SOLICITATION NUMBER:              720BHA22R00015

ISSUANCE DATE:                            April 14, 2022

CLOSING DATE AND TIME:           May 12, 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 Africa (OA), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal service as a Humanitarian Program Officer (HPO) 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:
   • Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hoursworked 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.
   • Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
   • Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-relatedskills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments. Failure to identify an academic discipline will result in disqualification.
   • S. Citizenship
   • 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

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:

Africa Recruitment Team

E-Mail Address: BHA.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov Website: www.BHAjobs.net

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

Sincerely,

Sonja Stroud-Gooden

Contracting Officer

I.  GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA22R00015
2. ISSUANCE DATE: April 14, 2022
3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: May 12, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
4. POINT OF CONTACT: Africa Recruitment Team, AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov
5. POSITION TITLE: Humanitarian Program Officer
6. MARKET VALUE: $68,299 - $88,792 equivalent to GS-12 (not eligible for locality pay)

Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.

1. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years
2. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Abuja, Nigeria

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 Washington training, Humanitarian Program Officer will be assigned to the place of perform

1. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens
2. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
3. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

POSITION DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The United States Agency for Inter

Assistance (BHA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance overseas in response to all types of international disasters, including slowonset disasters such as droughts or famine, natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, or manmade 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.

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:

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

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 highquality programmatic and technical leadership, oversight, and guidance. In addition, TPQ leads rch 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.

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

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.

The Office of Africa designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance, including assistance related to responding to, recovering from, and reducing the risk of human-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 coordinate with USAID Regional and Pillar Bureaus. The Office of Africa 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

risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian transition.

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 channels its assistance globally through smaller sub-regional and program offices and is also present in bilateral Missions, such as USAID/Nigeria.

the social and economic impact of disasters.  Under the guidance of the BHA/Nigeria Office Director, the HPO supports the coordination and management of BHA disaster response, preparedness, mitigation, and training programs in the region of responsibility. The HPO will

for Nigeria are met.

OBJECTIVE

BHA requires the services of an HPO for the West Africa Region, based in Abuja, Nigeria, to programming, strategic reporting, and interagency coordination for Nigeria are met.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Working under the guidance and supervision of the Office Director or his/her/their designee, the HPO supports the BHA/Nigeria Office through the management of humanitarian, resilience, and DRR activities in Nigeria, assisting with program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with partners in the humanitarian community.  The HPO will work closely with a program team

that may include field-based Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Senior Regional 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. The HPO will perform the following, as well as other tasks outlined by the supervisor:

Contextual Specialty:

Develop a baseline understanding of the humanitarian context in Nigeria and monitor changes to the context, including political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts.

Develop and maintain knowledge of USG foreign policy priorities humanitarian and development strategies and objectives, including priority sectors, geographic areas of focus, and key humanitarian stakeholders.

Provide regular reporting, through cables and other means, on issues related to the humanitarian situations in Nigeria.

Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, relevant current events, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.

Portfolio Management:

-based Nigeria Team and BHA West Africa Regional Office

in Dakar to develop program strategies for emergency response, resilience, and DRR activities in Nigeria, overseeing day-to-day management of the portfolio and its budgets.

Support team members in assessing emergency response, resilience, and DRR needs in

 

Travel, as permitted, to assess, evaluate and monitor humanitarian conditions in Nigeria, and make strategic recommendations for appropriate and relevant response activities.

Assist Washingtonmonitoring humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives.

Provide guidance on regulations and policies.

Assist in humanitarian activities outside of immediate areas of responsibility, as needed.

Representation:

Attend meetings on behalf of the BHA Country Team, USAID, or US Embassy and report back to the Country Team on relevant issues and updates.

Assist Country Team coordination  with the donor community on policy issues affecting humanitarian operations, and developing 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 with various audiences, as requested.

 

Leadership:

Serve as a peer mentor to team members on grants and portfolio management, to include usiness process, portfolio-specific budget and workload management, and post-

award monitoring and management.

In close coordination with program team members in Abuja, Dakar, and Washington, DC, work with NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies that are developing proposals for BHA (including

 

Participate in office-wide discussions on initiatives that impact program implementation to provide field-based perspectives, as assigned.

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.

General Duties:

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 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 as needed on Washington-based Response Management Teams or in other international locations on Disaster Assistance Response Teams.

As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the Bureau to meet operational needs during staff shortages, not to exceed six months. Duties performed while on detail will be the scope of work provided.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:

The USPSC will take direction from and will report directly to the Country Office Director or his/her/their designee.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:

The 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.

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.)

have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant work

experience with a humanitarian or development focus and include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, and managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative experience in international or domestic humanitarian or development assistance, emergency management or relief, disaster risk reduction, post-emergency rehabilitation or recovery, or resilience.

OR

1. Must have a minimum of four (4) years of relevant work

experience with a humanitarian or development focus and include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, and managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative experience in international or domestic humanitarian or development assistance, emergency management or relief, disaster risk reduction, post-emergency rehabilitation or recovery, or resilience.

AND

Offeror is a U.S. Citizen.

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

Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.

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 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)

At least six months of experience working in a grantmaking organization

At least six months of experience working for a humanitarian or development donor organization.

One year of experience supporting or directly implementing humanitarian or resilience programming

Experience designing strategies or programs

Experience developing or reviewing proposals

Experience monitoring or evaluating programs

 

Experience drafting or editing documents.

Interview Performance (40 points)

Timed Writing Test (20 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 the 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 phases of the selection process.

IV.  SUBMITTING AN OFFER

Offers must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter.

Qualified individuals are required to submit:

1. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:
   • 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.
   • Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
   • 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.

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.

DOCUMENT SUBMITTALS

Via email: BHA.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov