SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA21R00091

ISSUANCE DATE: February 3, 2022
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: November 2, 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)) Technical and Program Quality (TPQ), is seeking offers from qualified
U.S. citizens to provide personal service as a Humanitarian Protection Advisor 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. 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. 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.

2. 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.

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:

TPQ Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: BHA.TPQRecruitment@usaid.gov

Website: www.BHAjobs.net

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

Sincerely,
Digitally signed by Sonja Stroud­-Gooden
Date: 2022.02.01
14:03:15-05'00'
Sonja Stroud-Gooden Contracting Officer

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA21R00091

2. ISSUANCE DATE: February 3, 2022

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: November 2, 2022, 12:00
P.M. Eastern Time

This solicitation is open and continuous until October 26, 2022. The following are the closing dates for each review period:

February 25, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
June 2, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
November 2, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

Offerors not selected during a previous review period must reapply in order to be considered for positions available in subsequent review periods. A review period may be cancelled at HBMO's discretion.

4. POINT OF CONTACT: TPQ Recruitment Team, BHA.TPQRecruitment@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Humanitarian Protection Advisor (Multiple Positions)

6. MARKET VALUE: $106,823 - $138,868 equivalent to GS-13 (includes 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.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years

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

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens

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

11. 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.

• 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

The Office of Technical and Program Quality (TPQ) leads the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance's (BHA) efforts to ensure high quality programmatic and technical leadership, oversight, and guidance. TPQ captures, applies, and strengthens the capacity in technical best practices and contextually appropriate programmatic approaches focused on all dimensions of BHA programming from humanitarian response and transition into longer-term resilience programming, as well as risk analysis and early warning. TPQ is responsible for providing policy, normative guidance, tools, facilitation, and capacity building to assist the Bureau in achieving optimal humanitarian outcomes through strategic design, consistent and effective performance monitoring, comprehensive and appropriate evaluation, and purposeful learning across the full spectrum of BHA responses and programming. The Office promotes USAID's humanitarian voice through active participation and technical leadership in interagency and global fora, including leading the Bureau's technical engagement with academia and thought leaders. TPQ designs, supports, and coordinates research to advance the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of BHA programming. TPQ leads BHA in meeting the increasing demand for technical support and guidance in all facets of the Bureau's work as the geographic and topical areas of coverage expand, and as the Bureau seeks increased technical and programmatic standardization, integration, and oversight to meet Agency, Congressional, and other demands.

The Protection and Community Capacities Division (PCC) ensures that protection, gender, youth, age, and social inclusion are effectively and systematically considered and applied to all dimensions of BHA programming. The combined approaches of PCC ensure that the protection of vulnerable populations affected by crises is central to BHA strategies, responses, and programs through systematic provision of life-saving protection services, and that efforts to mitigate the risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation are integrated across all BHA's programs. PCC ensures the application of humanitarian protection principles, accountability to affected populations (APP), and the promotion of gender, age, and social inclusion to ensure meaningful access and safety to the most vulnerable groups strengthens the overall impact of BHA programming. PCC provides evidence-based technical leadership, guidance, and capacity building support, including related to child protection (CP), psychosocial support (PSS), prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV); as well as gender equality and women's empowerment, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), social inclusion, and APP.

BHA has prioritized protection in all its humanitarian response programming. As part of BHA's PCC, the Protection Team provides expert technical and strategic guidance related to humanitarian protection, including prevention and response to GBV, CP, and/or PSS, to BHA's regional teams, policy teams, and senior leadership. The Protection Team guides and communicates the Bureau's policy on protection issues; provides expert technical guidance on standalone protection programming, such as providing services for CP, PSS, prevention of and response to GBV, and/or coordination of and advocacy for protection activities. As well as other protection issues to regional teams and serves as a leading voice in the interagency advocating for humanitarian protection principles and priorities. The Protection Team comprises a Team Lead, Humanitarian Protection Advisors, and Support Relief Group staff.

OBJECTIVE

BHA requires the services of a Humanitarian Protection Advisor based in the Protection Team to enhance its capability to ensure humanitarian protection principles and best practices incorporated throughout BHA's responses and the programs it funds. The Humanitarian Protection Advisor will accomplish this by providing expert technical guidance on humanitarian protection programming and issues; representing the team in external and interagency fora; and providing leadership and support on the policy reporting requirements of the Protection Team. The Humanitarian Protection Advisor will provide specific guidance on issues including GBV prevention and response, CP, PSS, mine action, and/or HLP to ensure that humanitarian protection principles and practices are communicated effectively and incorporated into policies throughout USAID, the interagency, and the donor community. The Humanitarian Protection Advisor will be a full-time permanent staff member dedicated to the Protection Team based in Washington, D.C.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as an expert source of information and analysis of humanitarian protection issues for BHA. Provide expert technical recommendations on all issues related to humanitarian protection, particularly GBV prevention and response, CP, PSS, and general protection.
• Serve as the primary Humanitarian Protection Advisor on-call for the Response Unit readiness roster.
• Help coordinate with BHA Policy and regional teams on development and implementation of articulate policies, positions, and communications materials on protection issues for BHA and USAID in general.
• Prepare TPQ senior management and BHA senior leadership, when necessary, to speak on protection issues before United Nations (UN) bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Congress, other parts of the USG, and media.
• Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with UN agencies, NGOs, coordination bodies, and relevant USG offices.

• Respond to relevant congressional and public inquiries and speak to various visiting groups about protection issues impacting crisis-affected populations.
• Represent BHA's progress on protection issues in written and oral presentations through participation in weekly and monthly protection technical working groups related to USG and USAlD policies and commitments on protection.
• Serve as the primary point of contact to address regular reporting demands for the Protection Team as well as in support of the Division.
• Coordinate division-wide input to all taskers received by the Protection team, including refining technical input from sub-sector specialists to adhere to the USAID and USG style guides and reflect latest leadership guidance on key policies.
• Coordinate with BHA colleagues to develop internal protection policies, strategies, and program standards.
• Articulate relevant protection policies to personnel within BHA, USAID, and to other USG agencies, donors, and implementing partners by participating in conferences, speaking engagements, global cluster meetings, and field visits.
• Coordinate with the State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration regarding the development of strategies addressing protection of disaster-affected populations, particularly GBV, Mental Health and PSS, and CP.
• Increase the capacity of BHA staff to understand protection principles, best practices and international humanitarian law related to protection, PSEA, other cross cutting issues, and appropriate humanitarian protection interventions through contributing to the BHA protection training.
• Deliver portions of the humanitarian protection training.
• Contribute to the periodic revision of the training curriculum.

General Duties:

• As needed and within USAID guidelines, travel to monitor the program portfolio, to participate in strategy development, and to assist in office coverage.
• Sign up for and serve as needed 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.
• Serve as the 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 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 scope of work provided.

• 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, 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 set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the Protection Team Lead or their designee.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
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 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).

13. 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.

14. 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.)

Bachelor's degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field, including but not limited to: social services, international relations, human rights, humanitarian affairs, public health, gender studies, disaster management, or a related field plus a minimum of five (5) years of experience working on humanitarian protection, gender, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Child Protection (CP), Gender-based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, or Psychosocial Support (PSS) issues. Two (2) years of the relevant experience must be directly related to advising, assessing, designing, monitoring, managing, implementing, or evaluating humanitarian protection, CP, GBV prevention and response, and PSS programming in fragile or disaster-affected contexts.

OR

Master's degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field, including but not limited to: social services, international relations, human rights, humanitarian affairs, public health, gender studies, disaster management, or a related field plus a minimum of three (3) years of experience working on humanitarian protection, gender, Accountability to Affected Populations, (AAP), Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Child Protection (CP), Gender-based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, and Psychosocial Support (PSS) issues. One (1) year of the relevant experience must be directly related to advising, assessing, designing, monitoring, managing, implementing, or evaluating humanitarian protection, CP, GBV, prevention and response, and PSS programming in fragile or disaster-affected contexts.

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 prov1s10ns 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 (15 points)

Professional Experience (9 points)
• Field experience in at least one of the following areas: advising, assessing, designing, managing programs in humanitarian protection, CP, prevention and response to GBV, or PSS in a humanitarian response.
• Experience in policy or advocacy related to humanitarian protection issues.
• Experience representing an organization in humanitarian coordinating units or bodies or at meetings with high-ranking officials at the national or international levels in at least one of the following areas: humanitarian protection, CP, prevention and response to GBV, or PSS.

Communication (4 points)
• Experience communicating complex or sensitive protection-related issues both written and oral to internal or external stakeholders.

Teamwork (2 points)
• Experience working with teams in a high stress or constrained environment
• Experience working on a humanitarian team.

Interview Performance (50 points) Timed Writing Test (15 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. The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) rating sheet will be developed and submitted to the Office of Acquisitions and Assistance (OAA) for review as part of a complete offeror rating system 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 the future phase 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:

(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. 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.

2. 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.TPQRecruitment@usaid.gov