72049721R00001-Offshore Hire USPSC Senior Environment Advisor.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

U.S. Embassy Jakarta Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5 Jakarta 10110, Indonesia USAID.gov

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72049721R00001

ISSUANCE DATE: October 28, 2020 CLOSING DATE: November 27, 2020 CLOSING TIME: 04:00 p.m. (Jakarta Time)

SUBJECT: Solicitation for Offshore Hire U.S. Personal Service Contract (USPSC)

SENIOR ENVIRONMENT ADVISOR, GS-14

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. Citizens to provide personal services under contract as described in this solicitation.

Applications must be in accordance with guidance described in Attachment, from section I to IV of this solicitation, at the place and time specified. Incomplete, unsigned, or late application packages will not be considered. Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records.

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 the attached information.

Sincerely, /s/

Nathan Olah Supervisory Contracting Officer

USAID/Indonesia

Offshore Hire USPSC Senior Environment Advisor

72049721R00001

ATTACHMENT

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72049721R00001

2. ISSUANCE DATE: See Cover Letter

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: See Cover Letter

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Any questions about this solicitation may be directed to Ms. Yulian Christanti, A&A Specialist, e-mail at ychristanti@usaid.gov

Note: No in-person appointments or telephone calls will be entertained unless you are required to have more information about this solicitation.

5. POSITION TITLE: Offshore Hire USPSC Senior Environment Advisor

6. MARKET VALUE: $92,977 - $120,868 per annum, equivalent to GS-14

Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. Requests for salary over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained nor negotiated.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The base period will be two years. Based on

Mission’s need, availability of funds and satisfactory performance, the Contracting Officer may exercise an option for an additional one-year period.

Base Period TBD two-year period Option Period TBD one-year period

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: USAID/Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. citizens

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: The final selected candidate must be able to obtain a U.S. Government SECRET level security clearance. USAID will provide details regarding this requirement. If such clearance is not obtained within a reasonable time or negative suitability issues are involved, any offer made may be rescinded.

11. MEDICAL CLEARANCE: The final selected candidate must be able to obtain required medical clearance as a pre-condition for employment.

mailto:ychristanti@usaid.gov

12. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

1. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

The Senior Environment Advisor position is based in USAID’s overseas mission located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The incumbent works as the Landscapes and Seascapes (SCAPES) Team Leader within the Environment (ENV) Office and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the SCAPES portfolio and the terrestrial, marine and fisheries, and agroforestry sector programming. The incumbent functions as a core member of ENV management and supports the Mission to achieve Agency objectives, specifically to improve natural resources management in alignment with the security and economic pillars of the Indo-Pacific Vision. The position also provides thought leadership on natural resource safeguards and security to advance the Clear Choice Framework. The Senior Environment Advisor oversees the Mission’s programming to address illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, to counter wildlife trafficking, to conserve biodiversity, to improve the management of forests, peatlands, and fisheries, and to mobilize private sector investment in sustainable natural resources supply chains. The position is non-critical sensitive and requires a Secret security clearance.

2. Statement of Duties to be Performed

The Senior Environment Advisor will carry out the following specific duties as listed:

● Provides expert technical assistance and guidance on biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, and fisheries management to the USAID/Indonesia Mission, the Asia Bureau, partner institutions, and host country personnel. The incumbent will assist the Mission in defining and analyzing biodiversity conservation and natural resource management issues; assist in the formulation of policies and strategies, including developing guidance to carry out new policies; guide the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of a large portfolio of forest management, marine and fisheries, and natural resource management programs; and advise high-level officials from USAID and other U.S. Government agencies, senior host government officials, and staff of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on natural resources management and biodiversity conservation issues, including cross-sectoral linkages. Interprets and communicates legislation about forest management, wetlands management, water and soil quality, wildlife conservation, and new, improved, or more economic scientific methods, practices, or techniques necessary to perform such work.

● Leads the design, implementation, assessment, and reporting of several USAID-funded programs in the area of forest management, marine and fisheries, and agroforestry. Specific tasks include evaluating policy issues and environmental regulations that affect the SCAPES portfolio, site evaluations, technical review of new project proposals, technical review of site-based and thematic-based annual work plans, contribution to overall programmatic strategic design, monitoring of specific indicators, and preparation of annual results write-ups.

● Actively contributes to the design of development assistance strategies that contain both short- and long-range land management and multi-resources plans to carry out alternative strategies and analyses of environmental, economic, and social effects of each alternative that may include conducting basic and applied research on managing timber, forest watersheds, mangroves, sustainable fisheries, and other related resources.

