Solicitation - full text.pdf

ISSUANCE DATE: August 10, 2011

CLOSING DATE: August 31, 2011 at 17:00 GMT

Ladies/Gentlemen:

SUBJECT: Solicitation 688-P-11-000004-00 for a U.S. or Third Country National Personal Service Contractor Presidential Malaria Initiative Malaria Advisor (Bamako, Mali)

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development Mali, is seeking applications from qualified individuals interested in providing Personal Services Contractor (PSC) services as described in the solicitation below.

Submission shall be in accordance with this solicitation and at the place and time specified. In order to be considered for the position a candidate must meet the minimum qualifications listed in the solicitation. The Presidential Malaria Initiative Malaria Advisor position will be located in Bamako, Mali.

Applications will be hand carried or submitted by fax, email, DHL or FEDEX air courier by the closing date to:

Via courier:

Executive Officer U.S. Agency for International Development B.P. 34 Bamako, Mali

Via Email:

kaditraore@usaid.gov or fgordon@usaid.gov

Via Fax:

(223) 2022-39-33

To ensure that the application is considered for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number and title of position on your application and as the subject line in any cover letter. Applications must be received by the closing date and time specified in the cover letter.

Any attachments provided via email shall be Microsoft Word or PDF and not zipped.

Note that attachments to email must not exceed 2 MB. Late applications will not be accepted and will be handled in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 52.215.1.

USAID Mali anticipates awarding one (1) Personal Service Contract as a result of this solicitation.

Please note that this does not constitute any guarantee that a PSC will be awarded as result of this Solicitation nor does it constitute any authorization by USAID to reimburse costs incurred in preparation of an application.

Sincerely, /s/ Fougere Gordon Supervisory Executive Officer

USAID Mali Health Malaria Advisor

1. Solicitation Number: SOL-688-11-000004

2. Issuance date: August 10, 2011

3. Closing date and time specified for receipt of applications at USAID Mali: September 15, 2011

4. Position title: USAID Mali PMI-Malaria Advisor

5. Market value: Commensurate with the position and experience

NOT to0 exceed the maximum of GS-14 ($110,104) Final compensation within the GS-14 grade range will be based on the individual’s salary history, work experience and educational background.

6. Organization Location of Position: USAID/Mali, Bamako, Mali

7. Direct Supervisor: GHI Plus Field Deputy

8. Supervisory Control: Minimal. Incumbent is expected to act independently with little direction.

9. Period of Performance: The Long Term Personal Services Contract will be for two years subject to availability of funds and Mission requirements.

10. Place of Performance: Bamako, Mali

11. Security Access: “Public Trust” clearance.

12. Area of Consideration: Offshore U.S. or Third Country National

POSITION DESCRIPTION

1. RECOMMENDED POSITION TITLE: PMI-Malaria Advisor

2. ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION OF POSITION: USAID/Mali, Health Team

3. POSITION TITLE/GRADE OF DIRECT SUPERVISOR: GHI Plus Field Deputy/FE-OC

4. COUNTRY BACKGROUND

In July 2005, the United States Government announced a new five-year, $1.2 billion President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) to rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions in high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, President Obama announced the Global Health Initiative (GHI). PMI is a core component of the GHI, along with HIV/AIDS, Maternal and Child Health and Tuberculosis. With the passage of the Lantos-Hyde Act, funding for PMI has now been extended through FY2014, and as part of GHI, the goal of the PMI is now to reduce malaria related mortality by 70% in the original 15 countries by the end of 2015. This will be achieved by reaching 85% coverage of the most vulnerable groups---children under five years of age and pregnant women---with proven preventive and therapeutic interventions including artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), long lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women (IPTp), and indoor residual spraying (IRS). The aim is to cover at least a population of 400 million in 17 countries by 2014. Mali is one of the eight PMI countries selected in 2007. All malaria activities conducted under the PMI will be fully integrated into the overall and ongoing USAID Health program with certain members of the Health Team devoting more time to the malaria component than other members.

Mali stands out as a stable democracy in the midst of the diverse West African region. However, much remains to be done on the road to development. Mali has a population of approximately 15.6 million with over 33% of the population living in urban areas, with a high rural to urban migration rate. Close to 64% of Malians live below the poverty line, living on less than $1 per day. Although substantial improvements have been achieved since the 1960s, Mali’s indicators of human development remain unacceptably high with Mali ranked 160 out of 169 countries worldwide in terms of the human development index UN HD Report 2010). The infant mortality rate is 96 and the under-five mortality rate is 191 per 1,000 live births. Maternal mortality is estimated to be 464 per 100,000 live births and the mean life expectancy is 48 years. Mali’s total fertility rate is among the highest in the world at 6.6 children per woman.

