Solicitation for US-TCNPSC - Senior Humanitarian Advisor - BHA - USAID Burkina Faso Office..pdf

Route des Almadies B.P. 49 Dakar, Senegal Tel.: (221) 33 879 4000 Website: http://www.usaid.gov/senegal

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068525R00001

ISSUANCE DATE: November 21, 2024 CLOSING DATE AND TIME: December 13, 2024, 2024- 11:59 p.m. (GMT)

SUBJECT: Solicitation for a U.S. Citizen /Third Country National Personal Service Contractor

(US/TCN PSC) - Senior Humanitarian Advisor (GS-14) USAID Burkina Faso Office

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking offers from U.S. citizens and Third Country Nationals 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, Tonya Jordan, Executive Officer

Tonya Jordan

Digitally signed by Tonya Jordan Date: 2024.11.20 19:04:39 Z

ATTACHMENT 1

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068525R00001

2. ISSUANCE DATE: November 21, 2024

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 13, 2024- 11:59 p.m. (GMT)

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Recruitment team, usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Humanitarian Advisor

6. MARKET VALUE: GS-14 ($104,604 – $135,987 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 Personal Services Contract will be for one (1) year, with four one-year option periods, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and continuing need for the position.) Level of effort is full time (40 hours per week).

Base Period: o/a February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026

Option Period 1: o/a February 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Option Period 2: o/a February 1, 2027 to January 31, 2028

Option Period 3: o/a February 1, 2028 to January 31, 2029

Option Period 4: o/a February 1, 2029 to January 31, 2030

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: US Embassy/USAID compound in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

(Overseas USPSCs [and TCNPSCs not subject to the local compensation plan,] may be authorized to telework or remote work only from a location within the country of performance, in accordance with Mission policy. Telework or remote work from outside the country of performance may only be authorized in certain situations in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.)

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens, Resident Aliens, Third Country Nationals Hiring Preference: In order of preference, U.S. Nationals (U.S. Citizens and permanent legal residents) offers will be evaluated first. Only when it is determined that there are no qualified U.S. Nationals (U.S. Citizens and permanent legal residents) will the offers from Third Country Nationals be considered. Reference ADS 309.3.1.10 and 309.3.1.4.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret clearance in case of US Citizens and Facility Access/Moderate in the case of Third Country Nationals.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

COUNTRY BACKGROUND

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance overseas in response to all types of international disasters. The Bureau responds to an average of 82 crises in 68 countries every year. In addition to responding to disasters, BHA helps crisis‐affected communities by building on our humanitarian responses and supporting early recovery efforts that restore and protect basic systems and services. BHA is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance in the world. In FY 2022, USAID provided over $13 billion in emergency humanitarian assistance and non-emergency early recovery and resilience programming, including in Burkina Faso.

BHA is responsible for planning, coordinating, developing, achieving, monitoring, and evaluating international humanitarian assistance falling into two conceptual areas:

● Humanitarian Response activities comprise needs-based humanitarian assistance provided to save lives, alleviate suffering, and protect human dignity during and in the aftermath of emergencies. Humanitarian assistance is grounded in humanitarian principles and is directed toward the most vulnerable populations.

● Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) activities will set the initial foundations for longer-term recovery as appropriate, and will work in close conjunction with humanitarian assistance. Early recovery is an approach that supports communities impacted by crises to protect and restore basic systems and service delivery. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is the prevention of new and reduction of existing disaster risk and management of residual risk, which contributes to strengthening resilience and to the achievement of sustainable development. Resilience is the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth.

The incumbent is a member of BHA Burkina Faso and will work within the USAID country office in Ouagadougou. This position requires a highly collaborative, proactive work style and work-related travel. The SHA/SHPO will work under the supervision of the BHA Team Lead in Ouagadougou or her designee. The incumbent must be proficient in English and French. The job holder is required to perform work-related travel.

USAID is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce.

USAID encourages qualified candidates of all races/ethnicities, genders, cultural backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses to apply.

OBJECTIVE

USAID’s country office in Burkina Faso requires the services of a qualified Senior Humanitarian Advisor / Senior Humanitarian Program Officer (HA/SHPO) French-speaking, U.S. or Third Country National Personal Services Contractor (US or TCN PSC) based in the USAID/Burkina Faso’s Humanitarian Assistance Team at the US Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. With close collaboration and technical support from the BHA West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar, Senegal, and various BHA offices in Washington, DC the incumbent will contribute to the effective design, implementation and management of BHA emergency, early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programs in Burkina Faso.

As articulated in the five-year Regional Development Cooperation Strategy, USAID/Burkina Faso is committed to supporting the increase of inclusive social and economic development in a more resilient, democratic, integrated West Africa. Due to the persistent complex crises in Burkina Faso with many social services being provided through humanitarian assistance.