● Provides effective liaison and promotes collaboration with Asia

Bureau headquarters offices and with other USAID/Washington technical offices to advance the goals of USAID programs to conserve biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the land use sector, and sustainably manage natural resources, including fisheries. This role shall include working with contractors, grantees, and other collaborating organizations on the integration of biodiversity conservation, climate change, private sector productivity, and sustainable natural resource management in program activities.

● Participates at high levels in USAID working groups and in interagency working groups within the U.S. Embassy concerned with advancing U.S. interests and obligations under international treaties and agreements, particularly those related to forest management, IUU fishing, sustainable supply chains, and global climate change, recommending policies and programs to keep the forest lands, both public and private, fully productive for the purposes intended under enabling legislation.

● Ensures that relevant findings and lessons learned about terrestrial and marine biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries, and natural resource management are broadly disseminated in a timely manner to appropriate USAID staff, other relevant federal agencies, multilateral donors, other conservation organizations, universities, and host country counterpart personnel.

● Maintains contact with the environmental community (including federal agencies, NGOs, universities, research institutes, private enterprises, other donors, and international organizations) to keep current with the latest technical and policy developments, mobilize support when required, and promote cooperation for conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources in order to advance coordination and increase the impact of USAID programs. Ensures close coordination with other donors and the private sector involved in national policy and advocacy and in site-based efforts for terrestrial and marine conservation and sustainable natural resource management in Indonesia to ensure other donor efforts complement USAID programming.

Responds to inquiries and requests for information on biodiversity conservation, fisheries management, and the sustainable use of natural resources from USAID headquarters and, as appropriate, from other organizations.

● Represents the USAID/Indonesia Environmental Office in meetings, conferences, and seminars and participates on committees and working groups.

● Understands and supports equal opportunity and civil rights policies; performs assigned duties in full compliance with the letter and spirit of equal opportunity and civil rights laws and regulations; assures bias-free written and oral communications;

respecting and valuing differences of other employees and clients; and as appropriate, preparing for career advancement opportunities.

3. USAID Consultation or Orientation (if applicable). Will be provided if and as applicable

4. Supervisory Relationship. The incumbent will work under the direction of the U.S. Direct Hire Director and/or Deputy Director of the Environment Office or his/her designee.

5. Supervisory Controls. The Senior Environment Advisor is a supervisory position. The incumbent is expected to operate as a senior professional, able to exercise considerable initiative and professional judgment and to work effectively in a collegial fashion. S/he develops recommendations to solve difficult problems without precedent, proposes solutions to complex issues, and discusses recommendations with the USAID/Indonesia Environmental Office Director, Environment Office Deputy Director, or his/her designee.

13. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work is sedentary with frequent field visits, approximately 25% of the time, which may require strenuous physical activities in remote, rugged, rural, or natural environments in Indonesia and perhaps other developing countries. There are trips to remote rural areas over non-paved roads in 4-wheel drive vehicles. The incumbent must be capable of withstanding long periods of travel under difficult conditions and be capable of moderate physical exertion.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

All applications will be pre-screened, and only those that submit complete application packages and meet the minimum qualifications listed below will be considered for further review.

1. Education: Possession of a Master or Ph. D Degree in natural resources management, forestry, marine biology, environment management, conservation biology, resource economics, agricultural economics, or in a related agricultural, environmental, or development field of discipline is required.

2. Prior Work Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in development assistance in one or more of the fields listed above, of which at least two (2) years were in a developing country. S/he must have experience leading forestry, marine or terrestrial biodiversity conservation, or climate change mitigation programs in international donor agencies, international NGOs, or equivalent private sector, academic, or government work.

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. The FAR provisions referenced above are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

EVALUATION/SELECTION FACTORS:

Applications which clearly meet the minimum qualification required for this position will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection factors. These selection factors will evidenced by the cover letter and curriculum vitae/resume, as well as interviews and reference checks (if applicable).

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1. Education (10 points):

Possession of a Master or Ph. D Degree in natural resources management, forestry, marine biology, environment management, conservation biology, resource economics, agricultural economics, or in a related agricultural, environmental, or development field of discipline is required.

2. Prior Work Experience (20 points):

Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in development assistance in one or more of the fields listed above, of which at least two (2) years were in a developing country. S/he must have experience leading forestry, marine or terrestrial biodiversity conservation, or climate change mitigation programs in international donor agencies, international NGOs, or equivalent private sector, academic, or government work.

3. Language Proficiency (10 points):

Level IV (fluent – speaking/reading/writing) English language proficiency is required. Limited working proficiency in Indonesian is preferred but not required.