The adult HIV prevalence is approximately 1.3%. Overall, the majority of Mali’s health and social indicators had remained stagnant for the past 20 years, but some encouraging improvements are being noticed since USAID began implementing its focused high impact health services strategic objective. Since 2003, USAID Mali shifted its assistance from a general Youth strategic objective to more targeted technical assistance that addresses the major public health problems facing Mali, including malaria, vaccination, nutrition with emphasis on breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation, diarrhea diseases, maternal health and family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention. In the area of malaria control, significant progress in the last four years include increased ITNs ownership and use among the most vulnerable target groups, slight increase in IPTp use following increased ANC frequentation, and slight increase in prompt care seeking in the 24 hours of fever symptoms. USAID supports area specific technical assistance and policy /systems strengthening for service provision as well.

Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Mali and a high priority for the government. Malaria is responsible for 38% all outpatient consultations and around 55% of all reported deaths in health facilities. The 2006 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) estimated that almost 18% of children under five had had a fever during the two weeks before the survey; 33% sought medical care in health facilities, 48% of these were administered an antimalarial. About 70% of pregnant mothers who gave birth had attended at least one ANC visit, among those who attended antenatal clinics 59% took an antimalarial drug to prevent malaria during their most recent pregnancy; 16% took one dose and only 4% took the recommended two doses of Fansidar. From the 2009/2010 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey preliminary report, about 77% of households possessed at least one insecticide treated net, 54% of children under five and 55% of pregnant women had slept under an ITN the night before the survey.

Besides the United States Government (USG), the World Bank, UNICEF, WHO, and Dutch, Belgian, and Canadian bilateral cooperation, and a few others, most donors make their contributions to the health sector either through targeted budget support or through specific intervention in the context of the now ending ten year health sector plan (PRODESS). Mali also received malaria funds from the first and sixth round, and is recommended for funding under the tenth round of Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).

In March 2011, USAID Mali and malaria partners, in close collaboration with the MOH malaria control program, developed the 2012 Malaria Operational Plan (MOP) using based on country results review compiled in January – February 2011. The 2012 MOP follows and will build on the achievements of 4 previous MOPs (FY2008-FY2011), consistent with the PMI global objective and fitting well within the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Control. The 2011 Mali MOP is available at www.pmi.gov and the 2012 MOP will be posted when approved.

In order to achieve the targets of the PMI in Mali, the following major activities will be supported:

1. scale up coverage of children under five and pregnant women with ITNs through a variety of strategies;

2. support targeted IRS activities including entomological monitoring;

3. strengthen MOH pharmaceutical management system and support safe and effective implementation of ACTs nationwide;

4. support the MOH to increase the proportion of pregnant women who receive two doses of IPT in ANCs;

5. improve the quality diagnosis of malaria through laboratory test and/or rapid diagnostic tests (RDT); and

6. Support a nationwide Malaria Indicator Survey to measure coverage and assess impact of major malaria interventions after four years of intensive implementation;

5. POSITION DESCRIPTION – OVERVIEW

USAID is responsible for all activities conducted in Mali under the PMI. The USAID PMI Advisor is responsible for the implementation of all PMI activities and reports directly to the Health Team Leader. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) play an important part in the design, implementation, and evaluation of PMI supported activities in Mali and there is a CDC PMI Advisor managing the CDC activities. The incumbent also works closely with CDC personnel to ensure the technical appropriateness of PMI-supported activities and interventions while maintaining ultimate responsibility for the implementation of the program. The Mali PMI team also includes a Program Management Specialist and a Program Management Assistant, both of whom are supervised by the USAID PMI Advisor.

USAID/Mali’s Health approach includes malaria activities as an important component of its portfolio. PMI supported malaria activities are fully integrated into the USAID health strategy. The USAID PMI Advisor reports to the GHI Deputy /Health Team Leader, provides technical and administrative oversight, as requested, on multiple tasks within the health sector, with a concentration of his/her time on malaria-specific activities. The incumbent represents the USAID Health Office at official functions involving the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Health, or international and bilateral donor organizations, in relation with malaria control.