USAID/Burkina Faso aims to more intentionally promote layering, sequencing, and integrating between humanitarian assistance and development assistance in target geographic areas to maximize the impact of programs.

The job may be expected to perform work-related travel.

Contextual Specialty

● Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian, resilience, and DRR issues within

Burkina Faso.

● Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and stakeholder interests specific to Burkina Faso.

● Monitor incipient disasters, international disaster response plans and efforts, and major humanitarian issues and challenges in the area of responsibility through a wide range of USG and international sources.

● Identify humanitarian issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities within and relevant to Burkina Faso and apply those to program strategy development and implementation.

● Prepare and/or provide substantive assistance in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on Burkina Faso.

Portfolio Management

● With strong coordination and collaboration with the humanitarian team in Burkina Faso and

WARO based in Dakar, the incumbent will lead efforts to identify and assess new humanitarian assistance requirements, target beneficiary groups and locations, oversee the general direction of existing relief and transition and resilience-oriented programs, and broadly recommend the types of interventions and budget levels required in Burkina Faso.

● Closely collaborate with USAID/ Burkina Faso colleagues on program coordination to share information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and resilience efforts.

Maintain ongoing dialogue with BHA WARO and Washington Team Leads for Burkina Faso on these efforts.

● Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in Burkina Faso. Liaise with partners and other donors, coordinate closely with WARO, and provide coordinated field feedback to the partners.

● In consultation and collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, coordinate collection of information and provide updates and recommendations through written reports on issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the following:

○ Capacity and ability of UN, IOs, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs;

○ Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs;

○ Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in general;

○ Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in Burkina Faso in facilitating humanitarian assistance; and

○ Contributions by other donors, problems arising from implementation of relief and reintegration programs, and any other issues that require the attention of BHA and

USAID/Burkina Faso.

● Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change.

● In consultation and collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, provide guidance to organizations that are developing proposals for BHA.

● In collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, review concept papers and proposals and provide timely recommendations/comments to BHA Washington and WARO.

● In collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA Washington and WARO on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.

● Along with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, maintain regular, close coordination and communication with WARO and BHA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Representation

● Represent USAID’s humanitarian portfolio in-country at senior level meetings within the USG and with humanitarian stakeholders and convey humanitarian concerns and priorities from the BHA perspective through oral and written briefings.

● Coordinate policy development meetings such as:

○ Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges;

○ Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with humanitarian concerns or impacts; and

○ Donor and implementing partner coordination forums.

● Serve as an expert point of contact in-country for BHA for humanitarian issues and serve as a liaison on program issues among USAID mission staff, the U.S. Embassy and other USG agencies, military representatives, BHA/Washington and the overall humanitarian community.

● Present USAID’s humanitarian perspectives to NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies relating to humanitarian assistance strategies and priorities, including USAID’s approach to sustainable, resilience-oriented humanitarian programs. Work closely with the BHA Burkina Faso Team

Leader, the Regional Humanitarian Advisor and BHA technical advisors to discuss and understand sectoral priorities.

● Represent USG humanitarian interests at national and international meetings and conferences, and facilitate, as requested, travel and briefings for official USG visitors to

Burkina Faso interested in humanitarian issues.

● As a Senior Humanitarian Advisor in Burkina Faso, engage in the U.S. Embassy policy conversations, remaining available to provide timely reporting and clearances in response to high-level USG queries originating from the region or from Washington, D.C. Leadership

● Provide recommendations on current and future directions of BHA Burkina Faso’s portfolio to include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements.

● Serve in a leadership role within USAID/Burkina Faso, in coordination with Mission senior leadership, to incorporate humanitarian and resilience concerns into Mission activities and planning, and identify opportunities to leverage USAID multi-sector development interventions.

General Duties

● Serve in leadership, planning, or program positions on response teams and assessment teams within and outside the region.

● Sign up for and serve as needed on Washington-based RMTs, which provide services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary.

● Serve as the BHA after-hours duty officer on a rotational basis for approximately one week every six months.

● As needed, serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time.

● As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the office to meet operational needs during staff shortages, not to exceed six months. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the scope of work provided.

● Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting Officer’s

Representative (AOR/COR), as assigned. The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, monthly status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in the Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment

Review System (C/APARS). They prepare and review contract/assistance modifications documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the Federal Acquisition

Regulation, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.

Supervision Received: The US/TCN PSC will report directly to the Humanitarian Assistance Country Lead or their designee in Burkina Faso and collaborate and consult with other USAID and U.S.

