JA Casey Welch El Salvador-BHA July 2022_EXO Signed.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (J&A)

TO: Andrew Reese, Regional Executive Officer, REXO

FROM: Chase Gorishek, Executive Officer, EXO

SUBJECT: Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (J&A) for the Acquisition of Services for a Regional Administrative Management Specialist (RAMS) for USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica

DATE: 07/20/2022

1. This document sets forth the facts and rationale justifying the use of other than full and open competition, in accordance with:

USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) 706.302-70(a)(2) which states that “full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation.” AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(1) states that this authority may be used for an “award under Section 636(a)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, involving a personal services contractor serving abroad.

This document was prepared by the USAID/El Salvador Regional Executive Office

(REXO).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This is a request to approve a limited competition award to Casey Welch to serve as a US personal services contractor (USPSC) for the U.S. Agency for International Development in El Salvador. Unlike other Regional Offices, there is no USAID mission in Costa Rica. Therefore, USAID/BHA/LAC relies on programmatic and operational support from institutional contractors, the US Embassy in Costa Rica and the USAID Mission in San Salvador, El Salvador. Under this action Casey Welch will serve as the Regional Administrative Management Specialist (RAMS) for USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica. The RAMS is responsible for a wide range of operational and administrative duties as detailed below. They report directly to the USAID/BHA/LAC Regional Director (RD). The RAMS place of performance is with the LAC team in San Jose, Costa Rica; however, they may be required to serve as the Regional Administrative Management Specialist on BHA Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) anywhere in the world when necessary. When serving on such teams, the Regional Administrative Management Specialist would be responsible for providing required administrative support for the set-up and operations of the DART office. Due to the sudden vacancy of the USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica RAMS position, the Mission requires experienced and knowledgeable administrative management support services for a period of up to six (6) months.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including an estimated value:

Under this contracting action, Casey Welch will serve as a RAMS. The contracting period will be for a period not to exceed 6 months. Estimated costs are a salary negotiated at a rate of $105,579 per annum, in addition to round-trip airfare, lodging for the period, and pre-contract expenses.

The USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica RAMS is responsible for a wide range of operational and administrative duties as detailed below. He is responsible for administrative and operations management activities and provides advice, guidance, and direction on administrative and operations planning matters to support the overall office goals.

The RAMS Statement of Duties entails:

As a management resource and advisor, the incumbent must have a thorough understanding of how to interpret and apply regulations, office operations, systems, and budgets; possess superior organizational and communication skills, make independent decisions, represent USAID/BHA with other US agencies and departments and make appropriate decisions as required without major supervision. They must also be dependable, proactive, detail-oriented and exercise sound judgment. Due to the fast-paced nature of the emergency response office, the incumbent must be flexible, able to complete urgent and competing tasks quickly and thoroughly and be able to prioritize urgent matters. The incumbent must be innovative and resourceful to be effective and achieve results while at the same time assuring compliance with USG regulations and statutory provisions.

Responsible for all general service support for the office: Plans and directs CCN personnel actions, property acquisition/disposition and all other procurement requests and closely tracks such actions with the EXO in San Salvador, and Embassy GSO/HR/FMO in San Jose. Develops and maintains inventories of all BHA property as needed and recommends and manages the purchase and disposal of equipment and property as needed.

Manages the arrival and departure of staff, including Travel Authorizations to post. Provides guidance onMission procedures for staff arriving and departing post. Arranges and conducts office orientations and provides general office support to ensure smooth personnel transitions.

Supports other BHA staff based within the region, such as Emergency Disaster Response Coordinators, as required. Supports BHA and other US Government officers on temporary duty in the region, and high-level visitors and delegations related to LAC's work in the region, as required.

Organizes and manages office retreats and other off-site meetings. Ensures FSN staff have Individual Development Plans in place. Recommends training attendance for FSN staff.

Liaises with State/Embassy service providers, and USAID/San Salvador Executive and Financial Management Offices to ensure effective and timely provision of administrative support services.

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

40 U.S.C. 113, as implemented by AIDAR 706.302-40.

AIDAR 706.302-70(a)(2) states that “full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation.”

AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(1) states that this authority may be used for an “award under Section 636(a)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, involving a personal services contractor serving abroad.”

AIDAR 706.302-70(c) provides the following limitations on use of this authority: "(1) A contract awarded using the authority in paragraph (a) of this section must be supported by the written justification and approval (J&As) described in (48 CFR) FAR 6.303 and 6.304 . . . (2) Proposals must be requested from as many potential offerors as is practicable under the circumstances . . . (3) . . . when the authorities at 706.302-70(b)(1) through 706.30-70(b)(3) are used, advanced notice of the proposed contract action is not required in accordance with (48

CFR) AIDAR 705.202.”

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition that requires use of the authority cited:

Casey Welch has over two decades of unique experience across emergency management, facilities/space planning, international development, and program management.

