Solicitation - Deputy Health Office Director - USAID DR.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT T+ (809) 567-7775

Avenida República de Colombia #57 RNC: 4-30-00171-6 Altos de Arroyo Hondo, Santo Domingo, D.N. drinfo@usaid.gov Dominican Republic, 10605 USAID.GOV | @USAID

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72051721R00004

ISSUANCE DATE: June 11th, 2021

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: July 12th, 2021

16:00 ET

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Citizen / Third Country National Personal Services Contractor (US/TCN PSC) – Deputy Health Office Director

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 the Attachment 1.

Sincerely, Karen Towers

Contracting Executive Officer

Karen Towers

Digitally signed by Karen Towers Date: 2021.06.11 15:51:40 -04'00'

ATTACHMENT 1 72051721R00004

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72051721R00004

2. ISSUANCE DATE: June 11th, 2021

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: July 12th, 2021

4. POINT OF CONTACT:

Farah Canaan / Soraya Morillo USAID/Dominican Republic Telephone Number: 809-368-7101 Cell Phone Number: 809-754-8570 E-mail: fcanaanlachapelle@usaid.gov E-mail: smorillo@usaid.gov.

5. POSITION TITLE: Deputy Health Office Director

6. MARKET VALUE: $93,907.00 - $122,077.00 equivalent to GS-14 Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The base period will be for five years, estimated to start in August 2021.

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

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: United States Citizens and Third Country Nationals are eligible offerors. TCNPSC under this solicitation are eligible for benefits in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J, sec. 4(c)(2)(ii)(B)). An exception has been approved by the Mission Director in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and ADS 309maa, requesting Approval to Use Alternate Classification Procedures (ACP).

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Facilities Access. The selected applicant must be able to obtain and maintain an employment authorization security clearance as provided by

USAID.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

a. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

Background

The Dominican Republic (DR) has transitioned to upper middle income country status which presents a variety of challenges in light of the paradigm shift from the traditional conceptualization of development support. The Mission strategy is focused on helping the DR to strengthen citizen-responsive governance, enhance effective and inclusive service delivery systems, and improve resilience and inclusive community wellbeing. The Health Team is in the process of revising traditional development approaches to better respond and support the shift in needs of a new upper middle-income country, which is facing the challenges of key and vulnerable populations existing in fragile states of poverty and outside of the safety net. Additionally, as the conditions in the DR continue to improve, responsibility for management and sustainability of activities is shifting to the government and NGO counterparts.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is based on a country team approach of U.S. Government agencies, which includes the State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Health Office Deputy Director will be closely involved in planning, collaborating, and negotiating with these agencies to manage the overall activities under this joint program as defined by the overall yearly PEPFAR’s Country Operational Plan (COP) and USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

Country Overview

Based on UNAIDS estimations, the DR has an estimated adult HIV prevalence of 0.9 percent in 2019, with approximately 72,000 adults and children living with HIV. The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects specific populations in the DR, including Haitian migrants (HIV prevalence between 3 and 5 percent) and their descendants. There are approximately 752,000 Haitian migrants and direct descendants living in the DR and they face limited access to health services, including HIV. In 2019, only 40 percent of Haitian migrants were aware of their HIV status and only 20 percent had access to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Comparatively, 68 percent of non-Haitian migrants living with HIV were on ART. The HIV epidemic in the DR also disproportionately affects key populations, including men who have sex with men (MSM), with an HIV prevalence between 3.2 and

5.3 percent; female sex workers (FSWs), with an HIV prevalence between 2.1 and 3.9 percent; and transgender women, with an HIV prevalence between 22.1 and 33.2 percent.

The Government of the DR (GoDR) has assumed increasing financial and programmatic responsibility for the national HIV response, including independently financing the procurement of all HIV medications and supplies and enacting new laws and policies to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination.

USAID’s Health Office Programming

As one of the U.S. Government agencies implementing the PEPFAR program, USAID partners with the GoDR, as well as non-governmental and community-based organizations, to achieve control of the HIV epidemic. Through this strong collaboration, PEPFAR effectively mobilizes, coordinates, and efficiently utilizes resources to expand high-impact strategies. Geographically focused on provinces with higher numbers of Haitian migrants living with HIV, the PEPFAR program seeks to increase the availability of testing, improve linkage and retention of persons living with HIV into care and treatment services, achieve viral suppression, and prevent new HIV infections.

USAID activities focus on populations at highest risk of HIV infection, including migrants/persons of Haitian descent (focus clients) and key populations, including MSM, FSWs, and transgender women, to support the DR to control the HIV epidemic. USAID implements community and facility-level interventions that strengthen local systems to help close the national HIV treatment gap for focus clients and other key populations.