4. Knowledge (30 points):

Very strong working knowledge and understanding of issues related to forest and marine conservation and natural resources management in a developing country, including program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

5. Skills and Abilities (30 points):

Must be personable and tactful, resourceful, and able to adapt to quickly changing priorities. Strong oral and written communications skills are required to develop and maintain effective, productive working relationships with national and international working partners. Effective leadership skills are required to lead results-driven project teams. Demonstrated ability to build and maintain close counterpart relationships with staff, organizations, government, donors, the private sector or other key counterparts. Must work collaboratively and effectively in a high performance environment and under tight deadlines. Proven ability to quickly learn USAID policies, procedures, and guidelines, and apply them to diverse situations.

Computer literate: word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software.

Maximum Points Available: 100 points

SELECTION PROCESS

After the closing date for receipt of offers, an evaluation committee will convene to review all offers that meet the requirements and evaluate them in accordance with the above selection factors. Applications from offerors who do not meet the requirements indicated in the solicitation will not be considered for the review.

Competitive Range – The Contracting Officer may choose to establish a competitive range. If this happens the evaluation committee must create a ranking of the most highly rated and technically qualified offerors based solely on the selection factors.

Interviews - The evaluation committee may conduct interviews of the most highly rated offerors before making a selection recommendation to the Contracting Officer. If the Contracting Officer established a competitive range and the evaluation committee elected to conduct interviews, the evaluation committee must interview all individuals within the competitive range.

Reference checks - Before a final offeror is selected for the position, the evaluation committee must perform reference checks based on the offeror’s application or other relevant sources. The Contracting Officer, in consultation with the evaluation committee, will decide at what stage such reference checks will be conducted.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

1. Offerors must include in their applications package as follows:

a. A completed and signed the offer form AID 309-2, “Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,” available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2

b. A cover letter of no more than three (3) pages that demonstrates how the offeror’s qualifications meet the evaluation and selection factors.

c. A current resume or curriculum vitae which responds to the requirements of the position. The resume or CV must clearly indicate the education and prior work experience which meet the minimum qualifications.

d. Names, current and accurate contact numbers (email and phone) of three professional references that have knowledge of the offeror’s ability to perform the duties set forth in the solicitation. It is the responsibility of the offeror to ensure that references are available to provide a written or verbal reference in a timely manner. Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror.

e. A written statement certifying that 1). the candidate will start work soon as valid medical and security clearance are obtained and 2). the length of time for which the offeror is available for the position.

2. Delivery Instruction:

a. Application packages must be received by the closing date and time specified in Cover letter, and submitted to the proposals-indo@usaid.gov, to the attention of Mr. Nathan Olah, Supervisory Contracting Officer, with a copy to Ms. Yulian Christanti at ychristanti@usaid.gov. Incomplete, https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2 mailto:proposals-indo@usaid.gov mailto:ychristanti@usaid.gov unsigned, or late application packages will not be considered.

b. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the solicitation number and position title in the subject of email.

c. The attachment to e-mail must be in Word format (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf). The attachment should be formatted with a 10MB limit per email. Package in zip or other compressed formats will be rejected. The U.S.

Government will not be responsible for incomplete/corrupted or missing information in electronic submission. USAID will not ensure quality or completeness of electronic files attached to the e-mail.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD

The CO will provide instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms after an offeror is selected for the contract award:

1. Contractor Physical Examination (Form AID 1420-62)

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

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

4. Fingerprint Card (FD-258)

VI. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a USPSC 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

2. ALLOWANCES (if applicable):

Section numbers refer to rules from the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas), available at https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101

a. Temporary Quarters Subsistence Allowance (Section 120)

b. Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

c. Cost of Living Allowance (Section 210) http://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=231&menu_id=92 http://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=231&menu_id=92 http://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=231&menu_id=92 https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101

d. Post Allowance (Section 220)

e. Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

f. Education Allowance (Section 270)

g. Educational Travel (Section 280)

h. Post Differential (Chapter 500)

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

j. Danger Pay (Section 650)

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/ads/policy/300/aidar

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

3. Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below.

ITEM

NO

(A)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(DESCRIPTION)

(B)

QUANTITY

(C)

UNIT

(D)

UNIT

PRICE

(E)

AMOUNT

(F)

0001 Base Period - Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Cost

- Product Service Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

2 LOT $TBD $TBD

at Award after negotiations with Contractor

1001 Option Period - Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Cost

- Product Service Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

1 LOT $TBD $TBD

at Award after negotiations with Contractor https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-1

4. 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

5. 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

****END OF SOLICITATION****

http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations