72026720R00002.pdf

ATTACHMENT 1 SOL 72026720R00002

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72026720R00002

2. ISSUANCE DATE: February 19, 2020.

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: March 11, 2020 no later than 17:00 Baghdad time.

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Francisco Santos, Supervisory Executive Specialist, USAID/Iraq, frsantos@usaid.gov or Maura O’Brien, Supervisory Executive Officer, mobrien@usaid.gov (inquiries only). Applications will NOT be accepted to these email addresses. Please see item IV for instructions on how and where to submit applications.

5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Program Management Advisor (intermittent position).

6. MARKET VALUE: USD 109,366 – USD 142,180 equivalent to GS-15. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The period of performance is one year, with the possibility of extensions. The intermittent contract and extensions cannot exceed 5 years. The Personal Services Contractor hired under this intermittent contract must not exceed a maximum of 300 calendar days of service (including travel time) on an annual basis.

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Baghdad, Iraq with possible travel as stated in the statement of duties.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens only.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: The successful applicant shall be required to obtain a Secret level security clearance, as a pre-condition for employment.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

1) BACKGROUND

Since 2003, USAID has been a major contributor to the U.S. government (USG) relief, stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. USAID works closely with other USG entities, the Government of Iraq (GOI), provincial and local governments, international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, and a network of partners from non-governmental organizations, local community groups, and Iraqi citizens.

In 2019, the operations and management structure of the mission has begun a transformation after an Ordered Departure (OD), and to adhere to the realities of the imposition of a smaller USG footprint in Iraq. USAID will continue development programming in Iraq, and will likely have two operating locations, one headquartered in Baghdad with the second office and additional personnel mailto:frsantos@usaid.gov mailto:mobrien@usaid.gov in Erbil. USAID’s development engagement in Iraq remains robust, and the program management requires dramatically increased coordination as new relationships are forged with the USAID headquarters support and operational elements, the Middle East Regional Platform (MERP) in Frankfurt, and several geographically dispersed support staff. Programming in this environment requires a nimble staff with a high level of expertise.

2) STATEMENT OF DUTIES

BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POSITION:

Within the USAID/Iraq Technical Office, the Intermittent Senior Program Management Advisor will provide analysis, advice and planning on program activities considering evolving complex support relationships and will provide program direction and support for the Iraq-based programs.

The Advisor will work in and should be familiar with and able to lead two program areas for the mission, Governance and Economic Growth, and Stabilization. The Advisor will be responsible to ensure the mission can continue to coordinate program functions as well as provide advice and direction to technical staff on behalf of the Directors Office. In doing so the Advisor will facilitate USAID/Iraq personnel to perform critical program planning and management functions, helping to ensure USAID/Iraq programs are operating within the framework of USG, Agency, and other applicable regulations and directives. USAID/Iraq is part of one of the USG's highest-priority foreign policy agendas, the stabilization of Iraq. The Senior Advisor helps further USG goals by providing direction to a technical office team and helping to prioritize and manage a demanding, high-profile portfolio in an incredibly fluid non-permissive operating environment, as the mission strives to compliment Religious and Ethnic Minorities REM and New Partnership Initiatives (NPI).

Services provided by the Advisor will include the following: analyze, recommend, and initiate changes to the mission’s technical program design and management; liaise with the US Embassy Baghdad and US Consulate Erbil on technical issues; coordinate with USAID Washington support and program offices including technical bureaus and the Middle East Bureau. Additionally, the Advisor will help to coordinate issues with Senior Management Advisor and support personnel in the Frankfurt based Middle East Regional Platform (MERP). S/he will make recommendations regarding program operating events for the technical areas in the program management cycle.

The Advisor will be required to be conversant and coordinate with Washington DC on technical, program as well as administrative support operations and must be able to represent critical mission issues to the Middle East Bureau, the technical bureaus, and Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, and the Agency senior leadership to solve high level policy issues on behalf of the mission or to clarify operational and reporting issues. These efforts may also include collecting/sharing of programmatic information with sister agencies, implementing partners, and the Government of Iraq (GOI) under the direction of the USAID/Iraq Director.

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Governance and Economic Growth Office (GEO) Operations and Management: 45% of time

The incumbent is responsible for assessing highly complex information specifically related to the Governance and Economic Growth Office. Additionally, s/he is responsible for support requirements and devising recommendations for changes in personnel responsibility, staffing levels, and staffing options based on program priorities and the rapidly changing management structure.

S/he must possess broad expertise in the relationship of supporting offices to the technical office, and will be responsible for the design, planning and management of organizational change for activities under the GEO umbrella. S/he helps manage the relationships among USAID/IRAQ staff and the external support structure(s) that are in place.

1. In the absence of the Deputy Mission Director at post, the incumbent will serve as the focal point for coordinating functions relating to the GEO portfolio, the singular technical office in the mission. In that sense, s/he reports to the Mission Director on the planning, direction, administration and the management of GEO and its programs; while not directly supervising the staff, s/he provides clarification and direction when there is confusion or a need for further clarity for technical or administrative operations.

