US Agency for International Development
SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA23R00057
ISSUANCE DATE: October 28, 2023
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: December 12, 2023, 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) is seeking offers from qualified persons to provide personal services under contract as described in this solicitation.
Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1 of this solicitation. Incomplete or unsigned offers will not be considered. Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records.
USAID will evaluate all offerors based on stated evaluation criteria. USAID encourages all individuals, including those from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, to respond to the solicitation.
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 Attachment 1. Sincerely,
Ousay Wahaj
Supervisory Contracting Officer
ATTACHMENT 1
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA23R00057
2. ISSUANCE DATE: October 28, 2023
3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 12, 2023, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
4. POINT OF CONTACT: Africa Recruitment Team, [email protected]
5. POSITION TITLE: Regional Humanitarian Program Officer/Senior Regional Humanitarian Program Officer
6. MARKET VALUE: $71,099 – $92,429 equivalent to GS-12 or $84,546 – $109,908 equivalent to GS-13 (not eligible for Locality Pay)
Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value and will include Locality Pay for domestic USPSCs based on the location of the Official USAID Worksite, or the approved alternative worksite if approved for remote work. USPSCs performing overseas are not entitled to Locality Pay.
This position can be filled at either the GS-12 ($71,099 – $92,429) or GS-13 ($84,546- $109,908) equivalent level, without locality.
Offerors who meet the minimum qualifications for a GS-13 will be considered for the GS-13 level positions. Offerors who meet the minimum qualifications for a GS-12 will be considered for the GS-12 level only.
Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.
7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
There may be an initial training program in Washington, D.C. for three months, which will include formal classroom training and on-the-job training; and may include security training. After completion of initial training, the Regional Humanitarian Program Officer/ Senior Regional Humanitarian Program Officer will be assigned to the place of performance.
Overseas USPSCs may be authorized to telework or remote work only from a location within the country of performance, in accordance with Mission policy. Telework or remote work from outside the country of performance may only be authorized in certain situations in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.
8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years, tentatively 145 day estimated start date from closing
9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens Only
10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret
(If there is a change in circumstances requiring access to National Security information classified at the Top-Secret level, the offeror may be asked to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.)
11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES
GENERAL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OF THE CONTRACT
The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce. BHA encourages qualified candidates of all races/ethnicities, genders, cultural backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses to apply. To fulfill its mandate, and to effectively respond to disasters worldwide, BHA has established six regional offices in the following locations: San Jose, Costa Rica; Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal; Pretoria, South Africa; Budapest, Hungary; and Bangkok, Thailand. BHA also has other, smaller sub-regional and program offices around the world. The Office of Africa (OA) designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance, 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. To achieve these objectives, humanitarian experts based overseas coordinate with local authorities and USAID Missions, while humanitarian experts based in Washington D.C. coordinate with USAID Regional and Pillar Bureaus. OA consists of five (5) geographic divisions: East Africa; Central Africa; Sudans; West Africa; and Southern Africa. These divisions are responsible for the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance through grants and cooperative agreements to non-governmental organizations (NGOs); international organizations (IOs) including United Nations (UN) agencies; and to other partners to ensure the implementation and delivery of this assistance. These divisions also oversee BHA Office of Africa’s nonresponse efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian transition.
BHA requires the services of a Regional Humanitarian Program Officer/Senior Regional Humanitarian Program Officer (RHPO/SRHPO), based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to ensure that BHA’s objectives for disaster assistance, DRR, resilience programming, strategic reporting, and interagency coordination for the region are met. The RHPO/SRHPO plays a major role in the OA’s effort to promote excellence in humanitarian assistance and meet BHA’s mandate to save lives, alleviate suffering, and reduce the social and economic impact of disasters.
STATEMENT OF DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED
Working under the guidance and supervision of the Team Leader or their designee, the RHPO/SRHPO supports the USAID/DRC Office of Humanitarian Assistance through the management of humanitarian assistance, resilience, and DRR activities in DRC, assisting with program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with partners in the humanitarian community. The RHPO/SRHPO will work closely with a program team that includes field-based Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Humanitarian Program Officers, and Program Management Specialists. This position requires effective daily coordination with several BHA staff members, as well as representatives from other USAID offices, Embassy staff, and the humanitarian community, and therefore requires a highly collaborative work style.
Specifically, the RHPO/SRHPO will be responsible for the following:
At the GS-12 Equivalent:
Contextual Specialty:
● Develop and maintain a specialized understanding of humanitarian developments across the region to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts.
● Develop and maintain knowledge of USAID and U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian priorities and strategies within the region, and BHA’s contributions and comparative advantages to those efforts.
● Develop strong understanding of country specific portfolio priorities across the region in humanitarian and resilience interventions.
● Provide regular reporting, through cables and other means, on issues related to the humanitarian situations within the region.
● Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, relevant current events, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.
● Develop fluency in BHA program systems and guidelines across sectors and streams of funding within the region.
Portfolio Management:
● Work with BHA’s DRC-based program staff to develop program strategies for emergency response, early recovery, resilience, and DRR activities within the region, overseeing day-to-day management of portfolio and its budgets.
● Support team members in assessing emergency response, early recovery, resilience, and DRR needs in the region in order to ensure that BHA’s programs are appropriately responsive.
● Assist Washington-based Agreement Officer’s Representatives (AOR) in managing and monitoring humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives.
● Provide guidance on USAID and USG regulations and policies.
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● Participate in USAID/DRC discussions in technical areas to ensure complementarity and help to leverage BHA funding for longer-term sustainability, specifically focusing on complementarity outside of DRC and throughout the region.
● Assist in other related humanitarian award management and response activities that are outside of immediate day-to-day areas of responsibility, as needed.
● Travel as permitted to support team efforts to assess, evaluate and monitor humanitarian conditions in the assigned portfolio, to support the management of portfolios, and to make strategic recommendations for appropriate interventions.
Representation:
● Support the regional team in maintaining relations with senior leadership in the humanitarian community through regular coordination and collaboration with BHA, relevant USG staff, and the humanitarian community.
● Assist the regional team to coordinate with the donor community on policy issues affecting humanitarian operations, and develop 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.
● Prepare briefing papers, notes, and presentations on BHA programming for official USG visitors interested in humanitarian issues.
● Represent BHA to various stakeholders and audiences, as requested.
Leadership:
● Serve as 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 program team members in the Sudans, East, and Central Africa Regional Office (SECARO), and Washington, DC office, 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.
● Participate in technical evaluation committees for staffing and programming, as requested.
● Participate in both field led and Washington based working groups and committees, as requested.
General Duties:
● 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 the 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.
● May be requested to be on-call or serve, on Washington-based Response Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary.
● May serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time. 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). 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.
● In times of emergency humanitarian assistance, the PSC will serve on temporary details within the bureau. Duties performed while on detail will correspond to the level and market value for the position and the work specified to be performed in the Statement of Duties.
● 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.
● Engage in at least one workforce diversity initiative/activity focused on helping to improve the organizational culture. Attend and actively participate in diversity and harassment training opportunities, brown bag sessions or focus group discussions.
● Lead/foster a collaborative, respectful, and professional work environment by demonstrating partnership and teamwork to accomplish team, office, and bureau objectives.
At the GS-13 Equivalent:
The GS-13 level includes everything in the GS-12 level described above, in addition to the duties listed below:
Contextual Specialty:
● Develop and maintain a specialized understanding of humanitarian developments across the country to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts and apply those to program strategy development and implementation.
● Provide input in the preparation of, regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on DRC.
Portfolio Management:
● Lead BHA’s DRC-based program staff in the development of program strategies for emergency response, resilience, and DRR activities in DRC, overseeing day-to-day management of the portfolio and the program budget. Serve as the principal point of contact for BHA programming in DRC implemented by NGO, UN, and PIO partners.
● Coordinate closely with both field and headquarters-based components of BHA’s Regional Team and maintain regular contact with concerned staff in Kinshasa, USAID/DRC, and US Embassy.
● Assess needs for remote monitoring when necessary; advise appropriate remote monitoring approaches and tools; review appropriate and relevant reports.
● In consultation with the Office of Technical and Program Quality, review and analyze partner reports, including quantitative and qualitative data, to assess program performance; discern lessons learned, and make recommendations for improved outcomes.
● Assist Washington-based AORs in managing and monitoring humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives. Ensure that there are regularly scheduled review meetings with partners and an up-to-date travel plan for the team.
● Guide implementing partners and humanitarian organizations in developing applications based on BHA’s Emergency Application Guidelines. Review concept papers and applications and provide timely recommendations to BHA/Washington. Provide guidance on USAID award regulations and policies.
Representation:
● Support BHA Country Team Lead in maintaining relations with senior leadership in the humanitarian community. This will include but is not limited to UN agencies, IOs, NGOs, USG personnel, donors, and host government authorities.
● Provide overviews of patterns and trends in the humanitarian situation and keep the BHA Team Lead, and other staff current on response issues. Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, general atmospherics, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.
● Ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA/Washington and SECARO on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.
Leadership:
● Advise and oversee team mentorship opportunities. Help foster team collaboration on grants and portfolio management, to include BHA’s business process, portfolio-specific budget and workload management, and post-award monitoring and management.
● Offer direct advice along with additional technical support from program team members in Kinshasa, Bangui, Nairobi, and Washington, DC, the 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.
● The RHPO/SRHPO does not have supervisory responsibilities; however, the PSC may serve in an acting leadership role within the bureau in order to meet short-term staffing needs, not to exceed 120 days in a 12-month contract year.
SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the Team Leader in the DRC or their designee in DRC.
SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
At the GS-12 equivalent:
The supervisor sets overall objectives and resources available and works with the USPSC to develop deadlines, work to be done; the USPSC is responsible for planning and carrying out assignments, coordinating with others and interpreting policy in terms of established objectives. May also determine the approach to be taken and the methodology to be used, keeping supervisor informed of progress.
At the GS-13 equivalent:
Supervisor sets overall objectives and resources available; the USPSC consults with the supervisor to develop deadlines, projects, and work to be done. The USPSC is responsible for planning and carrying out assignments. The USPSC is responsible for planning approaches or methodology to be used in carrying out assignments.
12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.
Qualifications
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.)
At the GS-12 equivalent:
Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and at least five (5) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing/ evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.
OR
Master’s degree in any discipline and at least four (4) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.
At the GS-13 equivalent:
Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and at least seven (7) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.
OR
Master’s degree in any discipline and at least five (5) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.
How to apply
SUBMITTING AN OFFER
Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2, “Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.
- Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section I.
- Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.
- 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 for which you are applying. 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.
Additional documents submitted will not be accepted.
By submitting your offer materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the offer is true, correct, complete, and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on and attached to the offer to be investigated. False or fraudulent information on or attached to your offer may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position, or being terminated after award, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment.
To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your offer, and as the subject line in any email.
NOTE: If the full security application package is not submitted within 30 days after the Office of Security determines eligibility, the offer may be rescinded. If a Secret security clearance is not obtained within nine months after offer acceptance, the offer may be rescinded. If Top Secret is required, and clearance is not obtained within nine months after award, USAID may terminate the contract at the convenience of the government. If Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access is not obtained within nine months after Top Secret clearance is granted, USAID may terminate the contract at the convenience of the government.
NOTE: If the full medical clearance package is not submitted within two months after offer acceptance, the offer may be rescinded. If a Department of State medical clearance is not obtained; the offer may be rescinded.
NOTE REGARDING GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS FOR THIS SOLICITATION: 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.