SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA23R00024

ISSUANCE DATE: October 24, 2023

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: December 8, 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) 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,

Ousay Wahaj

Supervisory Contracting Officer

 

ATTACHMENT 1 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA23R00024

2. ISSUANCE DATE: October 24, 2023

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 8, 2023, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

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

5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Humanitarian Program Officer

6. MARKET VALUE: $84,546 - $109,908 equivalent to GS-13 (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: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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 Senior Humanitarian Program Officer 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 Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (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.

To fulfill its mandate, and to effectively respond to disasters worldwide, BHA has established six regional offices in the following locations: San Jose, Costa Rica; Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal; Pretoria, South Africa; Budapest, Hungary; and Bangkok, Thailand. BHA also has other, smaller sub-regional and program offices around the world.

The Office of Africa (OA) designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance, 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. 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. OA 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 OA’s nonresponse efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian transition.

Ethiopia is a complex humanitarian operating environment that is highly vulnerable to a wide range of natural and man-made shocks. Historically, the vast majority of the humanitarian burden has been a result of natural disasters, such as drought, flooding, and pest infestation. However, humanitarian needs are increasingly driven by man-made causes, and conflict-induced displacement is a significant feature throughout Ethiopia. The 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for Ethiopia identified more than 20 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, resulting from unprecedented drought conditions, conflict and insecurity in northern Ethiopia, desert locust infestation, disease outbreaks, and recurrent climatic shocks that constrict agricultural and livestock productivity and drive competition for limited resources. Billion-dollar appeals for humanitarian assistance are an unfortunate norm in this context, and USAID has regularly contributed upwards of $500 million to $1 billion each year to address the multifaceted needs of Ethiopians and refugees impacted by these shocks. USAID’s emergency food, health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, health, nutrition, shelter, and protection assistance has saved lives and livelihoods and helped households, communities, and systems recover from disaster.

USAID’s portfolio of activities in Ethiopia addresses both immediate, lifesaving humanitarian needs and the root causes of instability, hunger, and malnutrition. Recurrent disasters exact a high human toll, threaten Ethiopia’s stability, and negatively impact the country’s development trajectory and self-reliance. The 2019-2024 Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) explicitly recognizes the interconnectedness of humanitarian and development investments, and elevates disaster risk management, resilience, and shock-responsive development programming in order to break the cycle of crisis. As one component of its CDCS Disaster Risk Management Development Objective, USAID intends to support timely, quality, appropriate, coordinated, and ultimately government-run emergency response for crisis affected populations. The imperative to provide assistance where it is needed will drive humanitarian decision-making, but to the greatest extent possible USAID seeks to leverage and utilize its humanitarian assistance in a manner that contributes to future development, both by responding directly where systems do not function, and by building and reinforcing institutional capacity to respond to future shocks. The humanitarian and development nexus extends beyond the strategic and/or programmatic coordination and co-location of USAID activities and extends to USAID/Ethiopia’s teams and personnel. The Mission’s humanitarian and development teams work in a cohesive and complementary manner. A Strategic Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) guides the design, procurement and implementation of shock-responsive development programming and ensures rapid programmatic pivots of development programs to address humanitarian needs when shocks occur.

BHA requires the services of a Senior Humanitarian Program Officer (SHPO), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to ensure that BHA’s objectives for disaster assistance, DRR, resilience programming, strategic reporting, and interagency coordination for the region are met. The SHPO plays a major role in the OA’s effort to promote excellence in humanitarian assistance and meet BHA’s mandate to save lives, alleviate suffering, and reduce the social and economic impact of disasters. Under the guidance of the Team Leader, the SHPO supports the coordination and management of BHA disaster response, preparedness, mitigation, and training programs in the region of responsibility.

STATEMENT OF DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED 

Working under the guidance and supervision of the Team Leader or delegate, the SHPO supports the USAID/Ethiopia Office of Relief and Resilience (R2) through the management of humanitarian, resilience, and DRR activities in Ethiopia, assisting with program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with partners in the humanitarian community. The SHPO will work closely with a program team that includes field-based Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Humanitarian Program Officers, and Program Management Specialists. This position requires effective daily coordination with several BHA staff members, as well as representatives from other USAID offices, Embassy staff, and the humanitarian community, and therefore requires a highly collaborative work style.

Specifically, the SHPO will be responsible for the following:

Contextual Specialty:

● Develop and maintain a specialized understanding of humanitarian developments across the country to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts and apply those to program strategy development and implementation.

● Develop and maintain knowledge of USAID and USG humanitarian priorities and strategy in Ethiopia, and BHA’s contributions and comparative advantages to those efforts.

● Provide regular reporting, through cables and other means, on issues related to the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia.

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

● Provide input in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on Ethiopia.

Portfolio Management:

● Lead BHA’s Ethiopia-based program staff in the development of program strategies for emergency response, resilience, and DRR activities in Ethiopia, overseeing day-to-day management of the portfolio and the program budget.

● Serve as the principal point of contact for BHA programming in Ethiopia implemented by NGO, UN, and public international organization partners.

● Coordinate closely with both field and headquarters-based components of BHA’s Regional Team and maintain regular contact with concerned staff in Addis Ababa, USAID/Ethiopia, and US Embassy.

● Travel as permitted to assess, evaluate, and monitor humanitarian conditions in Ethiopia and make strategic recommendations for appropriate interventions.

● Assess needs for remote monitoring when necessary; advise appropriate remote monitoring approaches and tools; review appropriate and relevant reports.

● In consultation with BHA’s Office of Technical and Program Quality, review and analyze partner reports, including quantitative and qualitative data, to assess program performance; discern lessons learned, and make recommendations for improved outcomes.

● Assist Washington-based Agreement Officer’s Representatives (AOR) in managing and monitoring humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives. Ensure that there are regularly scheduled review meetings with partners and an up to date travel plan for the team.

● Guide implementing partners and humanitarian organizations in developing applications based on BHA’s Emergency Application Guidelines. Review concept papers and applications and provide timely recommendations to BHA/Washington. Provide guidance on USAID award regulations and policies.

● Participate in USAID/Ethiopia technical discussions on early recovery, risk recovery, disaster preparedness and resilience to ensure complementarity of BHA’s work within the greater set of USAID investments at the Mission to leverage BHA funding for longer term sustainability.

● Serve as a key point of contact for USAID Mission teams for the purpose of program coordination.

Representation:

● Support BHA Country Team Lead in maintaining relations with senior leadership in the humanitarian community. This will include but is not limited to UN agencies, IOs, NGOs, U.S. Government (USG) personnel, donors, and host government authorities.

● Engage in, and report on, joint donor humanitarian evaluations and UN-led assessments, and participate actively in the international community response structures.

● Prepare briefing papers, notes, and presentations on BHA programming for official USG visitors interested in humanitarian issues.

● Provide overviews of patterns and trends in the humanitarian situation and keep the BHA Team Lead, and other staff current on response issues. Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, general atmospherics, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.

● Ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA/Washington and the Sudans, East, and Central Africa Regional Office on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.

● Represent BHA with various audiences, as requested, including - but not limited to - humanitarian partners, clusters, International NGO Forum, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and donor working groups.

Leadership:

● With guidance from the BHA Country Team Lead, provide input for staff performance reviews, evaluations, and staff development plans for BHA Ethiopia program team members.

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

● Lead the response program strategy design for the office.

General Duties:

● Become certified and serve as an AOR/Contracting Officer’s Representative (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.

● May be requested to be on-call or serve 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.

● May serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time. 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). 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.

● 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.

● Consistently model behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to fostering a non-hostile work environment free of discrimination, bias, unfairness, exclusion, offensive behaviors, and harassment of any kind.

● Engage in at least one workforce diversity initiative/activity focused on helping to improve the organizational culture. Attend and actively participate in diversity and harassment training opportunities, brown bag sessions or focus group discussions.

● Lead/foster a collaborative, respectful, and professional work environment by demonstrating partnership and teamwork to accomplish team, office, and bureau objectives.

● The SHPO 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.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP: 

The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the Team Leader or their delegate in Ethiopia.

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 requested does not involve undue physical demands.

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.)

Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and at least seven (7) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative overseas international experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

OR 

Master’s degree in any discipline and at least five (5) years of work experience with a humanitarian or development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of cumulative international experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance, emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

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.