Solicitation_386-16-102_-_WASH_(Team_Lead).docx

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC Offshore-hire) – WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Team Lead, GS-14

To All Interested Applicants:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking applications from qualified U.S. Citizens (or U.S. resident alien) to provide services as WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Team Lead under a Personal Services Contract, as described in the attached Solicitation No. USAID/India/386-16-102. The place of performance for this position will be in New Delhi, India.

Submissions shall be in accordance with the attached information and delivered to the undersigned in New Delhi, India, at the place and by the time specified. Email submissions shall be sent to: indiaper@usaid.gov. Applications materials may be faxed, mailed, emailed, or hand-carried to the undersigned. To ensure delivery by the due date, it is recommended that applications be sent as email attachments or by fax, if possible. The award of a contract hereunder is subject to the availability of funds.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Any questions regarding this position should be directed to Charles S. Pope, Supervisory Contracting Officer, or Shrikant Bhonsle, Executive Officer (A), or Vandana Sharma, Human Resources Specialist, who may be reached at the following email address: indiaper@usaid.gov. Applicants should retain for their record copies of all enclosures which accompany their applications.

Sincerely, /s/

Charles S. Pope Supervisory Contracting Officer USAID/India

Mailing Address:

USAID/India Executive Office American Embassy Shantipath, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110021 India

ATTACHMENT NO. 1 TO SOLICITATION NO. 386-16-102

CLOSING DATE/TIME SPECIFIED

POSITION DESCRIPTION: WASH Team Lead, USAID/India

A. BACKGROUND

Strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene programming is in line with USAID and the Government of India’s efforts at overall development and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Increasing access to sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are essential to achieving targeted development outcomes and sustained poverty reduction.

USAID’s 2016 funding includes a substantial earmark for water and sanitation activities in countries including India to implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 and Water for the World Act of 2014. Eligible activities must have a stated intent to increase access to WASH services and demonstrate that intent through objectively verifiable indicators linked to these goals. It is anticipated that increased funding for water, sanitation and hygiene activities in India will be sustained for the coming years, particularly in light of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Water between the U.S. Government and the Government of India and the Government of India’s Swacch Bharat (Clean India) campaign, creating the need for a dedicated WASH Team Lead to coordinate and lead this activity area across multiple offices within the USAID/India Mission.

B. BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION:

The WASH Team Lead is expected to provide technical and managerial leadership and expert assistance to guide, coordinate, manage and monitor the expanding and high-profile water, sanitation and hygiene related portfolio of activities in India. S/he must interact with a range of partners involved in the sector, maintain oversight of the overall sector impacts and ensure the efficient use of resources.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent should have excellent leadership skills, initiative, and independent judgment in supporting the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of strategies and programs in the WASH sector. S/he is responsible for providing management and supervisory direction as well as technical guidance to the Pi WASH staff, contractors, and grantees to ensure that USAID-supported programs adhere to the terms and conditions of USAID agreements, and are achieving the development impact and results that are expected.

The WASH Team Lead works independently, on most technical matters. Being a key expert upon whom the Mission relies to guide policy, program and resource allocation decisions, s/he interacts directly with a range of Mission staff, including the Mission Director, Deputy Director, other Office Directors, and interagency representatives, on related issues. S/he works collaboratively and proactively with other technical experts and support offices throughout the Mission on Pi program matters. The Team Lead supervises the work of two or three Pi Program Specialists, to whom s/he delegates responsibilities and provides assistance in achieving their work objectives.

Specifically, the WASH Team Lead is expected to perform duties in the following areas:

A. Strategy Support

· Lead efforts to assess and address policy and institutional constraints impacting access and use of water in India and identify priority issues requiring policy reform, such as utility reform, institutional strengthening, benchmarking, and regulatory reform.

· Lead efforts in identifying key technical challenges in water and sanitation service provision and management in India.

· Design water/sanitation/hygiene-related strategies, programs and activities to meet Mission strategic objectives based on knowledge of international best practice and the particular constraints presented in country. This includes preparing concept papers, statements of work or program descriptions, requests for proposals/applications, Acquisition and Assistance requests, decision memos, Congressional Notifications, inter-agency agreement letters, bilateral and multilateral agreements, and other related documents with the goal of ensuring that program design and implementation will achieve planned results and USAID goals, with a pro-poor focus and integration of hygiene behavior change to maximize health impacts of infrastructure investments.

