72052022R00008_USPSC_ResidentHire_PPSO_Creative Director.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development USAID Building, Tel: 502- 2422-4000 Carretera El Salvador Guatemala City, Guatemala Website: www.usaid.gov

SOLICITATION

NUMBER:72052022R00008 ISSUANCE

DATE: May 17, 2022

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: June 16, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

(Guatemala Time)

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) Resident Hire for Creative Director (GS-12).

Dear Prospective Offerors:

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

Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1 of this solicitation. Incomplete or unsigned offers 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 Attachment 1.

Sincerely, Guadalupe Ramirez Contracting Officer

ATTACHMENT 1 72052022R00008

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72052022R00008

2. ISSUANCE DATE: May 17, 2022

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: June 16, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Lilian Monterroso, e-mail at lmonterroso@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Information Coordinator (GS-12).

6. MARKET VALUE: $68,299 - $88,792 equivalent to GS-12 Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Three years, estimated to start on September 1, 2022.

Base Period: 9/1/2022 – 8/31/2023 Option Period 1: 9/1/2023 – 8/31/2024 Option Period 2: 9/1/2024 – 8/31/2025

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Guatemala City, Guatemala with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties. Situational or routine telework may be permitted, subject to Post telework policy.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents residing in

Guatemala who are eligible to work in Guatemala. This includes Eligible Family Members (EFMs) within the United States Embassy Community.

● Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident (“green card holder”);

● U.S. resident alien means a non-U.S. citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States;

● Submit a complete application as outlined in the solicitation section titled APPLYING;

● Be able to obtain facility access authorization;

● Be able to obtain a Department of State medical clearance;

● Be willing to travel to work sites and other offices as/when requested;

● Employment is subject to funds availability and all the required approvals obtained.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Facility Access. The final selected candidates must obtain mailto:lmonterroso@usaid.gov both the appropriate security and medical clearances within a reasonable period. If such clearances are not obtained within a reasonable time or negative suitability issues are involved, any offer made may be rescinded.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

USAID/Guatemala’s Creative Director is a key member of the Development Outreach and Communications team within the Planning and Program Support office, reporting directly to the Communications Director. The Creative Director is responsible for leading Mission staff and implementing partners to source and develop engaging, high-impact written and visual materials to successfully communicate USAID/Guatemala’s development impact. Duties include producing mission-wide communications materials and information for external audiences and supporting the technical offices teams with sourcing and editing communications material. Importantly, the Creative Director will engage directly with Mission technical staff and implementing partner’s communications staff to highlight Mission programs and successes, and help develop the communication capacities of both. The Creative Director also serves as the Mission photographer and maintains responsibility for guiding and maintaining the professional style and look of all USAID communications materials.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A. 50% - Written Content Production for Internal and External Audiences: The incumbent’s duties include responding to the Mission’s priorities, developing and producing effective written communication materials to advance overall USG goals in Guatemala.

o Source, Develop, and Create written content for Mission engagement with external and internal audiences in a variety of mediums including: traditional success stories, for Adobe Express, Medium, and Exposure, as well as short format social media stories.

o Work closely with and provide support/leadership to technical offices and implementing partners' communication staff in identifying and selecting compelling written content for inclusion in strategic communications.

o Edit and develop success stories sourced by implementing partners to be published on the USAID/Guatemala website, newsletter, and other external publications.

o Conduct site visits of USAID projects to conduct interviews, film, and photograph in order to gather materials for in-house development of success stories.

B. 30% - Visual Content Production for Internal and External Audiences: The incumbent’s duties include responding to the Mission’s priorities, developing and producing effective visual communication materials to advance overall USG goals in Guatemala.

o Develops, edits and creates visual and multimedia content for Mission engagement with the host-country public, for a variety of mediums including online, traditional broadcast, and in-person channels. Visual and multimedia content includes: video and audio material; storyboards; graphics; motion graphics; artwork;

photos; photo galleries and similar visual and multimedia products. Creates digital assets including photo, video, graphics for use in video, web and print, social media posts, pictograms, infographics, etc.

o Provides leadership to technical offices and implementing partners' communication staff to identify and select compelling visual and/or multimedia material for inclusion in strategic communications.

o Ensures uniformity of aesthetics and branding to support communication activities with all audiences.

Ensures that all products comply with federal and host-country laws and USAID policies.

o Designs and creates original professional quality graphics, infographics, and motion graphics to support Mission public engagement with all audience groups.

o Responsible for post-production of visual and multimedia content from implementing partners.

o Serves as official Mission photographer and is responsible for managing Mission photographic resources to ensure that all public events, visits, high level representatives activities, receive photo/video coverage.

o Possesses professional working level knowledge of Adobe Creative suite programs including Photoshop, illustrator, and After Effects.

C. 20% - Strategic Communications, Outreach, and Staff Development o Designs and provides on-the-job training to Mission staff and implementing partner’s staff to expand capacity to identify and develop success stories, photography, and video.

o Works closely with the PPSO DOC team in developing social media content in both visual and written forms.

o Collaborates closely with technical teams and implementing partners to better tell USAID/Guatemala’s story.

o Liaises with USAID/Washington communication staff on worldwide campaign efforts.

o Provides photography and videography support for site visits, events, and for VIP visits from outside of

Guatemala.

o

USAID Consultation or Orientation (if applicable): Not required

Supervision Relationship: (Received): The jobholder reports directly to the Communications Director, or designee

Supervisory Exercised: Continuing supervision of other Mission staff is not contemplated.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Applications will be initially screened by the Human Resources Office to determine whether applicants have met the advertised minimum qualifications. A list of qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further consideration and screening.

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:

A. Education: University degree in design, advertising, journalism, language arts, mass communications, film, photography, arts or local equivalent is required.

B. Language Proficiency: Fluency in written and oral communication skills in English is required.

C. Technical and Professional Experience: This position requires a total of at least five years of progressively responsible experience in design, creation and packaging of visual and multimedia content for digital marketing, advertising or mass communications purposes, including extensive experience as an advanced end user of industry standard desktop and mobile software applications, internet and related communications technologies, and integration of visual content into web content management systems.

D. Skills and Abilities:

Analytic skills: Must have strong analytic skills to identify target audiences and understand how Mission use of images, graphics, video, and audio can affect their sensitivities. Must be able to perceive the emergence of new audience preferences and trends in information consumption and visual and multimedia norms, in order to produce targeted digital or traditional visual content in support of Mission external engagement. Must be able to analyze content from multiple sources (internal and third-party) and determine when and how to use it in Mission visual products.

Communication/Interpersonal skills: Must have excellent, documented visual story-telling, written, and oral communication skills to create and adapt visual, audio and printed material for dissemination in English and host-country languages. Must have demonstrated skills in digital and web communication. Must have strong interpersonal skills to maintain Mission-wide collaboration on the creation of visual and multimedia content in support of Mission public engagement. Must have excellent customer relations and interpersonal cross-cultural communication skills. Must be able to tailor communications to fit formal and informal situations and different ethnic, religious, and linguistic cultures.

Management skills: Must be able to bring together offices and staff from across the Mission to identify and share visual and audio content. Must be able to identify and resolve, or seek help in resolving, problems with use of visual and multimedia content in online or traditional public engagement. Must be able to contribute to development and updating of procedures and guidelines in response to changing communication technologies, and changes in public opinion, formats, and internal Mission preferences for producing and sharing visual and audio content. Must be able to plan, prioritize and manage multiple projects such as marketing, information or advocacy campaigns, and oversee associated project budgets, schedules, and daily operations to produce, adapt, and disseminate time-sensitive content. Must be able to assess Mission capacity and determine which acquisitions (equipment, software, etc.) will meet current and future needs.

Technical skills: Must have detailed knowledge of multiple formats, digital tools and platforms for visual content creation, editing (audio, visual, multimedia and graphic), and distribution through traditional and digital channels.

Must be able to create and use photo and video sharing sites, podcasts, video and other digital products, and be familiar with webinars, gaming, gamification theories, contests and other interactive immersive platforms. Must be highly skilled in use of digital software and editing tools (Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator, etc), content databases, and reporting tools. Must have demonstrated skills in web design, coding, and management including use of the Drupal CMS platform. Must be familiar with audience analysis and analytic tools (i.e., Hootsuite, Google Analytics, et al). Good keyboarding, data entry skills, and excellent familiarity with electronic discovery tools, in particular the Internet, and standard information retrieval practices and procedures are required. Must have good numerical skills to be able to use statistical analyses of audience segments and track impact of Mission digital products.

Provide 1-2 writing samples

E. Language Proficiency: Functionally Native English reading, writing, and speaking is required. Good level in Spanish (speaking, reading, and writing) is required. The Job Holder shall be able to prepare correspondence and standardized reports. USAID reserves the right to test language proficiency.

