Sol_72051720R00002.pdf

ATTACHMENT 1 72051720R00002

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72051720R00002

2. ISSUANCE DATE: November 21st, 2019

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 13th, 2019 04:30pm AST

4. POINT OF CONTACT:

Karina Amell / Soraya Morillo USAID/Dominican Republic Telephone Number: 809-368-7508/ 809-368-7101 E-mail: kamell@usaid.gov E-mail: smorillo@usaid.gov.

5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Youth, Education and Security (YES) Advisor

6. MARKET VALUE: $90,621.00 - $117,810.00 equivalent to GS-14 Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Eight (8) months, with no possibility of extensions.

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: United States Citizens (USs) or U.S. permanent resident aliens.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Ability to obtain and maintain a HSPD-12/Facility Access level clearance as provided by USAID.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

Background:

USAID/Dominican Republic’s YES office consists of three (3) USDH and seven (7) Foreign Service Nationals. The YES Office manages a portfolio of fourteen (14) mechanisms in basic education, youth, justice, human rights and security. The Senior YES Advisor will serve as the Deputy Office Director for the YES Office for a period of eight (8) months from o/a January 2020 through o/a September 2020. This short-term position is needed to cover the office during the absence of various staff.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Senior YES Office Advisor will serve as Deputy Office Director to manage and support youth, education, security and justice projects. He/she will act independently and have a high degree of responsibility and decision-making. He/she will have several years of experience with USAID, in particular in the areas of security, justice and/or youth and education. Primary functions will include, but will not be limited to the following tasks:

● Support the Office Director to:

mailto:kamell@usaid.gov mailto:smorillo@usaid.gov o manage implementation of and reporting on YES awards, including working directly with AOR/CORs to answer information and M&E taskers;

o organize office representation at mission events and meetings as needed during the TDY period, including assigning FSNs to cover meetings;

o organize weekly staff meetings and weekly briefings with the Front Office;

o manage processes / liaison with Program Office;

o manage YES budget and conduct pipeline reviews and activity budget discussions;

● Participate in technical evaluation committees;

● Serve as AOR/COR or alternate for education, justice and security projects as needed;

● Provide program support (GLAAS actions, filing, etc.) to YES office;

● Draft documentation for award modifications;

● Respond to mission or YES office taskers;

● Draft reporting for YES office (CBSI bi-monthly, weekly TPs, etc.);

● Conduct site monitoring visits and field reports;

● Ensure that all procurements and award modifications are kept on track;

● Provide subject matter expertise on activity design to DO team including key informant interviews, proposal(s) and/or SOW(s) development for new and existing instrument(s) and/or modifications to existing instruments and all other related procurement documentation;

● Provide mentoring to DO1 staff, to include, but not limited to: designing individual learning and training plans, assistance on the creation of work objectives, and leadership coaching

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

In order to be considered for this position a candidate must meet the Required Minimum Qualifications listed below. Consideration and selection will be based on panel evaluation of Required Minimum Qualifications, Desired Qualifications and Evaluation Factors. Additionally, interviews and writing samples may be requested.

• Hold a United States Citizenship or U.S. permanent resident alien status.

• Bachelors’ degree in social science, education, international development, public health and/or another related field.

• Ten (10) years of practical experience designing, implementing and monitoring/evaluating development programs in the field of democracy and governance, rule of law, security, education, health, and/or youth development.

• Computer Skills: Proficiency in Word processing programs, PowerPoint, Excel, the internet, and email is required.

• Language Proficiency (10 points):

o English level IV (fluent) Reading/Writing/Speaking is required.

o Spanish level II (limited working proficiency) Reading/Writing/Speaking is required.

III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

The following factors are listed in descending order of importance and will be the basis for the evaluation of applications meeting the required minimum qualifications. All applications will be evaluated based on the documentation submitted with the application. USAID reserves the right to contact your previous employers for relevant information concerning your performance and may consider such information in its evaluation. The highest-ranking applicants may be selected for an interview, but an interview is not always necessary.

● Education and other Academic Training (10 points) o The successful candidate must possess a bachelors’ degree (or higher), or equivalent, in social science, education, international development, public health and/or other related field.

● Professional experience (50 points) o The applicant must have ten (10) years of practical experience designing, implementing and monitoring/evaluating development programs in the field of democracy and governance, rule of law, security, education, health, youth development, or another related sector.

● Interpersonal, team management and communication skills (30 points) o Acts as Acting Deputy Office Director for the YES Office and is responsible for discipline, performance and career development of the staff. Must manage the day-to-day oversight of all USAID/DR YES Office programs. Must demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Must be able to compile and present a great deal of detailed information in a concise and fully professional manner. Must be capable of directing, coordinating and supervising the various elements of a complex portfolio with a professional and administrative support staff of varying technical expertise. Must be able to maintain an effective working relationship with personnel in USAID and other U.S. Government agencies at client missions.

● Language Proficiency (10 points) o English level IV (fluent) Reading/Writing/Speaking is required.

o Spanish level II (limited working proficiency) Reading/Writing/Speaking is required.

Supervision received: Minimal. The Senior Advisor works independently by planning, designing, and carrying out programs, projects, studies, or other relevant work in consultation with and as directed by the Office Director.

Physical Demands and Work Environment: The USAID/DR Program Office is in Santo Domingo as part of the US embassy compound. On a regular basis, incumbent must be able to travel within the DR to visit project activity sites and partner’s offices and to other regional Missions, as needed.

Available guidelines: The Senior YES Advisor must be a self-starter that will take the initiative and use expertise to interpret Agency guidelines, policies, rules and regulations, using good judgment to apply them within the context of USAID/DR Mission and act in spaces where there may be broad or no guidance.

Complexity: The Senior YES Advisor will carry out a wide range of responsibilities that require an equally wide range of skills. Decision-making requires the capacity to quickly analyze, understand, synthesize and formulate appropriate and effective responses within a context of very short deadlines, multiple stakeholders with constant and ever-changing requirements, and continuous changes in technical program standards. The job requires a self-starter who takes initiative to stay abreast of current sector trends, challenges, emerging opportunities, and technical developments. The position requires the ability to lead and act as an effective technical expert within a multicultural team environment.

Scope and Effect: The Senior YES Advisor will be considered to be a source of technical expertise and leadership on sector issues, imminently qualified to advise and guide USG colleagues, host country government counterparts, U.S. cooperating agencies, and local implementing partners on all matters related to USAID awards, policies, global goals and objectives. The Senior YES Advisor’s work will directly inform programmatic and leadership decisions and will provide input for strategic planning. Incumbent provides technical leadership and policy advice to USAID Missions in the region with the development of country-specific strategies, programs, projects, studies, and evaluations. The Senior YES Advisor strengthens Mission activities by filling knowledge gaps and addressing key issues that lend themselves to economies of scale or require harmonization of policy and action across national boundaries. The Advisor analyzes policies, trends, and conditions affecting the region, and represents the USAID Missions in development forums. S/he will connect and liaise with USAID and Embassy management and advise non-government organizations, business associations, other donors, think tanks, academic institutions, and the host countries’ key agencies on current trends in the sectors of youth, education and security to ensure the Mission is informed on the host government’s development landscapes.

Nature, level, and purpose of contacts: In coordination with YES office and Mission staff, the Senior YES Advisor will have contact with mostly high-ranking host government officials, leadership and technical advisors from other donors and international organizations. Contacts take place in unstructured settings in different environments outside and inside the Agency. The Senior YES Advisor is expected to influence, motivate, and direct people or groups and s/he must be resourceful in identifying the appropriate approach for negotiating and persuading others, and in establishing rapport in order to gain and relay information, including decision makers within the host government, donors, and other international organizations.

Supervision exercised: The Senior Advisor may supervise locally engaged staff within the YES Office as needed. She/he will serve as Office Director in the absence of the Office Director.

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,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

2. Offers must be received by the closing date and time Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact specified in Section I.

3. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the number of this Solicitation to ensure the offer is for the position of this Solicitation.

4. An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) or resume: Your CV/resume must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria.

Broad general statements that are vague or lacking specificity will not be considered as effectively addressing particular selection criteria. Applicants are encouraged to write a brief appendix to demonstrate how prior experience and/or training addresses the minimum qualifications and evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation.

5. References: Three (3) references, who are not family members or relatives, with working telephone and e-mail contacts. The references must be able to provide substantive information about your past performance and abilities. USAID reserves the right to contact your previous employers for relevant information concerning your performance and may consider such information in its evaluation of the application.

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.

Forms outlined below can be found at: http://www.usaid.gov/forms/

1. Form AID 309-2, “Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,”

2. Medical History and Examination Form (DS-1843) **

3. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (SF-86) ** or

4. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85) **

5. Fingerprint Card (FD-258) ** http://www.usaid.gov/forms http://www.usaid.gov/forms/

** Forms 2 through 5 shall be completed ONLY upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job.

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:

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

(A) Temporary lodging allowance (Section 120), ³

(B) Living quarters allowance (Section 130), ³

(C) Post allowance (Section 220), ³

(D) Supplemental post allowance (Section 230), ³

(E) Separate maintenance allowance (Section 260),4

(F) Education allowance (Section 270),4

(G) Educational travel (Section 280),4

(H) Post differential (Section 500),

(I) Payments during evacuation/authorized departure (Section 600), and

(J) Danger pay (Section 650).

³Mission Directors may authorize per diem in lieu of these allowances.

4These allowances are not authorized for short tours (i.e., less than a year).

https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101.

https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101.

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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

END OF SOLICITATION

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