· Play a key role in identifying and coordinating the various USG and internal USAID water, sanitation and hygiene-related activities and players.

· Develop, maintain and strengthen working relationships with key partners, including national ministries, local governments, international organizations and other donors, private sector, NGOs, universities and the media, to identify and implement efforts to increase synergy among the key stakeholders and promote collaborative planning toward long term sustainable solutions.

· Compile, analyze, and disseminate, on a regular basis and as needed, reports to USAID Mission staff and USAID/Washington detailing progress in achieving sector objectives along with commentary on issues and recommended solutions.

· Communicate and collaborate with Washington-based USAID Bureaus and Offices such as the Water Office, Global Health Bureau, U.S. Global Development Lab on current and future activities, strategy and direction for India, budgets and earmarks/water directive, and sharing proven practices between the field and headquarters.

B. Program Management

· Lead the development of a performance management plan for all Mission activities contributing toward the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act/Water for the World Act and its associated earmarks, and contribute to data collection, synthesis and reporting. Ensure project and/or sectoral assessments are carried out and participate in developing Statements of work, field trips, data analysis and dissemination of these assessments.

· Work closely with the USAID India Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance (ROAA) in the USG procurement process from pre-award to award management.

· Work closely with the USAID Program Support Office in program advocacy, design, communication with USAID and USG stakeholders, to gather consensus and develop alliances in effective foreign assistance programming.

· Participate in, coordinate, and manage evaluations and assessments that are conducted in conjunction with other offices, USG agencies, international organizations, or other donors.

· Perform Monitoring & Evaluation and regular evaluations of USAID-managed activities in collaboration with the Program Support Office. This includes review of quarterly and annual program and financial reports from program partners paying particular attention to the data pertaining to:

· activity performance indicators as identified within the Performance Management Plan (PMP) and Operational Plan;

· program objectives achievement, methodology and lessons learned paying particular attention to inputs, output and expected outcomes including economic, social, cultural, and technical factors;

· financial indicators (e.g., expenditures, burn rate/pipeline analysis and congruity of expenditures against activities; and the need for incremental funding.

· Monitor and document development impacts and resolve implementation issues in an efficient and professional manner.

· Work closely with the USAID India Office of Regional Financial Management to review and assess monthly accruals and disbursements, and track funding pipelines to ensure compliance with the ADS guidelines.

· Serve as AOR/COR for one or two cross-cutting projects.

C. Managerial, Reporting and Technical Services

· Provide briefings to USAID and its partners on the status of USAID water and sanitation activities in India. Prepare and deliver presentations on the same issues to local government and USG officials and international and local program partners and colleagues.

· Liaise with agencies involved in provision of urban water and sanitation services; advocate for health priorities in selection of infrastructure improvements

· Carry out other tasks to support the achievement of USAID/India’s mandate and objectives, as directed by USAID/India.

· Work with the Program Support Office to communicate achievements and progress to Embassy, Washington and external stakeholders as necessary.

· Lead the Annual Performance Plan and Report for India WASH area, which includes setting the performance target for the upcoming years and reporting on the past year’s achievements.

· Lead WASH inputs into future Country Development Cooperation Strategies.

C. POSITION ELEMENTS

1. Supervision Received: The incumbent works under the general supervision and policy guidance of the Office Director or her/his designee, Office of Partnerships and Innovations Office (Pi) who will review and approve his/her work plan and performance measures. The WASH Team Lead will work closely with other technical teams on a day-to-day basis. S/he is also expected to collaborate with the Program Support Office where appropriate and maintain working relationships with key staff in the Health Office, among others.

2. Supervision Exercised: The WASH Team Lead will serve as the Contracting (or Agreement) Officer’s Technical Representative (COR/AOR) for water, sanitation and hygiene activities in the Mission, and for grantees and contractors working in water and sanitation. S/he is expected to supervise two or more Foreign Service National staff who in turn are responsible for managing their own WASH-related activities.

3. Exercise of Judgment: A high degree of independent judgment is required in identifying opportunities to use available USAID resources and mechanisms to expand water supply and sanitation coverage, reviewing program documentation, and managing assigned actions and tasks. The incumbent must demonstrate the ability to function independently in complex, frequently changing donor and implementation environment.