2. As a senior staff officer participates and often leads the formulation of program design, strategy and policies. Advises the Director’s Office of USAID/Iraq on developing technical issues and trends, and the resulting impact on the mission, seeking guidance when necessary.

3. The Advisor’s responsibilities include:

a) representing USAID Iraq in Technical (Governance and Economic Growth) discussions;

b) coordinating technical activities with the plethora of current and emerging USG, U.S. military, and donor task forces, teams and working groups; and

c) preparing as necessary, analyses, briefs, reports, cables, presentations, and other documents.

4. If the advisor is delegated the appropriate Assistance or Contract Officer Representative (A/COR) authorities, s/he exercises that authority for selected activities under the GEO (incl.

Stabilization) umbrella. If not delegated USAID A/COR, he/she assists the designated A/COR by monitoring the execution of their duties.

5. Provides coaching, mentorship and on-the-job-training to GEO and mission staff on technical and program management related issues.

Stabilization Operations and Management 30% of time

On behalf of the mission management team, the Advisor provides general leadership that helps establish and/or maintain the engagement for stabilization activities in country. S/he will;

1. Use expert communication skills to liaise directly within the mission structure, and with other actors in the country including the embassy, implementing partners, donor groups, the US Military.

Acts as a bridge to ensure constant communication is maintained, rolls/responsibilities are understood and clarified, and issues are discussed that effect Stabilization programming function.

2. The Advisor’s responsibilities include:

a) representing USAID Iraq in Technical (Stabilization) discussions;

b) coordinating stabilization activities with the plethora of current and emerging USG, U.S.

military, and donor task forces, teams and working groups; and

c) preparing as necessary, analyses, briefs, reports, cables, presentations, and other documents.

3. Provide advice, direction and recommended actions as the defacto leader of GEO’s Cooperating Country Nationals working on stabilization to the Mission’s Front Office.

4. Provide expert advice and direction for oversight on program/activity monitoring and reporting functions.

5. Monitors and makes recommendations on the utilization and continued need for USAID/Iraq staff.

6. Represents Mission technical issues to the interagency when necessary, and provides timely input on ad-hoc Agency requests that require higher level discretionary input with implications for program impact.

Program Coordination 25% of time

As directed by the Front Office, the Advisor, may be required to help support program, technical and/or administrative coordination, including working directly with the Middle East bureau Desk Officer and support staff on program issues. As such, the Advisor will:

1. Work directly with senior elements of the Middle East Bureau, including the NEA Office, the Bureau Front Office and the Iraq Desk Officer(s), and Iraq focused technical staff serving in the Middle East Bureau on Iraq issues. S/he engages in the substantive expert discussion of programming options that may be considered for USAID/Iraq.

2. Exercise independent judgement in providing authoritative advice on options to engage Washington DC decision makers on issues that affect the mission’s portfolio. As such, the Advisor needs to be familiar with the structure and functioning of a US Government Agency/Department as well as technical areas of Governance, Economic Development, and Stabilization.

3. Makes recommendations and coordinates actions to ensure program objectives and results are vetted with staff through portfolio reviews and lessons learned.

3) SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP

Reports directly to the Deputy Mission Director or designee.

4) SUPERVISORY CONTROLS

Provides coaching, mentorship and on-the-job-training to GEO and mission staff on technical and program management related issues.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: When deployed to Iraq (Baghdad or Erbil), the Intermittent Program Management Advisor will live and work principally inside the Embassy/Consulate Compound otherwise will work remotely from home or when deemed necessary from another USG location.

Incumbent may be required to deploy to Iraq in excess of 45 consecutive days. The selected applicant must meet new fitness for duty standards for Iraq (stated in 15 State 11055) which includes: (1) a full medical evaluation, and (2) must obtain medical clearance from State/MED in order to deploy to post.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

In order to be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum Qualifications.

Applications will be pre-screened and only those that meet the Minimum Qualifications will be considered. These are the minimum qualifications necessary to be considered for the position:

1. Education: A bachelor's degree or higher degree in international development, international relations, business, economics, public administration, social sciences, urban planning, disaster management, conflict or post-conflict studies and/or related field to the Statement of Duties is required.

2. Prior Work Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in development or stabilization or humanitarian strategy development, program development and implementation in an ongoing conflict situation and/or post-conflict reconstruction environment is required. The Advisor must have extensive international development, disaster recovery, stabilization, and/or fragile or strategic state experience overseas. The Advisor must have significant experience implementing development programs particularly those with the U.S.

government/USAID. S/he must be familiar with USAID activity design, monitoring and evaluation, implementation and reporting procedures and policies. Experience must include:

● At least five years of supervisory experience are required

● At least five years of overseas work experience in a developing country are required

Only offerors clearly meeting the above minimum qualifications will be considered for further evaluation.