The USAID PMI Advisor shall provide technical and administrative guidance on the development and execution of the PMI in collaboration with the PMI CDC Malaria Advisor and the USAID Mission Activity Managers, who oversee the health interventions implemented by the collaborating agencies. The contractor shall liaise with backstops for the PMI in USAID Washington, counterparts in CDC/Mali and Atlanta, and USAID personnel working within and overseeing the Mission’s activities related to malaria control. These responsibilities include regular contact and collaboration with the counterparts in the Mali National Malaria Program and other government ministries and agencies, as well as in a wide range of civil society and private organizations, other donor and international organizations, and other United States Government (USG) entities working in malaria prevention and control. The USAID PMI Advisor shall exercise substantial judgment in planning and carrying out tasks, in representing the USG in critical technical and policy forums, in resolving problems and conflicts, and in taking appropriate steps to meet deadlines. With approval from the GHI Deputy/ Health Team Leader, the USAID PMI Advisor will perform inherently governmental functions such as officially representing USAID at functions, approving policy documents, budgeting, and developing planning documents.

As the incumbent will be called upon to assist with all aspects of the Health portfolio, s/he must have technical experience in the areas of maternal and child health, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, with particularly strong expertise in the area of malaria treatment, prevention and control. The contractor must also possess an understanding of the social, economic and cultural determinants and implications of the malaria epidemic in Mali and West African countries, as well as have the experience and skills required to help formulate the USG position on malaria and contribute to important policy decisions as a representative of the USAID/Health Office.

Specifically, the Advisor shall be responsible for the following PMI-related activities, in close collaboration with the USAID health team members:

1. Collaborate with senior staff of the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and other partners, such as the GFATM, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, non-governmental organizations and faith based organizations to design, plan and implement malaria prevention and control activities consistent with the malaria control coverage needs identified by the strategy and plans of the NMCP and PMI.

2. Ensure that all activities are consistent with internationally accepted best practices and relevant to the specific malaria epidemiology of Mali;

3. Represent USAID and ensure effective communication and coordination between PMI funded activities and malaria programs funded by other donors and the GRM in Mali;

4. Provide technical support to all partners and managerial support as needed during the implementation phases of the initiative to ensure the quality of interventions supported and that programmatic targets are met;

5. Ensure that programmatic commodities are acquired in a timely and cost effective manner.

6. Ensure that malaria activities are integrated into overall USAID-supported health activities and to coordinate these activities with the NMCP and MOH to avoid duplication of effort and programming gaps;

7. Assist the PMI administrative manager to ensure full accountability and value for money of all PMI funds;

8. Work with the NMCP and other partners to develop and execute a monitoring and evaluation plan to be implemented through existing MOH systems and existing USG supported mechanisms. Carry out monitoring and evaluation visits to implementation sites to ascertain all quantitative and qualitative data is collected properly;

9. Work with the PMI Program Management Assistant to ensure that financial and technical reports on the President’s Malaria Initiative in Mali are prepared and submitted as required.

10. Directly manage one or more USAID PMI Cooperative Agreements or contracts.

OVERALL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The USAID PMI Advisor will collaborate with the USAID personnel managing the health portfolio, and provide technical and administrative guidance as needed. Concurrently, the USAID PMI Advisor, in collaboration with the PMI CDC Technical Advisor, shall oversee the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the PMI Initiative. The incumbent will be the point person to liaise with backstops for the PMI in USAID/W, in CDC, and in the USAID/Mali Health Office.

He/she will also provide managerial and technical support to the NMCP Director and the staff, helping to build capacity within the NMCP. The USAID PMI Advisor will, upon being certified, be the Agreement Officer’s Technical Representative to directly manage PMI Cooperative Agreements or contracts. In addition, the USAID PMI Advisor may be called upon to represent USAID and the USG on various national and international technical and policy forums.

Specifically, the Malaria Advisor shall provide:

1) Activity Development and Design (25%)

The incumbent, working in collaboration with the NMCP and PMI staff in both the US and in Mali, will be responsible for developing annual Malaria Operational Plans (MOP) in line with PMI objectives and goals. This will include but is not limited to case management of malaria in health facilities and at the community level, distribution of LLINs through health facilities, large-scale campaigns, increasing the role of the private sector in malaria prevention and control, intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women, indoor residual spraying; and development of information, education and communications materials to promote the use of these interventions.