USPSC Regional Humanitarian Advisor At US Agency for International Development

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA23R00031

ISSUANCE DATE: May 3, 2023
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: June 14, 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
Office of Acquisition & Assistance
(M/OAA/BHA-CPS/PSC)

The RHA will be responsible for regional program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with relief agencies, other donors, and U.S. Government (USG) interagency partners, as well as reporting to BHA’s WARO in Dakar, Senegal and BHA/Washington D.C. The RHA will maintain close coordination and collaboration with USAID and Embassy staff across the affected region and in the relevant regional offices.

This position requires substantial coordination with representatives from other USAID offices, the U.S. Embassy, other USG agencies, host country governments, U.S. military representatives, as well as with relevant donor representatives, UN agencies and NGOs, therefore requiring a highly collaborative work style. The RHA must be prepared to function effectively in a country context prone to violence and insecurity, with limited mobility outside of USG facilities, and be willing to strictly adhere to U.S. Embassy security guidelines. This position requires frequent travel (estimated up to 35% but could be more), and the willingness to deploy within the region for at least one month or more annually on sudden-onset emergency responses.

Working directly under the guidance and supervision of the Regional Director or their designee, the RHA will work in close collaboration with and may supervise a team that includes other RHAs, Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Humanitarian Program Officers, Technical Specialists, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Advisors, Regional Team Leaders, Humanitarian Assistance Officers, Program Assistants, Foreign Service Nationals, and others depending on the work assigned.

Specifically, the RHA will be responsible for the following:

Contextual Specialty:

Serve as an expert on humanitarian and resilience issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities in the region of responsibility related to DRR, innovation, private sector engagement, and other cross-cutting humanitarian issues.
Provide expert guidance on political, humanitarian, organizational, structural, and stakeholder interests specific to the region of responsibility.
Identify opportunities to expand support across the region to cross cutting issues that bring together humanitarian, resilience, and recovery programming, while working closely with humanitarian structures to support opportunities for cooperation between humanitarian and development portfolios.
Prepare and/or provide substantive guidance in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on assigned countries.

Portfolio Management:

Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of BHA’s program strategy and the implementation of the resulting grants and contracts in geographic or thematic areas of responsibility.
Guide regional team efforts to develop appropriate programmatic strategies for disaster responses and DRR efforts in the area of responsibility.
Support growth opportunities across the geographic areas of responsibility in areas such as innovation and private sector engagement, and regularly identify linkages within USAID Missions for this work.
Review grant applications for conceptual soundness, technical feasibility, and alignment with budget constraints for disaster assistance/emergency activities, resilience programming, and recovery.
Identify opportunities for multi-year programs to respond to Agency priorities across the humanitarian to development spectrum, including supporting the design and review of applications for this kind of programming.
Lead/conduct initial assessments to identify humanitarian needs and/or DRR opportunities in current disaster contexts or locations with high vulnerability.
Support the development of more holistic DRR and resilience strategies across the region, working with teams to identify opportunities for integration of this programming.
Monitor ongoing humanitarian response and DRR activities to validate that objectives are met and beneficiaries are served.
Lead the development of a regional strategy to address key issues such as emergency response, DRR, and/or resilience, and update these strategies as necessary.
Support knowledge sharing and the maximization of technical expertise across the region, including MEAL support to portfolios.
Re-assess implementation approaches and strategies on an ongoing basis and make recommendations for appropriate shifts in approach or resource allocation.
Participate in the development of field-based recommendations on difficult resource and programmatic trade-offs within the region.

Representation:

Develop and maintain relationships with representatives of host governments, donor governments, IOs, NGOs, U.S. embassies, and USAID missions to ensure efficient and coordinated humanitarian response and DRR activities.
Represent USAID in joint efforts to design, develop, and implement humanitarian, DRR, and/or resilience strategies and intervention with local governments, donor, partner, and UN organizations, as appropriate.
Advise regional officials, including host country authorities and other USAID officials on disaster response, mitigation, and risk reduction efforts, including the review of sector disaster response and DRR plans.
Work with local and regional institutions and private/public sector organizations to incorporate DRR into appropriate programs.

Leadership:

Support regional team efforts to develop current and future strategic direction for the regional office to include programmatic, liaison and representational prioritization, and human and financial resource requirements.
Participate in a leadership role in office-wide policy initiatives to ensure field perspectives are well-represented.
Serve as a peer-mentor for program staff working to increase exposure and experience in field-based humanitarian, DRR, and resilience operations.
Lead an ethnically and culturally diverse team of program, technical and/or administrative staff.
The Regional Humanitarian Advisor 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.

General Duties:

Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting Officer’s Representative (AOR/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, monthly 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 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 Federal Acquisition Regulation, 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/sign up for and 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.
May serve on temporary detail within the Bureau to meet operational needs during staff shortages. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the statement of details provided.
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.
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.

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 in any discipline and at least nine (9) 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 three (3) years of cumulative experience in international humanitarian assistance in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

Master’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 three (3) years of cumulative experience in international humanitarian assistance, emergency management and relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation or recovery, or resilience.

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.

The technical evaluation committee may conduct reference checks, including references from individuals who have not been specifically identified by the offeror, and may do so before or after a candidate is interviewed.

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 section IV 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 may be accepted.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance. 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.
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 evaluation of writing tests will also take into consideration the quality of written responses. Aspects of written responses including, but not limited to typos, grammatical errors, spelling errors, and incomplete sentences will be factored into the evaluation process. The rating factors are as follows:

MATRIX (30 points)

Professional Experience (12 points)

Experience working with a donor or grant making organization.
Experience managing needs assessments.
Experience with budget development or management.
Experience leading or participating in strategy development.
Experience with program design or monitoring or evaluating programs.
Experience managing programs that focus on emergency response or DRR programming.

Skills and Abilities (8 points)

Experience working with host or local governments on the planning and implementation of humanitarian or development interventions.
Demonstrated experience working with donor organizations or diplomatic missions.
Demonstrated experience working with international or national non-governmental partners at senior levels.
Demonstrated experience delivering oral presentations or engaging with senior officials within a large organization on humanitarian issues.

Leading Teams Experience (10 points)

Experience mentoring and training staff.
Experience with team performance management, including developing or monitoring employee training plans, providing formal or informal feedback through performance evaluations, and ensuring adequate staffing of a team.
Experience managing teams that include program, technical, and administrative staff.

Interview Performance (50 points)

Timed Writing Test (10 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.