III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

Applicants must submit a summary statement of no more than one letter-size page, which describes how their relevant professional experience and education has prepared them to meet the specific challenges of the duties and responsibilities described above. The Contracting Officer will establish a competitive range and only shortlisted candidate will be contacted for interview.

Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria:

a. Education (10 points): A bachelor's degree or higher degree in international development, international relations, business, economics, public administration, social sciences, urban planning, disaster management, conflict or post-conflict studies and/or related field to the Statement of Duties is required.

b. Prior Work Experience (40 points): A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in development or stabilization or humanitarian strategy development, program development and implementation in an ongoing conflict situation and/or post-conflict reconstruction environment is required. The Advisor must have extensive international development, disaster recovery, stabilization, and/or fragile or strategic state experience overseas. The Advisor must have significant experience implementing development programs particularly those with the U.S. government/USAID. S/he must be familiar with USAID activity design, monitoring and evaluation, implementation and reporting procedures and policies. Experience must include:

▪ At least five years of supervisory experience are required

▪ At least five years of overseas work experience in a developing country are required

c. Knowledge (25 points): Knowledge of USAID processes, procedures and instruments are required. Knowledge of military and civilian agencies involved in development, conflict mitigation, or disaster relief activities are required.

d. Skills and Abilities (25 points): The candidate must possess:

▪ Demonstrated ability to collaborate in an inter-agency and multi-donor setting, project management, and monitoring/oversight skills are required;

▪ Demonstrated mastery of writing and speaking/presentation skills, and in preparing analytical briefings for key U.S. government and other leaders/decision makers are required.

▪ The ability to operate basic computer tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and potentially Access is required;

▪ Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated political acumen to establish and maintain collaborative relations with senior-level and working-level counterparts both inside and outside of USAID are required;

▪ A proven, demonstrated ability to work independently under tight deadlines and heavy workload within agreed-upon parameters with minimal supervision or guidance and while exercising sound judgment is required;

▪ The ability to conceptualize both strategically and programmatically is required;

▪ An entrepreneurial, results-oriented approach to assistance, and the ability to diplomatically and tactfully confront and resolve institutional and interagency bureaucratic challenges while maintaining collaborative relations is required;

▪ “Self-starter” skills in order to anticipate and proactively address client needs are required;

▪ A proven ability to respond quickly to changing environments and evolving client needs are required; and

▪ An ability to work calmly, tactfully and effectively under pressure and adapt to the existing management team are required.

Total possible points: 100

Candidates meeting the above required qualifications for the position will be evaluated based on information presented within the application. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to establish a competitive range. Those applicants determined to be competitively ranked will be invited to participate in an interview. Only those applicants in competitive range, if established, will be contacted. The interview will be one of the determining factors in the final selection.

Reference checks will be conducted with the highest-ranked offeror at the conclusion of evaluations and prior to negotiations to assess the applicant’s technical knowledge, work performance, communication skills, and group dynamics, using the above criteria.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

1. Qualified applicants are requested to submit:

A. Most current Curriculum Vitae or resume;

B. Eligible offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2, (https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2) “Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

C. Three professional references, which could be your current and former supervisors and be able to comment on your suitability for employment, with telephones and e-mail contacts to be provided on a separate sheet;

D. Brief appendix of no more than one letter-size page to demonstrate how prior experience and/or training have prepared them to meet the specific challenges of the duties and responsibilities described in the solicitation.

2. Applications must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted electronically to: IraqUSPSCjobs@usaid.gov.

3. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, Applicants must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the application submission.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES

Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful Applicant about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful Applicant instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms.

1. Medical History and Examination Form (Department of State Forms)

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

3. Questionnaire for non-Sensitive Positions for National Security (SF-85),

4. Finger Print Card (FD-258)

5. OF-306

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a Personal Service Contracting (PSC) employee is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:

1. BENEFITS:

(a) Employer's FICA Contribution

(b) Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance

(c) Pay Comparability Adjustment

(d) Annual Increase (pending a satisfactory performance evaluation)

(e) Eligibility for Worker's Compensation

(f) Annual and Sick Leave https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2 mailto:IraqUSPSCjobs@usaid.gov

2. ALLOWANCES:

Section numbers refer to rules from the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas)

(a) Post Differential (Chapter 500)

(b) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600), and

(c) Danger Pay Allowance (Section 650)

(d) Sunday Differential

VII. TAXES

USPSCs are required to pay Federal income taxes, FICA, Medicare and applicable State Income taxes.

VIII. USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO

PSCs

USAID regulations and policies governing USPSC awards are available at these sources:

1. USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), Appendix D, “Direct USAID Contracts with a U.S.

Citizen or a U.S. Resident Alien for Personal Services Abroad,” including contract clause “General Provisions,” available at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf.

2. Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms .

3. Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins (AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available at http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs .

4. Ethical Conduct. By the acceptance of a USAID personal services contract as an individual, the contractor will be acknowledging receipt of the “Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch,” available from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, in accordance with General Provision 2 and 5 CFR 2635.See https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations .

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/forms https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations