SOL_72051421R00011_Activity_Design_Specialist_GS-11_ (JAS).pdf

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72051421R00011

ISSUANCE DATE: April 20, 2021

CLOSING DATE/TIME: May 4, 2021

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC) Resident Hire. -

Single Vacancy

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. For further information about USAID/Colombia please visit https://www.usaid.gov/colombia.

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 offers.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attachment 1 or to BogotaUSAIDHRTeam@usaid.gov.

Sincerely, Joseph Sidari

Supervisory Executive Officer

U.S. Agency for International Development Cra 45 # 24B – 27 Gate 2 Bogotá

COLOMBIA

Tel: (571) 275 2000 Fax: (571) 275 2319 www.usaid.gov https://www.usaid.gov/colombia http://www.usaid.gov/

ATTACHMENT 1 72051421R00011

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: SOL: 72051421R00011

2. ISSUANCE DATE: April 20, 2021

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR

RECEIPT OF OFFERS:

May 4, 2021

4. POINT OF CONTACT

EXO/HR, Bogotausaidhrteam@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE:

Activity Design Specialist – Program Office

6. MARKET VALUE:

$55,756 - $72,487 per annum - Equivalent to GS-11

Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The base period will be 1 year.

Based on Agency need, the Contracting Officer may exercise additional 1-year option period(s) for 4 years for the dates estimated as follows:

Base Period: TBD one-year period

Option period 1: TBD one-year period

Option period 2: TBD one-year period

Option period 3: TBD one-year period

Option Period 4: TBD one-year period

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

USAID/Colombia with possible travel as stated in the

Statement of Duties.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS All Interested U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent resident aliens lawfully admitted who, at the time of recruitment, reside in

Colombia.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED:

As an employment precondition, the successful offeror is required to obtain a HSPD-12 level security clearance

The purpose of this solicitation is to contract a lawful U.S. Citizen or U.S Resident alien to provide personal services in Colombia (also referred to as a “resident hire USPSC”). Resident Hire U.S.

Personal Services Contractor means a U.S. citizen or resident alien who, at the time of contract award,

i) resides in the cooperating country for reasons other than U.S. government or non-U.S.

government employment, or under any contract or other arrangement, that provides repatriation to the U.S., or

ii) (ii) is a spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen or resident alien who resides, or will reside, in the cooperating country for the purpose of U.S. government or non-U.S.

government employment, or under any contract or other arrangement that provides repatriation to the U.S per AIDAR Appendix D.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

1. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

The Program Office is seeking a qualified candidate to lead its activity design process.

The Activity Design Specialist position is located in USAID/Colombia's Program Office (PRO).

The incumbent acts as the Mission’s Activity Design Specialist, coordinating USAID's activity design process; supports the Mission’s communication efforts, ensuring quality written products for PRO; and provides general operational support, filling programmatic gaps for PRO and the mission as needed.

2. Statement of Duties to be Performed

Activity design (40%)

● Leading technical offices through the activity design process;

● Guiding teams in concept designs and mission procedures;

● Facilitating design workshops with participation from across the entire Mission;

● Monitoring design status with GANTT charts, the SOAR tracker, and the Concept-to-

Award tracker; and

● Supporting technical team staff in the pre-action checklist process and related documentation (RBA, statutory checklists, final action memos, or others).

Communication (40%)

● Coordinating the completion of communication documents with the Mission’s

Development and Outreach Communications team;

● Producing or reviewing factsheets, talking points, briefing memos, responses to external requests, and operational plans;

● Stewarding USAID/Colombia’s PRO webpage in collaboration with EXO; and

● Generally ensuring that PRO products are updated, available, and well-written for mission staff.

Operational support (20%)

● Acting as AOR/COR, or alternate, for mission activities;

● Participating in hiring and activity TECs;

● Maintaining the Mission’s unsolicited proposal tracker;

● Acting as the Mission’s POC for TEAMS, J1 Visas, and other logistical training processes;

● Supporting funding redirection requests related to COVID and other issues;

● Helping organize Embassy and portfolio review events;

● Supporting PRO in VIP visit needs; and

● Acting as PRO backstop for a specific technical team or specific tasks (Pre-action

Checklist, Portfolio Reviews, Performance Plan and Report, Operational Plan, or others).

3. Supervisory Relationship:

PRO’s Deputy Office Director supervises this position. The supervisor will provide biweekly input on work tasks, but the incumbent is expected to be a self-starter with the ability to work independently. The incumbent will work closely with Program Office management and the

Development and Outreach Communications team. Te incumbent will guide design teams on activity design processes and procedures and will do so with a high level of independence but without formal supervisory responsibilities over those team members.

4. Supervisory Controls:

This is a non-supervisory position. The incumbent will guide design teams on activity design processes and procedures and will do so with a high level of independence but without formal supervisory responsibilities over those team members.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

a. Education: A Master’s degree in sustainable development, communications, international affairs, or equivalent is required.

b. Work Experience: Minimum of five years of experience in a professional environment with increasing responsibility. Development experience with business process improvement, Prior project management, activity design, and report writing or editing. The candidate must be an excellent writer and communicator in English with the ability to carry professional conversations in Spanish.

c. Post Entry Training: The Activity Design Specialist is required to understand and analyze the USAID Automated Directive System (ADS) that provides the policies and procedures that govern activity design, communications, and operations. The Federal Acquisition Regulations

(FAR) provide policies and procedures governing USAID procurement. There are also several applicable Mission Orders, which interpret and apply ADS information at the

USAID/Colombia mission level.

d. Job Knowledge: The position requires technical skills across a broad range of development themes to be able to guide Mission experts on activity design and the ability to facilitate thematically integrated workshops. The position requires an advanced understanding of

USAID/Colombia processes, particularly the Mission Order on Activity Design and ADS 201.

e. Skills and Abilities: The incumbent requires a high degree of critical thinking and analysis to solve complex challenges and interpret and implement agency guidelines and policies. The position requires working with every technical office on design process and guidance, to work with OAA on the pre-action checklist and the transition from activity concept to award, and to work with the DOCs team on communication materials. Given all of this collaboration, the candidate must be able to navigate a complex work environment with patience and tact.

f. Language Proficiency: Level IV English (spoken and written) and Level II Spanish (spoken and written) are required.

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.

A. Selection Process

After the closing date for receipt of applications, a committee will convene to review applications that meet the minimum requirements and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications from candidates 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 past performance and abilities. If an applicant does not wish USAID to contact a current employer for a reference check, this should be stated in the applicant’s cover letter; USAID will delay such reference checks pending the applicant’s concurrence.

B. Evaluation Factors:

Those applicants who meet the minimum education and experience qualifications will be evaluated based on the content of their application as well as on the applicant’s writing, presentation, and communication skills. On a supplement document included with the application package, applicants should cite specific, illustrative examples to address each factor. Responses are limited to 500 words (approx. 1/2 type written page) per factor.

Applicants should describe specifically and accurately experience, training, education and/or awards they have received that are relevant to the factor. Applicants should include their name and the announcement number at the top of each additional page. Failure to specifically address the Evaluation Factors may result in the applicant not receiving full credit for pertinent experience.

FACTOR #1: Activity design experience. The extent to which the applicant’s experience with activity design meets or exceeds the needs of this position. Of particular importance is the https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far applicant’s experience facilitating context analyses, developing results frameworks, working across offices or thematic areas on design, following USAID design process as articulated in

ADS 201 and the USAID/Colombia Mission Order on design.

FACTOR # 2: English communications skills. The extent to which the applicant meets or exceeds the required oral and written language ability set forth above. The applicant’s experience in English language writing and editing will be considered.

FACTOR # 3: Basic project management experience. The extent to which the applicant meets or exceeds the project management requirements set forth above. This position does not require a seasoned project manager, but someone with some direct experience managing development projects and who is willing to learn and assume progressively more responsibility.

FACTOR # 4: The extent to which the applicant meets or exceeds the required level of education described above.

Applicants who clearly meet the Education/Experience requirements and basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on scoring of their Evaluation Factor responses.

