance activities, a demonstrated capability for complex analysis, and the ability to obtain, analyze, and evaluate complex data on a variety of programs. The incumbent must also possess skill in conceptualizing programs, policies, and plans, and developing strategies for their management and implementation. The candidate must be able to integrate short- and long-range objectives of the USAID/KEA HPN office and the Global Health Bureau with cultural/organizational needs. The ability to exercise considerable ingenuity, as well as tact and diplomacy skills, are required to establish and develop sustainable working relationships at the highest level and different settings within the GoK and private sector as well as within USAID’s internal environment. The ability to navigate and manage politically sensitive issues, and a demonstrated ability to lead meetings and presentations with internal and external stakeholders, are also needed.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

The Government may award a contract without discussions with offerors in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. The CO reserves the right at any point in the evaluation process to establish a competitive range of offerors with whom negotiations will be conducted pursuant to FAR 15.306(c). In accordance with FAR 52.215-1, if the CO determines that the number of offers that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the CO may limit the number of offerors in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated offers. FAR provisions of this solicitation are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

Applicants who clearly meet the skills and qualifications requirements will be further evaluated based on scoring of the Evaluation Factor responses submitted with the applicant’s application. Applicants are required to address each of the following Evaluation Factors in a separate document describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received that are relevant to each factor. The evaluation factors will be used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified applicants in comparison to other applicants. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each additional page. Failure to specifically address the Evaluation Factors may result in your not receiving credit for all your pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards.

Applicants should cite specific, illustrative examples for each Evaluation Factor. Responses must be limited to 500 words per factor. Any words above the limit will neither be read nor scored.

Factor #1: Demonstrated experience managing or implementing operations functions, such as budgeting and procurement, reporting, planning, and outreach and communications related to health and development, preferably in Kenya/East Africa.

Factor #2: Demonstrated experience developing and managing U.S. Government foreign assistance activities, related to health including HIV/AIDS, RMNCAH, and malaria, and reporting on progress and challenges of the activities.

Factor #3: Demonstrated experience coordinating with U.S. Government agencies, international organizations, national or local governments, and/or other high-profile entities preferably in support of health activities including HIV/AIDS.

Factor #4: Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental agencies including the private sector and civil society, regional and/or international organizations, national or local governments, and/or other entities preferably in support of health activities including HIV/AIDS.

^[1] Resident Hire U.S. Personal Services Contractor means a U.S. citizen or resident alien who, at the time of hire as a PSC, resides in the cooperating country (i) for reasons other than employment that provides for repatriation to the U.S., including (A) with a U.S. Government agency;(B) under any U.S. Government-financed contract or agreement; or (C) under any other contract or employment arrangement.(ii) as a spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen with employment that provides for repatriation to the U.S., including (A) with a U.S. Government agency; (B) under any U.S. Government-financed contract or agreement; or (C) under any other contract or employment arrangement.