SOLICITATION NUMBER: 7200AA24R00029

ISSUANCE DATE: March 5, 2024

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: April 19, 2024, 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,

JOY ANITA BURRISS  (affiliate)

Joy Burriss

Contracting Officer

Digitally signed by JOY ANITA  BURRISS (affiliate)

Date: 2024.03.05 11:32:16 -05'00'

Office of Acquisition & Assistance

(M/OAA/BHA-CPS/PSC)

 

ATTACHMENT 1 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 7200AA24R00029

2. ISSUANCE DATE: March 5, 2024

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: April 19, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Africa Recruitment Team, BHA.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Regional Humanitarian Advisor

6. MARKET VALUE: $104,604 - $135,987 equivalent to GS-14 (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.

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

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Nairobi, Kenya 

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 Advisor 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 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) works to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the impact of disasters by helping people in need become more self-reliant. BHA is responsible for planning, coordinating, developing, achieving, monitoring, and evaluating international humanitarian assistance falling into two conceptual areas: 1) Humanitarian Response during emergencies and 2) Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience activities to address longer-term recovery after emergencies. You can learn more about BHA on our website.

The Office of Africa (OA) assesses, designs, and provides humanitarian assistance to partners and communities responding to, recovering from, and reducing the risk of natural disasters and complex emergencies, 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. The Office of Africa in Washington consists of five (5) geographic divisions: East Africa; Central Africa; Sudans; West Africa; and Southern Africa, as well as a Management and Integration Team (MIT) that is responsible for supporting the management needs of the office and ensuring integration of policies and practices between OA and the rest of BHA. Overseas, OA has three (3) Regional Offices: Regional Office Southern Africa (ROSA), West Africa Regional Office (WARO), Sudans, East, and Central Africa Regional Office (SECARO), which support our bilateral teams in various missions through Africa. These teams 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 teams also oversee BHA Office of Africa’s nonresponse efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian transition.

BHA’s DIVERSITY PHILOSOPHY 

Your Uniqueness is Welcome Here!

It takes talented people with unique experiences to provide the best humanitarian aid possible. We are committed to having a workforce that reflects the global communities we serve. We strive to create an inclusive workplace, where everyone brings their authentic selves to work. We invite you to join us in providing humanitarian assistance to save lives and alleviate the suffering around the world.

STATEMENT OF DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED

The Regional Humanitarian Advisor (RHA) will be responsible for regional program analysis and strategy development for BHA’s Sudans, East, and Central Africa Regional Office (SECARO) in Nairobi, Kenya. The RHA will maintain close coordination and collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, U.S. military representatives, and other United States Government (USG) interagency partners, other donors, government officials, IOs, NGOs, and the UN, in responding to humanitarian needs and sudden-onset disasters across the affected region and in relevant regional offices. Because of the substantial coordination requirements of this position, an individual with a highly collaborative work style is necessary. The RHA must be prepared to function effectively in a challenging and restrictive work environment and be willing to strictly adhere to the U.S. Embassy security guidelines. Working directly under the guidance and supervision of the Regional Office Director or their designee, the RHA will work in close collaboration with a team that may include 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.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

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.

● 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 country, issue, or DRR and/or resilience specific strategies across the region of responsibility, as well as timely revision of these strategies as contextual realities shift.

● Support knowledge sharing and the maximization of technical expertise across the region, including MEAL support to portfolios.

● 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 in-country 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, donors, partners, 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 overseas perspectives are well-represented.

● Serve as a peer-mentor for program staff working to increase exposure and experience in overseas and in-country humanitarian, DRR, and resilience operations.

● As needed, lead an ethnically and culturally diverse team of program, technical, and/or administrative staff.

● The RHA 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:

● This position is expected to be able to qualify, train for, and routinely serve on disaster/humanitarian responses in Washington D.C. or in/near the affected area for 4 to 6 weeks (or more) intervals. These can either be Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) and/or Response Management Teams (RMTs). DARTs are deployed overseas in response to disasters, providing staff an opportunity to operate overseas for an extended period of time (e.g., 6-8 weeks). RMTs are based in Washington, D.C. and provide services to support DARTs, such as coordination and external engagement, communications, planning, logistics, travel coordination, or other similar duties (depending on the RMT role).

● As needed, may serve on temporary short-term assignments (“detail”) on other teams within the office or bureau to meet operational needs during staff shortages. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the position’s scope of work. This position requires up to 40% travel.

● As needed, staff is expected to support BHA’s hiring efforts and serve on PSC hiring committees. Training will be provided.

● The PSC may be expected to obtain an Agreement Officer's Representative (AOR) or Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) certification. The AOR/COR oversees agreements and/or contracts. This includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, monthly status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, financial/budget reports, contractor performance evaluations, and compliance. More information about the AOR/COR responsibilities and related requirements can be found in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter. In the event that this role requires an AOR/COR certification, mandatory training will be provided.

● 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.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP: 

The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the BHA Nairobi-based Regional Office Director for SECARO or his/her/their designee.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: 

The supervisor provides administrative direction in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. USPSC independently plans, designs, and carries out projects, studies, and programs. Results of the work are considered technically authoritative. There is no higher level official technically responsible for administering the program/project.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

The work requested is primarily sedentary and does not involve undue physical demands. Work is primarily performed in an office setting.

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). 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.

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.)

● A High School Diploma or its equivalent with at least ten (10) years of experience in any combination of general experience with humanitarian or development focus and responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing and evaluating programs.

● A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with at least six (6) years of experience in any combination of general experience with humanitarian or development focus and responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing and evaluating programs.

OR

● A Master's degree in any discipline with at least four (4) years of experience in any combination of general experience with humanitarian or development focus and responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing and evaluating programs.

AND

Specialized Experience

● International experience managing, supporting, or directly implementing humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

● Experience with program management and design.

● Experience leading, facilitating meetings, or representing teams at official functions.

Application instructions

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.

1. 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.
2. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.
3. 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.