Embassy staff. If designated as the Acting BHA Country Lead for any period of time, the incumbent will have reporting responsibilities to the BHA Africa Office in Washington and BHA WARO, as well as serve as a member of USAID/Burkina Faso’s Senior Leadership Team, reporting regularly to the Country Representative or their designee.

Supervision Exercised: Supervisor provides administrative directions in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. The employee independently plans, designs, and carries out programs, projects, studies, or other work. Results are considered authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Bachelor’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, development studies, economics, food policy, African studies, or a related field or country) plus nine (9) years of progressively demonstrated humanitarian and development experience, at least seven (7) of which must be in emergency relief and / or food security, programming and management, including four (4) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.

Required proficiency in verbal and written English and French.

OR

Master’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, development studies, economics, food policy, African studies, or a related field or country) plus seven (7) years of progressively demonstrated humanitarian and development experience, at least five (5) of which must be in emergency relief and / or emergency food security, programming and management, including four (4) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.

Required proficiency in verbal and written English and French.

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.

Selection Process

After the closing date for receipt of application, a committee will convene to review applications that meet the minimum requirements and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications from offerors who do not meet the minimum requirements will not be scored. As part of the selection process, finalist offerors 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.

Evaluation Factors

The final selection will be based on three evaluation factors - screening qualifications, interview, and references - and are described below.

1. Screening of Qualifications (55 points and yes/no)

a. Education (yes/no)

Candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, development studies, economics, food policy, African studies, or a related field.

b. Knowledge/Experience (30 points) At least five (5) years of progressively demonstrated humanitarian and development experience, at least three (3) of which must be in emergency relief and / or food security programming and management, including two (2) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.

● Specific experience managing humanitarian interventions, preferably in West and/or Central Africa.

● Experience working with a donor or grant making organization.

● Experience with humanitarian needs assessments.

● Experience with budget development or management.

● Experience leading or participating in strategy development.

● Experience with program design and/or monitoring or evaluating programs.

● Experience managing programs that focus on emergency response or disaster risk reduction (DRR) programming.

c. Skills/Abilities (25 points)

● Demonstrated experience working or coordinating with host or local governments on the planning and implementation of humanitarian or development interventions.

● Demonstrated experience working or coordinating with donor organizations or diplomatic missions.

● Demonstrated experience working or coordinating with international or national non-governmental partners at senior levels.

● Demonstrated experience delivering verbal presentations or briefings to stakeholders at senior levels, such as donors, host or local governments, UN officials, or USG officials, on humanitarian policy or programming matters.

● Demonstrated ability to coordinate and collaborate with host-country officials and interact with partners, contractors, and other stakeholders at senior levels.

● Ability to communicate technical information to both expert and lay audiences, and achieve consensus on policy, project, research, and administrative matters.

● Demonstrated written communication skills.

● Demonstrated ability to work independently, plan work, and complete assignments according to established deadlines.

● Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a diverse team environment.

d. Language Proficiency (yes/no) Demonstrated proficiency in English at Level 4, and French at Level 4.

2. Interview Performance (35 points)

The interview provides an opportunity to review the knowledge/experience, skills/abilities, and language proficiencies shared during the screening phase.

3. Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks (10 points)

Evaluation Summary

Total Possible Points: 100 points

In order to be considered for the position, an offeror must meet the Minimum Qualifications listed above. Consideration 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.

USAID policy specifies that U.S. citizens or resident aliens (U.S.Ns) 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.

Security and Medical Clearance Requirements

The applicant selected to fill this position must be able to obtain a Facility Access Authorization and must also receive a Worldwide Availability Medical Clearance (WWA/Class 1). Details of how to obtain such clearance will be provided after selection and acceptance of the job offer.

A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection.

Compensation

This position has been classified at the GS-14 grade.

For USPSC, the actual salary of the successful applicant will be negotiated within that pay band depending on qualifications and previous earnings history.

For TCNPSC, the actual salary of the successful applicant will be negotiated based on approved Alternate Classification Procedures and benefits in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J, sec.

4(c)(2)(ii)(B)).

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: OPEN TO U.S. CITIZENS AND THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS

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.

For USPSC:

• Be a U.S. Citizen;

• Submit a complete application as outlined in the solicitation section titled SUBMITTING AN OFFER

(Section IV);

• Be able to obtain a Secret clearance;

• Be able to obtain a Department of State issued Medical Clearance;

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

• Employment is subject to funds availability and all required approvals/clearances obtained.

For TCNPSC:

• Be a Third Country National. Third Country National means an individual: (1) Who is neither a citizen nor a permanent legal resident of the United States nor of the country to which assigned for duty (Burkina Faso); and (2) Who is eligible for return to his/her home country or country of recruitment at U.S. Government expenses;

• Submit a complete application as outlined in the section titled SUBMITTING AN OFFER (Section

IV);

• Be able to obtain a required Facility Access Authorization;

• Be able to obtain a Department of State issued Medical Clearance;

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

• Employment is subject to funds availability and all required approvals/clearances obtained.

