72068519R00015-0004 - SDP Advisor Burkina.pdf

RE-SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068519R00015-0004

ISSUANCE DATE: September 29, 2020 CLOSING DATE: October 20, 2020 - 5:00 PM (Burkina time)

SUBJECT: SOLICITATION FOR A U.S. PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTOR (USPSC)

SAHEL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP (SDP) ADVISOR – BURKINA FASO

Dear Prospective Offerors:

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

SOLICITATION.

Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1, Sections I through VIII 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 offers.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attached information.

Sincerely, Chadwick Mills Deputy Regional Contracting Officer

ATTACHMENT 1 72068519R00015-0004

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068519R00015-0004

2. ISSUANCE DATE: September 29, 2020

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME: October 20, 2020 - 5:00 PM (Burkina time)

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Address questions to the following mailbox: usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov Ensure that the Subject Line has the Solicitation Number and Position Title you are applying for.

5. POSITION TITLE: USPSC Sahel Development Partnership (SDP) Advisor – Burkina Faso

6. MARKET VALUE: GS-14 ($92,977 – $120,868 per annum) (Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.)

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Immediate upon receipt of security/medical clearances (The duration of the US

Personal Services Contract will be for one (1) year, with one (1) one-year option period, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and continuing need of the position.)

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. (Please note that Burkina Faso is a partially accompanied post. No eligible family members under the age of 21 are permitted to accompany the employee to post.)

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: United States Citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: HSPD-12/Facility Access

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

Background and Introduction

USAID’s Sahel Development Partnership for Burkina Faso and Niger (SDP) is USAID’s integrated approach to countering violent extremism and building local communities’ resilience in vulnerable areas of Niger and Burkina Faso. Through SDP, USAID seeks to halt the spread of violent extremist groups, avert costly humanitarian crises, and stem the flow of destabilizing migration. SDP activities develop government and community capacity to manage their own security, promote self-reliance, galvanize donor support, and reduce the need for long-term assistance. SDP complements both the United States’ diplomatic engagements with these countries in the framework of the G5-Sahel and our ongoing national security interests in these countries. SDP is the optimization of various USAID and related other U.S. Government activities that will require a management structure designed to assure timely and quality coordination and collaboration across the U.S Government (USG) agencies involved, with a focus on USAID’s implementing partners.

USAID’s Sahel presence under SDP includes country offices in Burkina Faso and Niger. In addition, the USAID/Senegal’s Sahel Regional Office (SRO), located in Dakar, Senegal serves to coordinate the efforts of the country offices and additional USAID and USG entities. The USAID Senegal Mission Director serves as mailto:usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov the SDP Regional Coordinator. USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives and USAID West Africa Regional Mission in Accra also implement various activities under SDP.

The incumbent will be one of three individuals tasked with ensuring that programs under SDP are aligned and delivering an impact that is greater than the sum of its parts. This position will be based in Ouagadougou and will be focused on tracking USG programs in the Centre Nord, Sahel, and Est regions of Burkina Faso, and their effects on improving local communities’ ability to cope with shocks and stresses.

This position reports to the Burkina Faso USAID Country Representative. The incumbent will be expected to coordinate closely with the Dakar-based SDP Advisor, who is responsible for quality control and oversight of SDP. The incumbent will be charged with tracking, monitoring, reporting, and advising on activities under USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, Food for Peace, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAID/West Africa, and SRO under the guidance of each activity AOR/COR or activity manager. Given the desire to make SDP a “Three D” (3D) approach (diplomacy, defense, and development), the incumbent will also advise on sequencing, layering, and monitoring programs from the Departments of State (DoS) and of Defense (DoD). The ideal candidate will, therefore, have a combination of strong managerial skills, excellent oral and written communication skills, and exhibit attention to detail.

The incumbent may be expected to represent USAID at various forums to present USG technical and policy positions. This could include regular meetings with senior and mid-level host-government officials, representatives of various national and regional institutions and organizations, other donors, U.S. Embassy officials, and officials from other USG agencies.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Coordination (50%) The Advisor will need to have continual visibility of the various activities being carried out by implementing partners, digesting partner reports and assessing results, and compiling and reporting those to the interagency. The incumbent is expected to develop relationships with all relevant colleagues from offices such as Department of State Political and Economic Offices from the DoS, and the Offices of the Defense Attaché (DAT) and of Security Cooperation (OSC) from DoD. Monitoring will also include closely reviewing changes in the security situation.

Another significant responsibility of the Advisor will be to review the proposed responses by implementing agencies to the changes in the security situation and consult with DoS and DoD representatives and other partners working on security issues on proposed changes in programming. The Advisor will spend time communicating the goals and ideals of SDP to the Departments of Defense and State with a particular focus on the country team in Burkina Faso. The desire to make SDP a truly 3D effort will require an organized and robust plan of action to garner the support of senior policymakers at both organizations. The Advisor will be responsible for regularly organizing, directing, and reporting out on decisions reached. The Advisor will, when needed, also represents the U.S. Government in external meetings called by the GoBF and other bodies.

2. Monitoring and Evaluation (25%):

A robust M&E plan for SDP has already been compiled through an intensive multi-stakeholder process involving all the USAID offices contributing to SDP. The Advisor will work with project managers from various operating units to collect and aggregate the indicator data, and organize data into an annual SDP

M&E report. The Advisor will use this annual report as an opportunity to narrate the progress of SDP as a whole. The Advisor will work with the SRO Development Outreach and Communications Advisor to disseminate this report to appropriate audiences in Washington, D.C.

3. Outreach and Communication (25%) Timely, accurate and actionable information is also critical to the success of the SDP and related programs.

There will be a joint communications strategy for inter-agency bodies, including U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAF), DoS, and collaborating partners. The Advisor will be charged with drafting cables a s required, and identifying and finalizing success stories from SDP implementing partners. The Advisor will also produce briefing papers and prepare visits for internal USG visitors such as CODELs and senior-level USAID officials. The Advisor will be expected to respond to requests for information from USAID/Washington, in coordination with the Burkina Faso Country Representative and the SDP Advisor in Dakar. The Advisor will also coordinate, produce, and/or contribute to internal SDP communications p roducts such as monthly updates, internal memoranda, and other items as directed by the SDP internal communications strategy. The Advisor will also contribute to the creation of an external communications strategy for SDP.

Position Elements

a) Supervisory Controls: The SDP Advisor is directly supervised by the Burkina Faso USAID Country Representative. Performance will be evaluated on the basis of specific work objectives/benchmarks pre-determined with the Sahel Dev elopment Partnership team in USAID Senegal’s Sahel Regional Office, and the Burkina Faso USAID Country Representative.

b) Supervisory Relationship: The incumbent is not expected to supervise any staff.

c) Available Guidelines: Mission Orders, Automated Directives Systems (ADS).

d) Exercise of Judgment: Incumbe nt must exercise wide and independent judgment to interpret and enforce

USAID rules and regulations. M ust be able to negotiate sensitive issues with host country officials and other partners, to analyze and s olve difficult problems related to program formulation and implementation. Must be able t o review and appraise the quality of reports and evaluations, and technical services procured by USAID. Mus t be able to provide rapid independent analysis of problems, issues, and opportunities as they arise, and m ake recommendations to senior management.

e) Authority to Make Commitments: Exercises delegations of authority granted to PSC senior technical staff, as described in Mission Orders. No authority to commit USG funds.

f) Nature, Level, and Purpose of Contacts: Must provide consistent and credible representation of USAID to

U.S. Government partners, donors, and other partner contacts and coordination bodies for technical, policy and program management issues. Will have frequent contacts with high level officials of DoD and DoS, high level officials and other partners to define and/or reorient strategies and translate policy into program action.

Security and Medical Clearance Requirements

The applicant selected to fill this position must be able to obtain a security clearance, which involves a c omprehensive background investigation performed by a U.S. Government Agency.

The applicant selected to fill the position must also receive a Worldwide available clearance (Class 1) and will be expected to be able to pass random drug tests for illegal drug use. Details of how to obtain such clearance will be provided after selection and acceptance of the job offer.

The final selected candidates must obtain security and medical clearances within a reasonable period of time ( USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidates). A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection.

The Contracting Officer will not execute an award until all medical, security and other required approvals have been obtained.

Compensation

This position has been classified at GS-14 grade. The actual salary of the successful candidate will be negotiated within that pay band depending on qualifications and previous earning history.

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

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Education: The position requires a Master’s Degree in International Development, the social sciences or other r elevant field such a rural development, private sector/economic development or democracy.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible, professional-level experience I n the management of development assistance, humanitarian and conflict-prevention programs or related work in other USG agencies such as State and DOD. This should include experience with donor agencies, host-government organizations, non-government organizations, or private sector institutions.

III. SELECTION AND EVALUATION FACTORS

Sel ection process Aft er the closing date for receipt of application, a committee will convene to review applications that meet the min imum requirements and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications from cand idates who do not meet the minimum requirements will not be scored. As part of the selection process, finalist candidates will be interviewed. Reference checks will be made only for applicants considered as finalists. The applicant’s references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her performance and abilities.

Basic Eligibility Requirements Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the selection factors are c onsidered NOT qualified for the position.

● Offeror is a U.S. Citizen;

● All documentation submitted; (See Section IV for requirements)

● Ability to obtain a HSPD-12/FACILITY ACCESS level security clearance;

● Ability to obtain a Worldwide available clearance (Class 1);

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

A USAID HSPD-12/Facility Access level security clearance and Department of State medical clearance are r equired prior to issuance of the contract for this position.

Evaluation Factors

Work Experience (35 points):

Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible, professional-level experience in the management of development assistance, humanitarian or conflict-prevention programs or related work required. This should include experience with donor agencies, host-government organizations, non-government organizations, or private-sector institutions. Strong preference for candidates with experience programming jointly with Departments of State and or Defense.

Knowledge (25 points):

I n-depth knowledge of development is required, with a preference for management and strategy experience.

A developed understanding of USAID programming policies, regulations, procedures, and documentation, and th e objectives, methodology, and status of the programs and projects to which assigned is preferred. A th orough knowledge of the Sahel’s economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics and of the history of development assistance activities in the region is desired.

Abilities and Skills (25 points):

The incumbent must be capable of working independently on a number of tasks simultaneously with minimal s upervision. Monitoring and coordination responsibilities involve the creation of, application of, and training on reporting and management control systems, as well as analysis/interpretation of issues, in order to advise Mission management, including the Mission Director or his/her designate. Incumbent must be able to analyze complex and technical information to make independent recommendations for USG programming and management. The incumbent will also encourage innovation in the management and use of Mission programs and resources.

The incumbent must be able to identify, mobilize, and effectively draw upon the expertise of technical and managerial personnel in the Mission and other USAID offices. In addition, the incumbent will be expected to participate actively in meetings as appropriate with the Embassy, USAID/Washington representatives, other donors, counterpart government officials, partners, and technical experts.

Demonstrated capability for perceptive analysis and the ability to write and speak effectively to decision makers about the complex Sahelian context. Ability to develop and maintain a network of technical experts and partners in technical and geographic areas that contribute to SDP. Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills are required. A broad knowledge of basic computer applications, specifically Microsoft office and the Google suite is necessary.

Language Skills (15 points):

Excellent written and oral communication skills in English (Level 4) and French (at least Level 2+) required.

Must be able to analyze and evaluate complex data and to prepare precise and accurate reports to various audiences. The incumbent must be able to adapt communication style on complex technical issues to diverse audiences, both for written materials and in person communications.

Evaluation Summary Prior Work Experience: 35 points Knowledge: 25 points Abilities and Skills: 25 points L anguage skills: 15 points T otal Possible Points: 100 points

I n order to be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum Qualifications listed above. C onsideration and selection will be based on a panel evaluation of the Evaluation Factors.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY SHORTLISTED APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED OR INTERVIEWED.

PAST PERFORMANCE/PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE CHECKS

Applicants must provide no less than five (5) references with current contact information, preferably both an email address and a telephone number. The references will be asked to provide a general assessment of the applicant's suitability for the position. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure submitted references are available to provide a written or verbal reference in a timely manner.

In addition to comments from references, the Selection Committee will take into account awards or other evidence of outstanding performance in any areas related to the above selection criteria. USAID/Senegal reserves the right to obtain from previous employers relevant information concerning the applicant's past performance and may consider such information in its evaluation.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

Offers must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in Section I, item 3, and s ubmitted electronically to: usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov with the SOLICITATION number in the application submission. Note that applications from non-U.S. citizens cannot be considered. Likewise applications that have unsigned forms will also not be considered.

Qualified applicants are required to submit:

1. A signed and dated Cover letter with current résumé/curriculum vitae (CV) attached. The CV/résumé 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.

2. Applicants must provide no less than five (5) references who are not family members or relatives.

References should be from direct supervisors who can provide information regarding the applicant's job knowledge and professional work experience. Applicants must provide e-mail addresses and/or working telephone numbers for all references.

3. Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts form AID 309-2 which can be found at http://www.usaid.gov/forms/. Applicants should note that the salary history for the purposes of the AID 309-2 is the base salary paid, excluding benefits and allowances such as housing, travel, educational support, etc. Offerors are required to complete and sign the AID 309-2 form. No substitute AID form will be accepted.

mailto:usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov

ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH AND ALL DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AS ONE

COMPLETE PACKAGE.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES

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

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

1. Medical History and Examination form (DS-6561)

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

Positions (SF-85)

3. Finger Print Card (FD-258)

4. Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306)

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES (if/as applicable)

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) A nnual and Sick Leave

2. ALLOWANCES:

a) Temporary Quarter Subsistence Allowance (Section 120)

b) L iving Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

c) C ost-of-Living Allowance (Chapter 210)

d) P ost Allowance (Section 220)

e) Se parate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

f) Ed ucation Allowance (Section 270)

g) Ed ucation Travel (Section 280)

h) Pos t Differential (Chapter 500)

i) Pay ments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600), and

j) Dan ger Pay Allowance (Section 650)

VII. TAXES

USPSCs are required to pay Federal income taxes, 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.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex ( including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

END OF SOL ICITATION

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