Through this work, USAID addresses health systems challenges, including viral load capacity, supply chain management, capacitated workforce, governance, financing, and programmatic efficiencies in the national HIV response. USAID has also spearheaded a structured quality improvement process, supported the development of a comprehensive and multi-faceted response platform for victims of gender-based violence, supported the GoDR to integrate HIV and TB into the country’s unified supply chain system, and conducted a pooled procurement of HIV medicines and supplies based on the country’s needs. In addition, USAID launched an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program in 2019 to provide broad, family-based socioeconomic support to households of focus clients impacted by HIV.

Role of the Health Office Deputy Director

Under the supervision and oversight of the Office Director, the Health Office Deputy Director will support the Office Director to manage the Office and lead HIV/AIDS and other health programming. The Deputy Director will report to the USAID/DR Health Office Director. The Health Office Deputy Director will contribute to the establishment of overall program priorities and work assignments; design and development of strategies, programmatic activities, scopes of work, and procurements actions; as well as performance management and supervision of and mentorship to Health Office staff. S/he will also provide technical guidance and support to CORs, AORs, and activity managers in project implementation and may serve as a COR/AOR or alternate and/or activity manager, if needed. S/he will have wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment and will have formal decision-making authority in broad program areas consistent with USAID policies, goals, and strategies - including inter-agency discussions on PEPFAR planning and implementation. S/he will interact with the highest level of the Dominican government and represent USAID and the U.S. Government in official settings. S/he must be able to think and operate strategically and programmatically, analyzing complex situations in order to assist in the development of USAID strategic plans and programs, and assess the impact of host country policies and practices on USAID Programs. The incumbent will advise, collaborate and work with Health Office colleagues in the planning, formulating, implementing, and monitoring and evaluating of health activities and strategies.

b. Statement of Duties to be Performed

The Health Office Deputy Director will have the following major duties and responsibilities:

A. Management and Supervision (65%):

Supervise one or more sub-teams within the Health Office and oversee staff.

Provide and strengthen performance management of staff by working with staff to set and monitor SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, time-based) work objectives; conduct staff performance evaluations; review and revise position descriptions; mentor staff in PEPFAR and USAID processes and technical leadership; determine staff assignments; manage staffing issues and provide continuous feedback; award performance through on-the-spot and Embassy award programs; develop and manage staff training plans; and determine the need for USAID/Washington assistance or other consultants/institutional contractors.

Ensure that the budget tracking system, award management plan, and procurement plan for USAID/DR PEPFAR activities is accurate, complete, and up to date.

Oversee health office procurement planning and associated actions, including obligations and sub-obligations for all USAID/DR PEPFAR activities and activity design. This includes ensuring that procurement and obligations tracking systems are accurate, effective, and utilized.

Lead Health Office staff to prepare and oversee the preparation of the PEPFAR Country Operational Plan (COP) and regular PEPFAR DR reports; USAID/DR PPR; ad hoc technical reports as needs arise (i.e., report on funding gaps; analysis and interpretation of project data from USAID implementing partners;

identification of program gaps, implementation problems and program improvement plans).

Coordinate with other PEPFAR agencies to ensure joint planning, collaboration, and information-sharing, particularly in regard to the annual COP process, quarterly PEPFAR Oversight and Accountability Response Team (POART) calls with the Department of State’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (S/GAC); and other regular and ad-hoc USAID and/or PEPFAR processes and requests.

Lead the USAID/DR PEPFAR Office reporting processes and work with the Health Office to respond to ad-hoc taskers from USAID, S/GAC, and/or the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic.

Assist, coach and mentor USAID PEPFAR program management staff and technical advisors in procurement design, start-up, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation requirements of new USAID grants/contracts, including those implemented by local organizations receiving USAID funding for the first time;

works with Health Office staff to ensure timely review and approval of PEPFAR implementation partner annual work plans and budgets as well as compliance with approved work plans and budgets.

Mentors, supports, and engages with Health Office staff to effectively review and document PEPFAR implementing partner performance through regular site visits, routine reports, assessments and evaluations.

Participates in technical working groups and other forums to monitor activities;

ensures that issues are identified in a timely manner and that recommend follow-up actions are carried out.

Assists with onboarding and mentorship of new staff to reach full capacities in one year or less.

B. Strategic and Technical Leadership (35%)

Represents USAID and provides strategic, technical, and programmatic leadership in HIV and other health areas in meetings with USG, host country government officials at all levels, civil society organizations (CSOs), and other donors.

Provides analysis, expert advice, and recommendations to the Office Director and Health Office staff regarding the formulation of Mission strategy for assistance in health and on the management and implementation of related activities in the Mission’s portfolio; identifies short and long-range achievable, sustainable strategies and participates, as required, in the development of Mission strategic plans, results analysis, resource requests, and other strategic planning and reporting documentation.

Leads and coordinates Health Office engagement with CSOs and other stakeholders to inform PEPFAR supported activities.

Coordinates with the Office Director to determine and conduct additional analyses, assessments, or reviews required for sound strategies and activities; designs and oversees the implementation of such analyses or assessments; and follows up as designated.

In close collaboration with the Office Director, works with other USG entities, particularly CDC, DOD, and other donors, PEPFAR implementing partners and civil society, in the design and implementation of the DR PEPFAR program. Must be conversant with and able to explain USAID and PEPFAR guidelines to host country counterparts.

Writes and reviews narratives for specific sections of the COP tools, PEPFAR reports, and other PEPFAR or USAID documents. Prepares and reviews briefing papers, materials, speeches, and informational and/or analytical reports as required by the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, USAID/Washington or other stakeholders.

Supports design and implementation of COVID-19 and/or other relevant global health security activities, as needed.

c. Supervisory Relationship

Supervise one or more sub-teams within the Health Office and oversee staff. Provide and strengthen performance management of staff by working with staff to set and monitor SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, time-based) work objectives; conduct staff performance evaluations; review and revise position descriptions; mentor staff in PEPFAR and USAID processes and technical leadership; determine staff assignments;

manage staffing issues and provide continuous feedback; award performance through on-the-spot and Embassy award programs; develop and manage staff training plans; and determine the need for USAID/Washington assistance or other consultants/institutional contractors.

d. Supervisory Controls

The immediate supervisor of this position will be the Health Office Director. The supervisor sets the overall objectives and resources available. The incumbent has responsibility for independently planning, designing, and carrying out programs, projects, studies, or other work. The incumbent keeps the supervisor informed of progress and potentially controversial matters.

If a third country national (TCN) is selected for award, during the period of this contract, the TCN personal services contractor must provide at least 2 days per month of training to a cooperating country national (CCN) designated by USAID. The PSC Supervisor will establish a training plan with benchmarks to measure the TCNPSC's progress toward achieving this training deliverable.

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 and Evaluation Factors. Additionally, interviews and writing samples may be requested.

A. EDUCATION (10%)

An advanced degree (minimum master’s level) in public health, i.e., health management, health policy, health education, epidemiology, or development studies or another field with links to the health sector.

B. TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE (30%)

Must have demonstrable knowledge of public health and socio-economic development issues, and strong familiarity with HIV/AIDS issues and challenges in developing countries similar to the DR, including state-of-the-art strategies, activities and programs for addressing the AIDS epidemic.

Strong familiarity with international best-practices on HIV programs, including WHO, UNAIDS and PEPFAR promoted strategies, Superior familiarity with international development theory, programming policies and practices, including multi-sector linkages and synergies.

Excellent project management skills are required.

Strong familiarity with analysis and interpretation of epidemiological and programmatic data.

C. WORK EXPERIENCE (30%)

Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience as a program manager for complex HIV and health development assistance programs, including direct experience managing PEPFAR activities with a minimum of five (5) years of experience in a program management position with developing country programs.

Experience working in international health, including work in multi-year programs and projects (includes experience with project design and implementation; project troubleshooting; data analysis and evaluation; report-writing; interacting with and advising a multitude of host country counterparts and implementing partners, etc.)

Experience in supervision, providing mentorship to staff/teams, project management, and team-building experience.

Prior project management work with PEPFAR and/or USAID activities; familiarity with USAID and PEPFAR specific policies and procedures.

D. COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE SKILLS (30%)

Able to work within a large multicultural team and collaborate with a large number of senior level GODR officials, PEPFAR/DR partners, local leaders, and CSO representatives.

The candidate should have strong analytical and writing skills as evidenced by previous experience and a writing sample.

The candidate should have strong oral communication skills, including ability to present among high level USG and GoDR officials.

Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and the google suite of applications.

Advanced written and oral language ability in English and Spanish.

The above-mentioned factors will be the basis for the evaluation of all applications. All applications will be evaluated based on the documentation submitted with the application.

Applicants are required to provide a cover letter addressing how they meet the requirements of each criterion listed and submit three to five professional references with complete contact information. Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the selection criteria (listed in descending order of importance).

The ability to obtain the facilities access level security certification and medical clearances is required for the position.

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.

Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality of their education, knowledge, experience, language, and other skills, as they relate to this position against the following criteria:

Education: 10 points Technical Knowledge: 30 points Relevant Work Experience: 30 points Communication and Interpersonal Skills: 30 points Total: 100 points

USAID policy specifies that U.S. citizens or resident aliens (USNs) are preferred over third country nationals (TCNs). Therefore, USN and TCN offers will not be evaluated together. USAID will evaluate USN offers first and if the CO determines that there are no qualified USNs, only then will USAID evaluate TCN offers.

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 Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.

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.

5. Applicants are required to provide a cover letter addressing how they meet the requirements of each criterion listed and submit three to five professional references with complete contact information.

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) **

** 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), available at https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101.

(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).

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.

5. PSC Ombudsman.

6. 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/workusaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman.

The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov.

END OF SOLICITATION