Mr. Welch has served as an expert advisor to senior officials on a range of associated topics, programs, and policies. Further, Mr. Welch has previously been entrusted to oversee a workforce of 2.3k personnel and to develop/manage annual budgets of up to $3M, while overseeing all day-to-day management of budgeting and finance, administration, transportation, cash management, travel, IT, HR, safety, and security, contracting, programming, training, and overall staff support. Mr. Welch has strong experience in leading strategic planning efforts and coordinating those plans across the agency to match higher-level strategic objectives and policies and has demonstrated a strong knowledge of organizational management, policy and regulation research and administration, analysis, and providing guidance to key stakeholders.

Qualifications for the RAMS position in USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica include a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Development, Education, Training and Development, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related subject; minimum of three (3) years of demonstrated experience of administrative management working in an overseas environment.

Proven experience in administrative management, staff development and coordination of operational activities. Mr. Welch has proven experience performing successfully for at least one

(1) year in a supervisory role. He also has experience in policy and regulations, research, and analysis, and providing guidance to key stakeholders. Further, the incumbent must have a high level of interpersonal, leadership and supervisory skills, along with the ability to analyze, exercise sound judgment, prioritize and handle urgent actions; as well as demonstrated skill and ability to interpret and apply regulations and policies. Casey Welch fulfills all of the qualifications to act as a RAMS for USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica, as outlined in his resume.

It is a critical and urgent need for USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica to have a RAMS in place that can assist in ensuring the stability of new and ongoing activities. Neither USAID/El Salvador nor USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica currently have a RAMS who can fill the position for this period of time, pending recruitment of a permanent RAMS position. Casey Welch’s prior experience demonstrates a history of performing those duties and responsibilities that are unique and specialized to not only the operations of USAID and the U.S. Government, but also in the context of programs that support the region. In such capacities, Casey Welch is uniquely qualified to meet this Mission critical need.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2 [AIDAR 705.2].

The Contracting Officer solicited expressions of interest directly from potentially qualified persons, and also sought sources via internal agency channels and third party sources to identify qualified and available candidates, who were capable of performing the requisite RAMS functions. Contacted candidates either declined to participate in the contracting process or were non-responsive. Casey Welch was responsive to the inquiry to serve in USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica for a total of six (6) months, and confirmed his availability for the period required by the Mission.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The scope of duties for the position were evaluated using the classification standards for general schedule positions, and agency practices following position level benchmarks for USPSCs.

Further, secondary evaluation of the duties was performed using the factor evaluations standards, to cross-reference the proposed salary range, which was determined to be at the GS-13 rate. In discussions with the selected candidate, salary negotiations took into consideration previous salary history, cost of living increases, inflation, annual pay increases for federal salaries, and the experience and education the candidate possessed having served at a senior level. As such, it was determined that the proposed salary of $105,579.00 per annum ($62,416.00 salary and benefits for the period), which is within the GS-13 benchmark salary range, was fair and reasonable.

Estimated costs of salary, with round-trip airfare ($1,503.05), lodging for the period ($24,070.13) and Per Diem ($19,386.00for an estimated total of $44.959.18, were determined to be reasonable based on commercial airfare rates, the lodging and per diem for the period..

8. Description of the market research conducted, and the results or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

The Contracting Officer solicited expressions of interest directly from potentially qualified persons. A review of candidates that possessed prior relevant, requisite experiences and skill sets was performed. Sources were also sought via internal agency channels and third party sources to identify qualified and available candidates, who were capable of performing the requisite RAMS functions.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

As noted above, it is critical for USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica to have an experienced RAMS to ensure the continuity of ongoing activities, and the implementation of new ones in support of the unique and wide range of operational and administrative duties pertaining to BHA’s regional humanitarian assistance programs. Neither USAID/El Salvador nor USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa

Rica currently have a RAMS who can fill the position for the required period of performance. In addition, the Mission was unable to find another suitable and qualified candidate given the limited time imposed by operational constraints and the need for immediate support. The Mission also pursued several various combinations of remote support, temporary duty support, or combinations thereof for coverage, but was unsuccessful in identifying an available, qualified candidate in time to meet the need for the required services.

10. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition:

The Contracting Officer solicited three (3) potentially qualified persons. The candidates that were contacted by EXO either declined to participate in the contracting process, were otherwise unavailable, or were non-responsive. Casey Welch was responsive to the inquiry to serve in USAID/BHA/LAC/Costa Rica for a total of six (6) months, and confirmed his availability in writing, for the period required by the Mission.

11. The actions the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

USAID/El Salvador will endeavor to initiate acquisition planning as far in advance as possible, and to solicit future requirements through full and open competition to the maximum extent practicable, insofar as requirements may be met, based on Mission needs and constraints.

12. Technical or requirement personnel certification:

In accordance with FAR 6.303.1(c), I hereby certify that the technical statements included above and which form a basis for the justification are complete and accurate.

Drafted: Chase Gorishek, Executive Officer Date: 07/20/2022

13. Clearances:

__Clear w/edits________ Carl Vernetti, Resident Legal Officer Date: 7/25/2022

I clear Alexis Taylor-Granados, Acting Deputy Mission Director Date: 7/26/2022 Mission Competition Advocate

14. Contracting Officer Certifications:

By approving below, I hereby certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(X ) Approved ( ) Disapproved

Andrew Reese, Regional Executive Officer Date: 07/26/2022