If a TCNPSC is selected for award, during the period of this contract, the TCNPSC contractor will be required to train a CCNPSC identified by USAID in his/her recognized Technical Area of Expertise. The Supervisor will establish a structured training plan for the TCNPSC with a work objective and performance benchmarks to measure the contractor's progress toward achieving this required training deliverable.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

Offers must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted electronically to: usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov with the Solicitation number in the application submission. 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.

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

AS ONE COMPLETE PACKAGE.

NOTE: This position requires the submission of complete forms and/or supplemental materials as described above. Failure to provide the required information and/signed documents will result in the applicant not being considered for employment. Applicants are required to sign and date both the Cover Letter and a completed USAID AID 309-2 form.sss

[Per PEB 24-01, “Personal Services Contractors (PSC) Practices Related to Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace” the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) encourages COs to insert the following provisions:

USAID’S ZERO TOLERANCE FOR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

USAID has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct with the goal of fostering a respectful, safe, healthy and inclusive work environment. USAID maintains policies and procedures to establish a workplace free of sexual misconduct as described in Agency policy at ADS Chapter 113, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct.

By acceptance of the contract, the contractor acknowledges having read, and agrees to abide by, the Agency’s ADS 113 policies and procedures.

SELF CERTIFICATION

Offerors must sign a Sexual Misconduct Self-Certification form [see hyperlink] related to sexual misconduct when submitting the offer. The signed form will be filed in the award file. If the offeror fails to submit a signed-certification, the offeror will be determined to be non-compliant to submission requirements and will not be considered for award.

• For the Apparently Successful Offeror:

o If Self-Certification response is “Yes”: In consultation with the Resident Legal Advisor

(RLO) or General Counsel Acquisition and Assistance (GC/AA), the CO will request further details from the offeror.

o Event of False Certification: If the certification provided is found to be false, the offeror may be eliminated from consideration for the award. If the contract has been awarded, the false certification may be grounds for termination of the contract. The action may be punishable to the full extent of the law.

USE OF THE AGENCY’S MISCONDUCT PORTAL AND INQUIRIES MADE TO PREVIOUS COs

FOR APPARENTLY SUCCESSFUL OFFEROR

The Office of Employee and Labor Relations (ELR) operates USAID’s Misconduct Reporting Portal. Prior to award, the CO will email ELR at HCTM.ELR@usaid.gov to identify whether Agency records include any prior disciplinary action related to sexual misconduct taken against the apparently successful offeror.

If the apparently successful offeror has previously held a Personal Services Contract at USAID, the CO will attempt to contact the previous administrating CO to inquire about previous disciplinary actions related to sexual misconduct against the apparently successful offeror.

NEW ENTRANT ORIENTATION (NEO)

For PSCs onboarded in Washington, the contractor must complete the information session on USAID’s zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct as part of NEO. The CO will include documentation in the award file that the contractor has completed NEO and has been made aware of USAID’s zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.

For PSCs onboarded overseas, including CCNPSCs and TCNPSCs, the PSC must complete an online module related to USAID’s zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct as administered by their cognizant CO as part of their onboarding process. The CO will include documentation in the award file that the PSC has completed the online module and has been made aware of USAID’s zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.

I. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES

Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful applicant about being selected for a contract award, the 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. Fingerprint Card (FD-258)

4. Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306)

II. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES (if/as applicable)

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

(a) Temporary Quarter Subsistence Allowance (Section 120)

(b) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

(c) Cost-of-Living Allowance (Chapter 210)

(d) Post Allowance (Section 220)

(e) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

(f) Education Allowance (Section 270)

(g) Education Travel (Section 280)

(h) Post Differential (Chapter 500)

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

(j) Danger Pay Allowance (Section 650)

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, an offshore TCNPSC is normally authorized the following allowances:

(a) Post Differential (Section 500)

(b) Post Allowance (COLA) (Section 220)

(c) Payments During Evacuation (Section 600)

(d) Education Allowance (Section 270)

(e) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

(f) Educational Travel (Section 280)

III. TAXES

USPSCs are required to pay Federal income taxes, Medicare and applicable State Income taxes.

TCNPSCs are subject to an individual’s country tax laws and should follow tax requirement of their country of origin.

IV. 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), (available at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf

- 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”.

- Appendix J, “Direct USAID Contracts with a Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad,” including contract clause “General Provisions”.

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 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.

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 SOLICITATION