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.

Reference checks will be conducted by Human Resources before finalization of scoring by the technical evaluation committee (TEC).

A. Education (10 points) B. Language Proficiency (20 points) C. Technical and Professional Experience (35 points) D. Skills and Abilities (35 points) o Creative Writing Ability o Understanding of Visual Design o Ability to lead/build the capacity of partners and technical staff to adopt/replicate/expand USAID’s creative storytelling approach

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

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

3. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.

a. Please submit a Letter of Application and current resume.

b. Three (3) references, who are not family members or relatives, with working telephone and email 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 http://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far http://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far http://www.usaid.gov/forms evaluation of the applications.

c. Application must be submitted ONLY via email to lmonterroso@usaid.gov and the email subject must say –: SOL#72052022R00008 – Creative Director for PPSO. Be sure to include your name and the solicitation number at the top of each page.

4. Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors - The Offeror will be required to show proof that the Offeror is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on or before the first date of onboarding, or submit an approved reasonable accommodation to the CO. If the contractor does not meet this requirement the contract may be terminated.*

* See Notice Regarding Any Court Order Affecting the Implementation of E.O. 14042 in

Section VIII below.

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. 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 (SF-85)

4. Finger Print 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

(g) Paid Parental Leave

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. PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT

CLAUSES Subpart 52.2—Text of Provisions and Clauses

52.223-99 Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, Alternate 70.

Insert the following clause in all solicitations and contracts for personal services with individuals performing in the United States or its outlying areas. COs may incorporate this requirement into new solicitations and resulting contracts for personal services with individuals performing outside of the United States or outlying areas (United States National (US), Cooperating Country National (CCN), and Third Country National (TCN), depending on local conditions.

ENSURING ADEQUATE COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS

FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS (OCT 2021)-Alternate 70 (OCT 2021) (M/OAA-DEV-FAR- 22-01c)

(a) Definition. As used in this clause -

United States or its outlying areas means—

(1) The fifty States;

(2) The District of Columbia;

(3) The commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands;

(4) The territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands; and

(5) The minor outlying islands of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Atoll.

(b) Authority. This clause implements Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, dated September 9, 2021 (published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2021, 86 FR 50985).

(c) Personal Services Contracts with individuals. As a matter of policy, the contractor must comply with the USAID’s guidance applicable to direct-hire federal http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf employees.

(End of clause)

Notice Regarding Any Court Order Affecting the Implementation of E.O. 14042

USAID will take no action to enforce the clause (FAR 52.223-99) implementing the requirements of Executive Order 14042, absent further written notice from USAID, where the place of performance identified in the contract is in a U.S. state or outlying area subject to a court order prohibiting the application of requirements pursuant to the Executive Order (hereinafter, “Excluded State or Outlying Area”). In all other circumstances, USAID will enforce the clause, except for contractor employees who perform substantial work on or in connection with a covered contract in an Excluded State or Outlying Area, or in a covered contractor workplace located in an Excluded State or Outlying Area. A current list of such Excluded States and Outlying Areas is maintained at https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/.

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

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

LINE ITEMS

ITEM

NO

(A)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(DESCRIPTION)

(B)

QUANTIT

Y

(C)

UNIT

(D)

UNIT

PRIC

E (E)

AMOUNT

(F)

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

1 LOT $ _TBD $_TBD at Award after

- Award Type: Cost

- Product Service Code: [e.g. R497]

- Accounting Info: [insert one or more citation(s) from Phoenix/GLAAS] negotiations with

Contractor_

1001 Option Period 1 – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Cost

1 LOT $ _TBD $_TBD at Award after negotiation s

- Product Service Code: [e.g. R497]

- Accounting Info: [insert from

Phoenix/GLAAS] with Contractor_

2001 Option Period 2 – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

1 LOT $ _TBD $_TBD at Awa rd after

- Award Type: Cost

- Product Service Code: [e.g. R497]

- Accounting Info: [insert from negotia tions with

Contractor_ http://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/ http://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/

Phoenix/GLAAS]

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.

6. PSC Ombudsman

The PSC Ombudsman serves as a resource for any Personal Services Contractor who has entered into a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and is available to provide clarity on their specific contract with the agency. Please visit our page for additional information:

https://www.usaid.gov/work- usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman. The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov.

END OF SOLICITATION

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