SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA22R00018
ISSUANCE DATE: May 10, 2022
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: June 6, 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 Senior Humanitarian Advisor (SHA) 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. 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 UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER (UEI) NUMBER AND THE
SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

All USPSCs with a place of performance in the United States are required to have a Unique
Entity Identifier (UEI) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM)
database prior to receiving an offer. 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:

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

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

Sincerely,
Sonja Stroud-Gooden
Contracting Officer

I. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA22R00018
2. ISSUANCE DATE: May 10, 2022
3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: June 6, 2022, 12:00 P.M.
Eastern Time
4. POINT OF CONTACT: OA Recruitment Team, BHA.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov
5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Humanitarian Advisor
6. MARKET VALUE: $95,973 - $124,764 equivalent to GS-14 (not eligible for locality pay)
Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.
7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years
8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Juba, South Sudan
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, the Senior Humanitarian Advisor will be assigned to
the place of performance.
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 human-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 human-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

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 (OA) 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 assistance. These divisions also oversee BHA Office of
Africa’s nonresponse efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian
transition.

OBJECTIVE

BHA requires the services of a Senior Humanitarian Advisor (SHA) for the Office of
Humanitarian Assistance (OHA), based in Juba, South Sudan to ensure that BHA’s objectives for
disaster assistance, disaster risk reduction, resilience programming, strategic reporting, and
interagency coordination for the region are met.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This position requires an individual to support the management and representation of the
humanitarian portfolio for South Sudan. Reporting to the OHA Director in South Sudan, the
SHA will be responsible for program analysis and strategy development and work closely with
the USAID/South Sudan staff, the U.S. Embassy, U.S. military representatives, and other USG
interagency partners, other donors, Government of South Sudan officials, IOs, NGOs, and the
UN, in responding to humanitarian needs and sudden-onset disasters. Because of the substantial
coordination requirements of this position, an individual with a highly collaborative work style is
necessary. The SHA must be prepared to function effectively in a challenging and restrictive
work environment and be willing to strictly adhere to U.S. Embassy security guidelines.
The individual will perform the following duties:

Contextual Specialty

● Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian and DRR issues in South Sudan.
● Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and
stakeholder interests specific to South Sudan.
● Monitor incipient disasters, international disaster response plans and efforts, and major
humanitarian issues and challenges in the area of responsibility through a wide range of USG
and international sources.
● Identify humanitarian issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities within and relevant
to South Sudan and apply those to program strategy development and implementation.
● Prepare regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well
as on comprehensive preparedness documentation on South Sudan.

Portfolio Management

● Lead efforts to identify and assess on-going and emerging humanitarian assistance
requirements, target beneficiary groups, and locations, oversee the general direction of
existing relief and transition-oriented programs, and broadly recommend the types of
interventions and budget levels required in South Sudan.
● Closely collaborate with USAID Mission colleagues on program coordination to share
information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and transition efforts.
● Maintain regular communication and close coordination with BHA/Sudans, East and Central
Africa Regional Office (SECARO) and BHA/Washington on these efforts.
● Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in South Sudan. Liaise with partners and
other donors, coordinate with the SECARO on issues of mutual interest, and provide
coordinated field feedback to the partners.
● Coordinate collection of information and provide updates and recommendations through
written reports on issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the following:
o Capacity and ability of UN, IOs, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs;
o Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs;
o Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in
general;
o Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in South Sudan in facilitating
humanitarian assistance;
o Contributions by other donors, problems arising from the implementation of relief
and reintegration programs, and any other issues that require the attention of BHA;
and
o Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change.
● Provide guidance to organizations that are developing applications for BHA, based on BHA’s
Guidelines for Unsolicited Applications.
● Review concept papers and applications and provide timely recommendations/comments to
BHA/Washington and BHA/SECARO.
● Ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA/Washington and SECARO on the quality of
grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.

Representation

● Represent BHA at senior level meetings within the USG and with humanitarian stakeholders
and convey humanitarian concerns and priorities from the BHA perspective through oral and
written briefings.
● Coordinate policy development meetings such as:
o Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing
programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges;
o Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with
humanitarian concerns or impacts;
o Donor and implementing partner coordination forums.
● At the direction of the OHA Director, serve as the principal point of contact in-country for
BHA/South Sudan for humanitarian issues, and serve as a liaison on program issues among
USAID mission staff, the U.S. Embassy and other USG agencies, military representatives,
BHA/Washington, and the overall humanitarian community.
● Present BHA perspectives to NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies relating to humanitarian
assistance strategies and priorities, including BHA’s approach to sustainable,
resilience-oriented humanitarian programs. Work closely with the Regional Advisor and
BHA’s technical advisors to discuss and understand sectoral priorities.
● Represent USG humanitarian interests at national and international meetings and
conferences, and facilitate, as requested, travel and briefings for official USG visitors
interested in humanitarian issues.
● Engage as the humanitarian specialist in U.S. Embassy policy conversations, remaining
available to provide timely reporting and clearances in response to high-level USG queries
originating from the region or from Washington, DC.

Leadership

● Provide recommendations on current and future directions of BHA’s Sudan portfolio to
include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements.
● Serve in a leadership role within the BHA Office in USAID/Sudan, in coordination with
USAID Mission senior leadership, to incorporate humanitarian concerns into Mission
activities and identify opportunities to leverage USAID interventions.
● Serve as direct supervisor to team members on grants management and portfolio
management, including BHA’s business process, portfolio-specific budget and workload
management, and post-award monitoring and management.
● Lead an ethnically and culturally diverse team of program, technical and/or administrative
staff.
● Consistently model behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to fostering a non-hostile,
inclusive work environment that values diversity, equity and is free of discrimination, bias,
unfairness, bullying, offensive behaviors and harassment of any kind.

General Duties:

● Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting
Officer’s Representative (AOR/COR), as assigned. The AOR/COR provides financial and
programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the agreement or contract; this includes
but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for approvals, program/project deliverables
(i.e. work plans, annual reports, monthly status reports), travel requests, key personnel
requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the
annual contractor performance evaluation in the Contract/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 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements in the
COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.
● May be requested to be on-call or serve as needed on Washington-based Response
Management Teams (RMTs) or in other international locations on Disaster Assistance
Response Teams (DARTs).
● 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 aligned
with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the scope
of work provided.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The USPSC will report directly to the Regional Humanitarian Advisor or his/her/their designee
in Sudan and collaborate and consult with other USAID and U.S. Embassy staff.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
Supervisor provides administrative directions in terms of broadly defined missions or functions.
The employee independently plans, designs, and carries out programs, projects, studies, or other work. Results are considered authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change.

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 and at least nine
(9) years of relevant experience. Such experience must include humanitarian or development
focus and responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, and
managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include three (3) years of cumulative
experience in international humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, disaster risk
reduction, post-emergency rehabilitation or recovery, or resilience.

OR

Master's degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field and at least seven
(7) years of relevant 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 three (3) years of cumulative experience in
international humanitarian assistance, emergency management/relief, disaster risk reduction, post
emergency rehabilitation or recovery, or resilience.

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:

Professional Experience (12 points)
● Experience working with a donor or grant making organization.
● Experience managing needs assessments
● Experience with budget development or management.
● Experience leading or participating in strategy development
● Experience with program design or monitoring or evaluating programs
● Experience managing programs that focus on emergency response or DRR programming.

Skills and Abilities (8 points)
● Experience working with host or local governments on the planning and implementation of
humanitarian or development interventions; this can include both domestic and international
experience.
● Experience working with donor organizations or diplomatic missions.
● Experience working with international or national non-governmental partners at senior
levels.
● Experience delivering verbal and oral presentations or engaging with senior officials within a
large organization on humanitarian issues.

Leading Teams Experience (10 points)
● Experience mentoring and training staff.
● Experience with team performance management, including developing or monitoring
employee training plans, providing formal or informal feedback through performance
evaluations, and ensuring adequate staffing of a team.
● Experience managing teams that include program, technical, or administrative staff.

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. 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.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov