SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA23R00062
ISSUANCE DATE: April 18, 2024
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: October 7, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard 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,
Hannah Weatherford
Contracting Officer
Office of Acquisition & Assistance
(M/OAA/BHA-CPS/PSC)

I. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA23R00062
2. ISSUANCE DATE: April 18, 2024
3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: October 7, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
This solicitation is open and continuous until October 7, 2024. The following are the closing dates for each review period:
June 4, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
August 5, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
October 7, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard 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 the Contracting Officer’s discretion.
4. POINT OF CONTACT: ALAC Recruitment Team, BHA.ALACRecruitment@usaid.gov
5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Program Officer (Multiple Positions)
6. MARKET VALUE: $88,520 - $115,079 equivalent to GS-13
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: Worldwide
Relocation expenses will not be reimbursed for U.S.-based positions.
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 Program Officer will be assigned to the place of performance.
Offerors for the Senior Program Officer position must be willing to be posted for long-term periods at any location in the Asia region, including posts throughout the continent or undertaking Asia-focused work from Honolulu, Hawaii. At the discretion of BHA/Washington, during the contract period, the Senior Program Officer may be reassigned/relocated to a geographical location where the individual’s services are needed; post-specific allowances would be adjusted accordingly for any change in place of performance. BHA currently has vacancies in Bangkok, Thailand but the location of service could be ultimately determined by the location of future unknown operational requirements.
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: Two (2) years, with three (3) one-year options, 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 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 Asia Latin America and Caribbean (ALAC) 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 United States Agency for International Development (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 ALAC consists of (3) three geographic divisions: Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, South and Central Asia. 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’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
ALAC requires the services of Senior Program Officers to ensure that BHA’s mandate is met and to enhance its capability to manage complex portfolios and effectively respond to international crises and disasters. Under the guidance of a Regional Director (RD)or his/her/their designee, the Senior Program Officers support the coordination and management of BHA disaster response, preparedness, mitigation, and training programs in the region of responsibility.
Working under the guidance and supervision of an RD, a Senior Program Officer supports the Asia region through the management of humanitarian and DRR activities, assisting with program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with partners in the humanitarian community. The Senior Program Officers will work closely with a program team that may include RDs, Deputy RDs, Regional Humanitarian Advisors (RHAs), Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Program Officers, Regional Team Leaders, Deputy Team Leaders, Humanitarian Assistance Officers (HAOs), and Program Assistants.
The Senior Program Officers will perform the following:
Contextual Specialty:
● Develop and maintain a specialized understanding of humanitarian developments across the region to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian efforts.
● Develop and maintain knowledge of USAID and US Government (USG) humanitarian priorities and strategies within the region, and BHA’s contributions and comparative advantages to those efforts.
● Provide regular reporting, through cables and other means, on issues related to the humanitarian situations in the region.
● Provide regular reports on site visits, meetings, relevant current events and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts.
Portfolio Management:
● Work with BHA’s Washington-based and field-based program staff to develop program strategies for response and DRR activities across the region, overseeing day-to-day management of the portfolio and its budgets.
● Support team members in assessing emergency response and DRR needs in the region in order to ensure that BHA’s programs are appropriately responsive.
● Travel, as permitted, to assess, evaluate, and monitor humanitarian conditions in the region, and make strategic recommendations for appropriate interventions.
● Provide guidance on regulations and policies.
● Assist in humanitarian award management and response activities outside of immediate areas of responsibility, as needed.
● Serve in planning or program positions on response teams, assessment teams, or to provide coverage for field offices within the region.
● Brief on portfolio programs and strategies and provide programmatic input for information products.
Representation:
● Support the regional team in maintaining relations with senior leadership in the humanitarian community through regular coordination and collaboration with BHA, relevant USG staff, and the humanitarian community.
● Assist the regional team to coordinate with the donor community on policy issues affecting humanitarian operations and develop integrated, non-duplicative programs, as needed.
● 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.
● Represent BHA with various audiences, as requested.
Leadership:
● Serve as peer mentor to team members on grants and portfolio management, to include BHA’s business process, portfolio-specific budget and workload management, and post-award monitoring and management.
● In close coordination with the RD, RHAs, and HAOs, work with NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies that are developing proposals for BHA (including grant amendments and extensions) to ensure compliance with BHA’s guidelines.
● Participate in office-wide discussions on initiatives that impact program implementation to provide field-based perspectives, as assigned.
General Duties:
● This position is expected to be able to qualify, train for and routinely serve on disaster/humanitarian responses in Washington DC or in the disaster area for up to 12 week (or more) intervals. These can either be Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) and/or Response Management Teams (RMTs). DARTs are deployed to the field in response to disasters and operate in the field, providing staff an opportunity to deploy overseas for an extended period of time (e.g., 6-8 weeks). RMTs are based in Washington, DC 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 in detail will be aligned with existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the position’s scope of work.
● 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, month 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 ● The Senior Program Officer 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 RD or their designee.
SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
The supervisor sets overall objectives. USPSC and supervisor together develop deadlines, projects and work to be done. The USPSC independently plans, designs, and carries out projects, studies, and programs. Completed work is reviewed only from an overall standpoint in terms of feasibility, compatibility with other work, or effectiveness in meeting requirements, or expected results. Technical problems are generally resolved without reference to supervisors.
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.
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 nine (9) years of experience working in administrative management, international policy research or analysis, humanitarian or development assistance, or portfolio management (including, but not limited to, managing grants or awards, selecting programs for funding, determining budget levels, or developing program strategies.)
OR
● A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with at least five (5) years of experience working in administrative management, international policy research or analysis, humanitarian or development assistance, or portfolio management (including, but not limited to, managing grants or awards, selecting programs for funding, determining budget levels, or developing program strategies.)
OR
● A Master's in any discipline with at least three (3) years of experience working in administrative management, international policy research or analysis, humanitarian or development assistance, or portfolio management (including, but not limited to, managing grants or awards, selecting programs for funding, determining budget levels, or developing program strategies.)
AND
● Specialized experience must include two (2) years of cumulative experience in humanitarian assistance, emergency management/relief, DRR, 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.
The technical evaluation committee may conduct reference checks, including references from individuals who have not been specifically identified by the offeror, and may do so before or after a candidate is interviewed.
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 section IV 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 may be accepted.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance. 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 Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of an offer or removal.
● Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance and maintain it throughout the life of the contract. More information on medical clearance classifications can be found in 16 FAM 211.2 Clearance Classifications or the Department of State webpage on medical clearances.
● 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:
Education and General Experience
Required years of general experience and education
Pass or Fail
Specialized Experience
Experience in required specialized skills, industry knowledge to complete the duties/tasks
30 points
Offeror Interview
Validation of required skills and knowledge for suitability for the position.
60 points
Professional Reference Checks
Written confirmation of current or previous professional colleagues or supervisor.
10 points
Specialized Experience: (30 points)
Interview Performance: (60 points)
Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks: (10 points)
Offerors must provide their references to BHA upon request no later than seven (7) days from the initial request. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the offeror being removed from consideration for this solicitation. In addition, the Agency has the right to seek any additional feedback on the offeror as needed.
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.
Note: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror. BHA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies become available during the future phase of the selection process.
IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.
4. 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.
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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.