SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA22R00036

ISSUANCE DATE: May 10, 2022
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: February 28, 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) Office of Field and Response Operations (FARO), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal service as a serve as the Safety and Security Specialist 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

U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523
www.usaid.gov

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:

FARO Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: BHA.FARORecruitment@usaid.gov

Website: www.BHAjobs.net

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

Sincerely,

Digitally signed by Sonja Stroud- Gooden
Date: 2022.05.05
14:30:30 -04'00'
Sonja Stroud-Gooden Contracting Officer

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA22R00036

2. ISSUANCE DATE: May 10, 2022

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: February 28, 2023, 12:00
P.M. Eastern Time

This solicitation is open and continuous until February 28, 2023. The following are the closing dates for each review period:

June 07, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
October 31, 2022, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
February 28, 2023, 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 canceled at HBMO’s discretion.

4. POINT OF CONTACT: FARO Recruitment Team, BHA.FARORecruitment@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Safety and Security Specialist

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

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

Safety and security are vital to humanitarian programming and field operations. As part of the Field Operations Division, the core function of the Humanitarian Access Safety and Security Team (HASST) is to provide technical expertise and operational support to BHA’s decision makers and staff. The HASST achieves this through:
1. Providing multi-tiered engagement and assistance to support safety and security capacity- building within the humanitarian community;
2. Serving as technical advisor to fulfill BHA’s commitment to fostering a culture of effective safety and security risk management through innovative and appropriate safety and security management solutions;
3. Empowering staff to make responsible decisions through the provision of training, analysis, and other support appropriate to the complex security environments in which we operate; and
4. Developing innovative tools and systems that enable BHA’s mission and field work.

The HASST is comprised of a Team Lead and six Safety and Security Specialists (SSS). This position will directly support core team functions; engaging in capacity building activities and assisting with the administration of the grant portfolio; providing input during policy formulation; giving technical advice and guidance as needed to all levels of decision makers to understand risk management considerations and the nature of the threat environment; participate in the provision of training to BHA staff; and address security challenges at both operational and systemic levels to accomplish the humanitarian mission.

OBJECTIVE

FARO/Field Operations Division requires the services of SSS in order to maintain its capability to manage the increasingly complex safety and security portfolio related to HASST’s global engagement with humanitarian safety and security organizations and BHA field deployments.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The SSS will be responsible for providing support to various operational and policy aspects of the SSU portfolio.

The SSS will provide support on various operational and policy aspects of the HASST portfolio and will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

● Monitoring security situations in countries and regions in which BHA has, or may have, staff, and be able to identify current and future risks to BHA staff and humanitarian programs.

● Work with BHA’s geographic offices and regional teams, both at headquarters and in the field, to coordinate and track the activities of BHA staff as they relate to security.
● Provide general and country-specific security guidance and briefings to BHA staff, as needed.
● Assist in BHA’s management of critical security incidents.
● Deploy to the field in support of the geographic offices and their regional teams’ operational safety and security needs, including comprehensive risk assessments and development of safety and security risk management plans.
● Exercise substantial latitude for operational security decision-making as delegated by field- team leaders.
● Manage course content and serve as a resource speaker on established HASST training modules at BHA training courses, as appropriate.
● Review BHA partner safety and security plans for adherence to USAID/BHA Guidelines for Proposals.
● Liaise with various elements of USAID, primarily the Office of Security, in both Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and Response Management Team (RMT) situations and on relevant USAID security policy, and with Mission Executive Officers when in the field.
● Liaise with other USG agencies in the field and in Washington, D.C., as appropriate, especially with the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Regional Security Officers (RSOs) at post.
● Liaise with the various elements of the humanitarian community in the field and at the headquarters level, including: United Nations (UN) Department of Safety & Security, UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, local and international NGOs, and members of the International Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement.
● Administer BHA’s Security Information distribution lists.
● The SSS 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.
● Assist DART Safety and Security officers with development of deployment-specific security plans.
● Serve as needed on Washington-based RMTs, which provide services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will be varied.
● 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 details 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 as well as 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 in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.
● Work closely with USAID/Office of Security (SEC) in order to ensure consistency with overall USAID security objectives and the sharing of information between BHA and SEC.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:

The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the HASST Lead or his/her designee, who in turn reports to the Field Operations Division Chief or his/her 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.)

High School diploma and at least eleven (11) years of relevant work experience in humanitarian assistance, emergency management, international development, safety and security operations, crisis management, or law enforcement. At least two (2) years should be fieldwork in humanitarian or development security, programming, logistics, or operations.

OR

Bachelor’s degree and at least seven (7) years of relevant work experience in humanitarian assistance, emergency management, international development, safety and security operations, crisis management, or law enforcement. At least two (2) years should be field work in humanitarian or development security, programming, logistics, or operations.

OR

Master’s degree and at least five (5) years of relevant work experience in humanitarian assistance, emergency management, international development, safety and security operations, crisis management, or law enforcement. At least two (2) years should be field work, in humanitarian or development security, programming, logistics, or operations.

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 rating factors are as follows:

Matrix (30 points)

Professional Experience (30 points)
● Experience monitoring security situations in various countries or regions to identify threats to staff or programs.
● Experience conducting comprehensive risk assessments.
● Experience developing safety and security risk management plans.
● Experience working in one of the following: a grantee or grantmaking organization or with a humanitarian or development donor organization.
● Knowledge related to disaster preparedness, or response, or recovery in an international setting.
● Experience implementing security programs using the concepts of community integration, or cultural acceptance, or access negotiation.
● Experience in the design and implementation of training programs.
● Experience presenting safety and security policy issues to internal organizational senior leadership.
● Experience with external representation on humanitarian safety and security policy issues risk analysis, and risk mitigation

Interview Performance (50 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 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 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.FARORecruitment@usaid.gov