4. Nature, Level and Purpose of Contacts: The incumbent will be required to establish strong working relationships with senior officials at national, provincial and local government levels, representatives of bilateral and multi-lateral donors/institutions, contractors, USAID officials, NGOs, and members of civil society organizations and community groups, as is determined to be necessary by her/his supervisor. Internal contacts should be established with the Front Office, Program Office, Resident Legal Officer (RLO) and Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance, Regional Financial Management Office, and all other teams as necessary. The Team Lead will have contacts with senior visiting delegations to include senior U.S. Government officials of the executive branch as well as Congressional delegations and related Congressional staff delegations.

5. Authority to Make Commitments: The incumbent will not have independent authority to commit US Government Mission funds on behalf of the U.S. Government.

6. Available Guidelines: Guidelines include Agency regulations, ADS requirements, Office of Foreign Assistance guidance, Asia Bureau procedural guidance, Agency procurement guidance, Mission Orders and professional development literature. All of these are general, presenting options and approaches rather than blueprints. Therefore, the incumbent must be able to assess alternatives and interpret guidelines accordingly. Excellent judgment and the ability to deal with ambiguity are essential.

7. Post-Entry Training: On the job training will be provided in USAID programming and implementation procedures. Classroom and on-line coursework will be provided for the Team Lead to obtain COR/AOR certification.

8. Time required to satisfactorily perform full range of duties after entry into the position: 6 months.

D. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE:

This position requires a broad combination of technical, analytical, and managerial abilities combined with excellent communication skills. The incumbent should demonstrate a range of expertise in the area of management and the field of water and sanitation services.

1. Education: Master’s degree in environmental management, public health, engineering, public administration or related field is required.

2. Prior Work Experience: Minimum 8 years of demonstrated management experience and 3 years experience in water supply, sanitation, and hygiene programming. Experience in developing countries required and experience in India highly valued. The position requires a combination of managerial, technical, and analytical, abilities along with the demonstrated ability to manage resources, programs and people. Expertise in the areas of sustainability, systems-based approaches to development, WASH, policy reform, and program design is desirable.

3. Job Knowledge: Direct experience in the management of USAID or other bilateral or multilateral donor-funded projects required. Direct hands-on experience in WASH and/or informal urban settlements also valued. Knowledge of governance and capacity building of local governments, utilities, regulatory agencies is valued. Knowledge of development programming and project management required as demonstrated through education and/or experience. Knowledge of water and sanitation sector development in Asia, including state-of-the art approaches in technology selection, policies/enabling environment, institutional structures, community governance, financing, environmental sustainability, and social/cultural issues including gender.

4. Skills and Abilities: Ability to manage resources, programs and people and interact effectively and diplomatically with representatives of national and local governments and USG agency staff. Good interpersonal and team building skills.

5. Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) in English is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills are essential. Hindi highly valued but not required.

E. SELECTION FACTORS

To be considered for this position, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications noted above. For those who do, further consideration and selection will be based on panel assessment of the Selection Criteria listed below.

Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria to a maximum score of 100 points:

a. Education and Knowledge: Total Points 20

· An understanding of project development and project management policies and procedures.

· An understanding of water and sanitation issues in the context of development and urban low-income environments.

· Advanced degree in environmental management, public health, engineering, economics or related field

· Broad professional knowledge and skills sufficient to guide and contribute to the development and implementation of realistic, relevant and sustainable water and sanitation programs and activities.

· Familiarity with development financing tools such as prize competitions, partial credit guarantees, etc.

b. Past Working Experience: Total Points 35

· Water/sanitation/hygiene experience.

· Ability to collect, synthesize and make use of data for the purpose of communicating and designing strategy and to communicate with clients and partners.

· Demonstrated ability to manage a multicultural team and work collaboratively in a challenging environment.

· Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, program design, implementation, reporting and oversight of USAID or other development programs in the areas of water and sanitation services.

c. Leadership/Interpersonal Skills: Total Points 25

· Ability to interact effectively with senior representatives of national and local governments, both U.S. and foreign.

· Ability to establish strong working relationships with representatives of other donors, multi-lateral institutions, NGOs, members of civil society organizations and the private sector.

· Ability to function independently in complex, frequently changing political and economic conditions.

d. Communication Skills: Total Points 20

· Excellent oral and written English communication skills.

· Proven ability to produce professional reports, analysis and tracking tools.

· Submission of an effective writing sample.

· Ability to organize complex issues and data in a logical manner and communicate them clearly and concisely.

F. SELECTION PROCESS:

After the closing date for receipt of applications, a committee will be convened to review applications and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications that do not meet the required selection criteria will not be scored. As part of the selection process, finalist candidates may be interviewed either in person or by telephone at USAID’s discretion. Reference checks will be made only for applicants considered as finalists. If an applicant does not wish USAID to contact a current employer for a reference check, this should be stated in the applicant’s cover letter, and USAID will delay such a reference checks pending communication with the applicant. Only finalists will be contacted by USAID with respect to their applications. The final selected candidate(s) must obtain security and medical clearances within a reasonable period of time. USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidate(s). A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection.

G. APPLYING:

Interested candidates for this position should click the link below to access the application form:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/USPSC%20Application%20Form%20-%20Cover%20Form%20and%20Form%20AID%20302-3.docx

Candidates who claim U.S. Veterans preference must provide a copy of their Form DD-0214 with their application. Candidates who claim conditional U.S. Veterans preference must submit documentation confirming eligibility for a conditional preference in hiring with their application.

SUBMIT APPLICATION TO

Submit print copies of applications to:

Or Electronic Submission to: indiaper@usaid.gov

POINT OF CONTACT

Mr. Charles S. Pope, Supervisory Contracting Officer; Telephone: 91-11-2419-8796

Or

Mr. Shrikant Bhonsle, Executive Officer (A), Telephone: 91-11-2419-8041

Email or faxed documentation is recommended as mail delivery may be untimely. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter.

USAID/India expects to award a personal services contract for an off-shore US Citizen for two-years period commencing as early as practically possible subject to security and medical clearances and funds availability. The duty post for this contract is New Delhi, India.

Benefits include post differential, housing, and other benefits per USAID regulations. Basic household furnishings will be available in quarters to be provided by USAID.

For more information about USAID/India see Mission’s website http://www.usaid.gov/india

ATTACHMENT NO. 2 TO SOLICITATION NO. 386-16-102

PSC Contractor Benefits (As allowable under applicable regulations)

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, an individual meeting the requirements of an USPSC Offshore-hire, may be authorized the following benefits:

Benefits

1. Employee’s F.I.C.A and MEDICARE contributions

2. Contribution toward Health and Life Insurance

3. Shipment and Storage of Household Effects

4. Pay Comparability Adjustment

5. Annual Step Increase except if at the top step of the grade

6. Eligibility for Worker's Compensation

7. Annual and Sick Leave

Allowances

a. Temporary Lodging Allowance (Section 120)

b. Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

c. Post Allowance (Section 220)

d. Supplemental Post Allowance (Section 230)

e. Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

f. Education Allowance (Section 270)

g. Education Travel (Section 280)

h. Post Differential (Chapter 500)

i. Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600)

j. Danger Pay (Section 650)

Federal Taxes: USPSCs are not/not exempt from payment of Federal Income taxes.

List of REQUIRED Forms for USPSCs

1. USPSC Job Application form, AID 302-3 (including cover form), is available at the USAID/India website:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/USPSC%20Application%20Form%20-%20Cover%20Form%20and%20Form%20AID%20302-3.docx

2. Forms (a) through (e) shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the position.

a. Medical History and Examination (DS-6561).

b. Declaration for Federal Employment Form (OF-306)

c. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86), or

d. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85)

e. Finger Print Card (FD-258)

Contract Information Bulletins (CIBs.) and Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directives (AAPDs) Pertaining to PSCs

CIBs and AAPDs contain changes to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulations and contracts. Please refer to this website to determine which CIBS and AAPDs apply to this contract: http://www.usaid.gov/business/business_opportunities/psc_solicitations.html.

Additionally, AIDAR Appendix D or J also applies to PSCs can be found at:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/aidar.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development American Embassy Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110 021 Tel: 91-11-24198000 Fax: 91-11-24198612 www.usaid.gov/in image1.png