Those applicants determined to be competitively ranked will also be evaluated on their interview performance and satisfactory professional reference checks. The Applicant Rating

System is as follows:

Evaluation Factors:

Factor #1: Activity Design Experience 30 points

Factor #2: English Communications Skills 25 points

Factor #3: Basic Project Management Experience 10 points

Factor #4: Education 10 points

Interview Performance 25 points

Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks – Pass/Fail (no points assigned)

Total Possible Points: 100

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

All offers must be submitted by e-mail with the subject line: SOL: 72051421R00011 – US-

Colombia Activity Design Specialist to bogotausaidhrteam@usaid.gov

Attention: Executive Officer

USAID/Colombia

Human Resources Office

Offerors must submit their application by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3 and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section 1.

mailto:bogotausaidhrteam@usaid.gov

Offers must be submitted in accordance with the instructions in the section titled “How to Apply”.

Incomplete offer packages may be eliminated from further consideration. All documentation will be reviewed to ensure offerors meet the minimum requirements, and offerors who do not meet the minimum requirements will not be scored.

Offerors may be invited to take a written technical test. Final offerors may be interviewed.

Reference checks may be requested. The offeror’s references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. If an offeror does not wish USAID to contact a current employer for a reference check, this should be stated in the offeror’s cover letter;

USAID will delay such reference checks pending the offeror’s concurrence.

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified offerors must submit the following documents in English, or their application will not be considered for this position:

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 https://www.usaid.gov/forms

2. Current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume containing sufficient relevant information that respond to the requirements of the position (maximum 3 pages) – PDF format.

3. List (not a written letter of reference) of a minimum of three (3) professional references with complete name, title, organization where he/she works, description of relationship, and with working/accurate telephone and e-mail information. These professional references must not be family members or relatives. The offeror's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. At least one reference must be from a current or former supervisor (Three contacts in one page) – PDF format.

4. Supplemental Narrative with written responses to the evaluation criteria – education, prior work experience, job knowledge, skills and abilities stated in “Section II - Minimum

Qualifications Required for this Position”, (Times New Roman 12 and maximum 2 pages)

– PDF format.

5. Copy of education degrees (bachelor, master’s degree, etc.). Transcripts are not needed, neither are translations – PDF format.

6. Copy of Colombian work permit and/or residence visa (if applicable) – PDF format.

1. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

At the time of the offer, candidates must fully meet the education requirement (graduated and degree and/or diploma already received) as specified and must also meet in full the work experience requirement. There is no exception for these requirements.

Short-listed candidates will be requested to provide proof of education such as valid copies of degrees, diplomas, certificates and other pertinent documents as needed. Failure to provide the https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2 https://www.usaid.gov/forms required documentation will eliminate the candidate from further consideration. Offer letters and forms must be signed. Incomplete and unsigned offers/forms will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and may be interviewed.

USAID retains the right to cancel or amend the solicitation and associated actions at any stage of the recruitment process.

USAID reserves the right to obtain information on finalists from any and all sources inside or outside the US Government.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD

Once the CO informs the successful candidate of being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide him/her instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms.

1. Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306).

2. Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet (AID 1420-17).

3. Medical clearance.

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

5. Fingerprint Card (FD-258) if it is needed for security.

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES:

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a USPSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:

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

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

LINE ITEMS

ITEM No.

(A)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION)

(B)

QUANTI

TY

(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 Agency/Bureau: 72/72 Appropriation: 7219/201037 BFY/Fund: 514-DOAG-514-012 Program Area: PO2. Program Element: PO2.1 EOCC: 1130000 and EOCC: 1210000

LOT

LC$TBD

LC$TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor

1001 Option Period 1 - Compensation, Fringe

Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

Award Type: Cost

Product Service Code: R497

Accounting Info: To be incrementally funded with Contractor

2001 Option Period 2 - Compensation, Fringe

Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

Award Type: Cost

Product Service Code: R497

Accounting Info:

with Contractor

3001 Option Period 3 - Compensation, Fringe

Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

Award Type: Cost

Product Service Code: R497 with Contractor

4001 Option Period 4 - Compensation, Fringe

Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

Award Type: Cost

Product Service Code: R497 with Contractor https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/forms

3. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins

(AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available at https://www.usaid.v/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

5. 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 https://www.usaid.v/work-usaid/aapds-cibs https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman