USPSC Innovation Team Lead

**SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA22R00010

ISSUANCE DATE: May 09, 2022

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: June 06, 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 Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs, and Communication (G3PC) is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal service as an Innovation Team Lead 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. 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.

1. 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.

U.S. Agency for International Development

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20523

www.usaid.gov

720BHA21R00010

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:

G3PC Recruitment Team

E-Mail Address: [email protected]

Website: www.BHAjobs.net

Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to the G3PC Recruitment Team via the information provided above.

Sincerely,

Christie Savage

Contracting Officer

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I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA22R00010

2. ISSUANCE DATE: May 09, 2022

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: June 06, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

4. POINT OF CONTACT: G3PC Recruitment Team, [email protected] 5. POSITION TITLE: Innovation Team Lead

5. MARKET VALUE: $126,233 – $164,102 equivalent to GS-14 (eligible for locality pay) Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.

If the position is for a Washington based PSC, offerors who live outside the Washington, D.C. area will be considered for employment, but no relocation expenses will be reimbursed.

1. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years

2. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Washington, D.C.

3. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens

4. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.

5. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

POSITION DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance overseas in response to all types of international disasters, including slow-onset disasters such as droughts or famine, natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, or man-made disasters such as conflict or war. BHA is responsible for planning, coordinating, developing, achieving, monitoring, and evaluating international humanitarian assistance falling into two conceptual areas:

● Humanitarian Response activities comprise needs-based humanitarian assistance provided to save lives, alleviate suffering, and protect human dignity during and in the aftermath of emergencies. Humanitarian assistance is grounded in humanitarian principles and is directed toward the most vulnerable populations.

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● Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) activities will set the initial foundations for longer-term recovery as appropriate and will work in close conjunction with humanitarian assistance. Early recovery is an approach that supports communities impacted by crises to protect and restore basic systems and service delivery. Early recovery builds on humanitarian response efforts and establishes the initial foundations of long-term recovery. Early recovery activities are implemented for a specified, appropriate timeframe that assists populations recovering from an identifiable shock. Risk reduction is the prevention of new and reduction of existing disaster risk and management of residual risk, which contributes to strengthening resilience and to the achievement of sustainable development. Resilience is the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth.

BHA has seven offices, as follows:

The Bureau’s three geographic offices are: (1) Office of Africa; (2) Office of Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean; and (3) the Office of the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Each geographic office designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance for their respective regions, including assistance related to responding to, recovering from, and reducing the risk of man-made and natural disasters, while linking with other USAID investments that build resilience.

The Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs, and Communications (G3PC) shapes and influences USAID’s role within the international humanitarian system; leads engagement on a range of policy, programmatic, and operational issues; and positions the Agency to influence collective response to emergency needs across the globe.

The Office of Technical and Program Quality (TPQ) leads the Bureau’s efforts to provide high-quality programmatic and technical leadership, oversight, and guidance. In addition, TPQ leads the Bureau’s external engagement with academia and coordinates research to advance the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of humanitarian and multi-year programming.

The Office of Humanitarian Business and Management Operations (HBMO) is responsible for maintaining 24/7 operability by providing leadership, planning, quality assurance, technical expertise, and process management. HBMO ensures effective stewardship of the Bureau’s support services, including workforce planning, staffing, financial management, internal controls, facilities operations and infrastructure.

The Office of Field and Response Operations (FARO) leads and manages operational assistance and the purchase and delivery of goods and services in response to declared foreign disasters and international humanitarian needs in key functional areas, including supply-chain management, procurement, logistics, oversight, and operational coordination with the U.S. military.

INTRODUCTION

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The Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs, and Communication (G3PC) shapes and influences USAID’s role within the international humanitarian system; leads engagement on a range of policy, programmatic, and operational issues; and positions the Agency to influence collective response to emergency needs across the globe. The office is organized into seven divisions, namely, Humanitarian Policy and International Systems; Humanitarian Multilateral; Humanitarian Organizations and Partnerships; Private Sector Engagement, Diaspora, and Innovation; Global Capacity and Leadership Development; U.S. Engagement, Strategy, and Programs; and Strategic Communications and Humanitarian Information.

The Innovation Team Lead serves as an integral part of the Global Policy, Partnership, Programs and Communications (G3PC) Office and will closely coordinate with other USAID Bureaus and Offices on innovation. The position assists with implementing Agency innovation guidance. The Innovation Team Lead will report directly to the Private Sector Engagement, Diaspora and Innovation (PSEDI) Division Chief. This role requires significant interaction with the general public and U.S government (USG) offices, demanding strong diplomatic, facilitation and communication skills to accurately represent U.S. positions in a complex multilateral setting. The Innovation Team Lead will be required to be available for deployments possibly lasting up to 90 days or 30% of the year.

OBJECTIVE

USAID/BHA requires the services of an Innovation Team Lead to lead USAID/BHA’s efforts to support and find innovative solutions to humanitarian response efforts.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Innovation Team Lead leads the team that builds, strengthens, or disrupts existing methods and modalities for humanitarian assistance interventions, including response and ER4 programming. This includes, but is not limited to, addressing incomplete and siloed datasets, enhancing knowledge of the movement of goods and products, process innovation such as identifying innovative approaches to the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the assessment of needs in pre-, post-, and immediate disaster recovery phases. To accomplish this mission, the Innovation Team Lead will collaborate with colleagues throughout BHA in Washington D.C. and in regional and country offices. The Innovation Team Lead will also build strong relationships within USAID, engaging with relevant bureaus and offices which house initiatives focused on driving innovation. In addition, the incumbent must coordinate with other teams, divisions, offices, and bureaus, to build relationships across the broader USG interagency, to include the Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other relevant agencies. The incumbent will engage externally with the humanitarian donor community, including, but not limited to, donors, public international organizations, international finance institutions, the private sector, foundations, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

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The Innovation Team Lead supports innovation with all humanitarian actors, exploring new approaches to preparedness and more effective post-event response. He or she will provide input on innovative programming with USAID/BHA’s work and will

The Innovation Team Lead’s duties and responsibilities will include the following:

● Manage, supervise, and lead the Innovation Team.

● Oversee Innovation staff by assigning/balancing workloads, reviewing work products, addressing personnel issues, and any other management tasks as needed.

● Develop detailed strategic and operational plans for the Innovation Team. ● Serve as the lead coordinator for humanitarian innovation at USAID/BHA. ● Communicate and share best practices on innovation in the field of humanitarian assistance through compilation and sharing of lessons learned.

● Create innovation strategy and lead implementation planning that translates strategies into coherent portfolio level bodies of work. Collaborate with the BHA sector and geographic teams to design the process for strategy implementation planning; oversee development of materials to strengthen the strategy implementation planning process – e.g., analyses, project plans, meeting materials, ultimate implementation plan outputs; guide the strategy implementation planning process that is focused on enabling teams to uptake and staff program strategies and achieve impact.

● Design analytical work in support of strategy development and implementation planning; identify and design required analytical work; develop analytical methodology and analyze data to support decision-making – collating information required from literature and existing public databases on humanitarian assistance sectors.

● Identify and maintain awareness of internal prioritized innovation areas, external innovation trends, and potential partnerships.

● Develop sector-specific innovation platforms and strategies to encourage the integration of innovative approaches to humanitarian response across USAID’s global humanitarian portfolio.

● Conduct analyses in various humanitarian sectors to identify the evidence of gaps, priorities, and opportunities for innovation and research, including digital integration. Work in close collaboration with TPQ.

● Develop and conduct innovation training for USAID and BHA Washington and regionally and country-based humanitarian staff to become Humanitarian Innovation Champions. ● Serve as the lead coordinator for the Humanitarian Innovation Champions Network, holding quarterly convening calls, disseminating new findings, research, and thought pieces, and serving as the technical point of contact for fostering innovation at BHA.

● Liaise closely with other USAID bureaus to access innovation tools and resources and customize them, when possible, for a humanitarian response context. Provide input in USAID annual and special reporting and lessons learned on Agency humanitarian innovation projects.

● Work with other USAID stakeholders to ensure complementarity, including participation in sector or geographic focused innovation programs and projects as is timely and appropriate. ● Maintain working relationships with the United Nations (UN) and other donor countries to coordinate innovative disaster response activities. In close coordination with other teams

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within BHA, work with counterparts in other donor organizations to exchange information, establish meetings on specific issues, and contribute to publications. Collaborate to jointly advance the humanitarian sector’s effectiveness through innovation. Coordinate these activities with relevant USAID officers.

● Sustain a cooperative working relationship with relevant USG interagency offices and serve as a professional point of contact for these groups in the area of innovation, specifically related to humanitarian response and outreach.

● Anticipate the needs of the organization regarding developments in humanitarian innovation and prepare analyses, briefings, documents, and meetings as required.

● Organize and/or attend various meetings with innovative partners, NGOs, UN, other donors, and members of various diaspora communities, to provide authoritative information and views related to innovation opportunities.

● Represent USAID at meetings with the private sector, UN, international organizations, and other donors, and at other conferences sponsored by members of the international community. Provide guidance and advice on USG positions related to humanitarian innovation. Make recommendations to the appropriate officials in USAID.

● Sign-up for and serve as needed, on Washington-based RMTs, which provide services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will be varied. ● Serve as the USAID/BHA after-hours duty officer on a rotational basis, for approximately one week every six months.

● As needed, serve on DARTs, which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time.

● As needed, may serve on temporary details within the bureau. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities as well as directly related to the statement of duties provided.

● Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting Officer’s Representative (AOR/COR), and/or Activity Manager for Innovation programs/projects/activities awarded through the G3PC Office, or other activities as assigned, providing financial and programmatic oversight to ensure contracts and grants achieve anticipated results, and are linked to and enhance attainment of BHA and USG objectives. 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.

● Create, contribute to, and maintain a collaborative and effective team environment while setting the tone and example for open communication and regular coordination; a work environment conducive to mutual respect; clear expectations for performance; and clear delegations of roles, responsibilities, and authority.

● Mentor team members to build technical and other professional skills which meet the professional goals of staff and the needs of BHA.

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● Create a culture of civility and respect whereby both managers and employees are expected to behave professionally and always cultivate a harassment free work environment. ● Work with division and G3PC leadership to identify and address structural barriers to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in and across teams and divisions in the G3PC Office. Practice equitable supervision, task/project assignment, and leadership growth potential to all staff.

● Consistently model behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to fostering a non-hostile work environment free of discrimination, bias, unfairness, exclusion, offensive behaviors, and harassment of any kind.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:

The USPSC will take direction from and report to the PSEDI Division Chief or his/her designee.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:

Supervisor provides administrative directions in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. The USPSC independently plans, designs and carries out programs, projects, studies or other work. Results are considered authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change.

1. PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work is generally sedentary and does not pose undue physical demands. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits, there may be some additional physical exertion including long periods of standing, walking over rough terrain, or carrying of moderately heavy items (less than 50 pounds).

1. WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is primarily performed in an office setting. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits, the work may additionally involve special safety and/or security precautions, wearing of protective equipment, and exposure to severe weather conditions.

1. START DATE: Immediately, once necessary clearances are obtained. II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

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.)

High School Diploma, plus a minimum of eleven (11) years of progressively responsible professional experience, of which two (2) have been in, or working with, the innovation sector, and of which (1) year has been working in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, or international development.

OR

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Bachelor’s degree in any discipline, plus a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience, of which two (2) have been in, or working with, the innovation sector, and of which one (1) year has been working in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, or international development.

OR

Master’s degree in any discipline, plus a minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience, of which two (2) have been in, or working with, the innovation sector, and of which one (1) year has been working in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, or international development.

III. 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.

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)

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● Experience analyzing and synthesizing information, applying it to new and unfamiliar contexts, and developing priorities, solutions, and strategies to address issues and gaps. ● Experience working on public-private partnerships, or private sector development, entrepreneurship, economic development, impact investing, digital transformation, or innovation in the private sector, non-profit sector, or in the areas of humanitarian assistance or, development in fragile, crisis or conflict-affected contexts.

● Experience of working on hybrid and complex partnerships with a range of stakeholders in the private sector, the nonprofit sector, or the public sector. ● Experience leading, or managing, innovation or digital transformation initiatives, including budget management experience.

● Experience working with PIOs/NGOs on oversight or humanitarian programming interventions related to private sector engagement and innovation.

Interview Performance (50 points)

Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks (20 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 package.

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 future phase of the selection process. **