Solicitation- senior infrastructure specialist.pdf

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72061220B00004

ISSUANCE DATE: November 10, 2020

CLOSING DATE/TIME: November 20, 2020, 5pm Lilongwe Time

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

Senior Infrastructure Specialist, GS-14 equivalent, USAID/Malawi

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, Sections I through IV of this solicitation. All application packages are to be submitted via email to: malawijobs@usaid.gov. 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 attached information.

Sincerely, Shawn Phillips

Supervisory Executive Officer

72061220B00004

ATTACHMENT 1

Solicitation for a US/TCN Personal Service Contractor (PSC)

Senior Infrastructure Specialist, GS-14 equivalent

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72061220B00004

2. ISSUANCE DATE: November 10, 2020

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: November 20, 2020 no later than 1700 Hrs. Lilongwe Time.

4. POSITION TITLE: Senior Infrastructure Specialist

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

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The Personal Services Contract will be for eleven months only.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Lilongwe, Malawi; with possible travel as stated in the

Statement of Duties.

8. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: USPSCs – Facility Access, TCNPSCs -

Employment Authorization

9. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Hiring preference - Reference: ADS 309.3.3

USPSC

TCNPSC

Resident Hire Personal Services Contractor (PSC) means a U.S. citizen/ Third

Country National who, at the time of hiring as a PSC, resides in the Cooperating

Country:

(1) As a spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen/Third Country National employed by a

U.S. Government Agency or under any U.S. Government-financed contract or agreement, or

(2) For reasons other than for employment with a U.S. Government Agency or under any U.S. Government-financed contract or agreement. A U.S. citizen for purposes of this definition also includes a person who at the time of contracting is a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States.

Third Country Nationals (TCN) – An individual who is neither a citizen nor a permanent legal resident alien of the U.S. nor of the country to which he/she is assigned for duty

U.S. citizen or permanent resident/registered alien (“green card holder”); offerors will be evaluated in isolation first, and only when there is no USN and US Legal resident alien qualified and "responsible" (including SAM and OFAC verifications), can the CO give the technical evaluation committee (TEC) any TCN offers for review.

10. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

Background

Through the Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) initiative, a unique

$90 million partnership between the Government of Malawi and the U.S. Government, over

40,000 more Malawian youth will have a chance to attend secondary school. Expanded schools in urban areas and new schools in rural areas will bring secondary schools closer to where girls and boys live; increase the likelihood that girls will continue their studies from primary to secondary and remain in school longer; prevent early pregnancy, early marriage, and new HIV infections; and improve transition rates from secondary to tertiary education.

SEED is implemented in two phases: urban and rural. SEED Urban is adding 96 classrooms and 60 separate latrines for girls and boys in 30 existing urban secondary schools to reduce overcrowding and create space for new students. SEED Urban will be ending in late 2020.

SEED Rural will build up to 200 new secondary schools in rural areas across the country, creating access to secondary education where the most vulnerable girls in the country live.

Rural schools will be built in communities where: a high prevalence of new HIV infections exists; distances to existing secondary schools present a barrier to access; and high pass rates out of primary schools create student populations that are qualified but not selected for secondary study in the Malawi education system.

MAJOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary purpose of the position is to support the USAID infrastructure team through a critical and intense period of activity which will see the award of multiple construction contracts for the construction of 40 schools across 12 districts in Malawi through SEED

Rural’s first solicitation and the development of designs and the solicitation for the 52 additional SEED Rural schools. The incumbent will be the Contracting Officer's

Representative (COR) to the A/E consultant responsible for the design of the schools and procurement and oversight of the construction contract. The incumbent will actively participate in the evaluation of bids, the reporting process and the final recommendations to the Contracting Officer. The incumbent, in close-coordination with the A/E consultant will be responsible for monitoring the Quality Control (QC) processes being implemented and for establishing the baseline for the quality of construction across the project to be extended through subsequent phases of construction

11. AREA OF CONSIDERATION:

USPSC:

• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident/registered alien (“green card holder”).

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

APPLYING.

• Be able to attain a facility access clearance.

• Be able to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.

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

For TCNPSC:

• Be a Third Country National Personnel Service Contractor (TCNPSC). “Third

Country National” shall mean an individual (i) who is neither a citizen of the United

States nor of the country to which assigned for duty, and (ii) who is eligible for return travel to the TCN’s home country or country from which recruited at U.S.

Government expenses, and (iii) who is on a limited assignment for a specific period of time.

• Submit a complete application as outlined in the section titled APPLYING.

• Be able to attain employment authorization.

• Be able to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.

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

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

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The primary location of work will be in Lilongwe, Malawi. The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

13. POINT OF CONTACT:

Any questions about this solicitation may be directed to: Catherine Masi, Human Resources

Assistant cmasi@usaid.gov. All application packages are to be submitted via email to:

malawijobs@usaid.gov

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

ln order to be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum

Qualifications listed below. Consideration and selection will be based on a panel evaluation of the Evaluation Factors. Please note that not all applicants will be interviewed or contacted. USAID will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews unless expenses are preauthorized. Reference checks may be conducted on those candidates selected for an interview. The applicant's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. Applicants are required to write a brief cover letter to demonstrate how prior experience and/or training addresses the

Minimum Qualifications and Evaluation Criteria listed below.

The following 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 resume/curriculum vitae, cover letter addressing how they meet the requirements of each criterion below and submit three to five professional references mailto:cmasi@usaid.gov with complete contact information. Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following evaluation criteria (listed in descending order of importance):

1. Education (20 Points):

A professional degree in the field of Architecture or Engineering.

2. Work Experience (30 Points):

A minimum of 10 years of relevant and progressively responsible experience in architecture, engineering design, or construction management is desired.

A minimum of five years (or eight years without a master’s degree) of demonstrated successful experience in design, management and/or administration of construction projects of greater value than $5M is required. Previous work experience with an international development organization overseas is an advantage. Strong preference will be given to candidates familiar with the construction industry in Malawi and/or the region. The incumbent must be able to mentor, guide, and build the capacity of staff and implementing partner

3. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (40 Points):

The successful candidate must have the depth of knowledge to face the varied construction challenges that are inevitable in projects covering multiple sites. The candidate must be capable of receiving, processing, and responding to multiple streams of information in a timely manner. Excellent leadership, coordination, and organizational skills within a multicultural work environment are required

Skills: Native level fluency in English (reading, writing, and speaking) is required. Given the nature of the position, demonstrated effective written and oral communications; strong communication, interpersonal skills, and ability to lead and work in teams; and excellent organizational, critical, and strategic thinking skills are required. Strong staff development and management skills preferred. Strong computer skills in the full range of MS software, including spreadsheets, and PowerPoint, and CAD is preferred.

4. Language and Communication Skills (10 Points):

Excellent written and oral English communication skills, particularly strong writing, editing, and presentation skills are required. S/he must have the ability to summarize and synthesize information from a wide variety of sources into cohesive, polished, and nuanced written communication.

III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

After an initial application screening, the best qualified applicants may be invited for a written examination and to an oral interview.

The successful candidate will be selected based on a review of his/her qualifications, work experience, skills, and abilities; an interview; and the results of reference checks. The hiring panel may check references that have not been specifically identified by applicants and may check references before or after a candidate is interviewed.

NOTE: Due to the high volume of applications received, we will only contact applicants who are being considered for interview.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

1. Eligible offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2, “Offer

Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

2. A signed Cover Letter of no more than two pages

3. Resume or the most recent Curriculum Vitae (CV). The CV/resume must contain enough relevant information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. To ensure consideration of applicants for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter, as well as using the address/delivery point specified in this solicitation.

4. Supplemental document with written responses to the evaluation factors describing specifically what experience, training, education, etc., the applicant has received relevant to each selection criteria (maximum 3 pages).

5. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section I.

6. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.

7. List of minimum three (3) professional references who are not family members or relatives, with complete name, title, organization where he/she works, description of relationship, with working/accurate telephone and e-mail numbers. The applicant’s references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities.

USAID/Malawi reserves the right to obtain from previous employers, relevant information concerning the applicant’s past performance and may consider such information in its final decision. At least one reference must be from a current or former supervisor. Reference checks will be done on selected applicants only. If an applicant does not wish for the current employer to be contacted as a reference, this should be stated in the applicant’s cover letter.

The interviewing committee will delay such reference check pending communication with the Applicant.

8. Late Submissions: Qualified individuals should note that applications must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter or they will not be considered eligible for evaluation or award, unless the Contracting Officer determines that the documents were mishandled by the receiving agency. The closing time for the receipt of applications is 5:00 pm, local time, on the date specified on the cover letter to this solicitation. You are directed to Federal Acquisitions Regulation, Part 15.208 “Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals” for further information.

USAID/Malawi reserves the right not to award any contract as a result of this solicitation.

9. Phone interview(s): may be conducted with most highly rated Applicants only. The purpose of a phone interview may be to facilitate USAID’s proper understanding of the

Applicant-provided information for Section IV: Evaluation Criteria, in order for the assigned a numerical score to reflect a well-informed basis. Although the interview is not subject to scoring, if and when information gained by USAID during the interview substantively adds to http://www.usaid.gov/forms or detracts from USAID’s initial understanding based on the Applicant’s written submittal, an adjustment in a particular score may be justified.

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. AID 309-2

2. Contractor Physical Examination (AID Form 1420-62). **

3. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85). **

4. Fingerprint Card (FD-258). **

** Forms 2 through 4 shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job.

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES:

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: (NOTE: An individual defined as a Resident Hire employee may only be eligible for those benefits listed under item A below.)

A. BENEFITS:

1. Employee's FICA Contribution

2. Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance

3. Pay Comparability Adjustment

4. Eligibility for Worker's Compensation

5. Annual & Sick Leave

6. Access to Embassy medical facilities, commissary, and pouch mail service

B. ALLOWANCES (If Applicable):

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

1. Temporary Lodging Allowance (Section 120)

2. Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

3. Post Allowance (Section 220)

4. Supplemental Post Allowance (Section 230)

5. Post Differential (Chapter 500)

6. Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600) and

7. Danger Pay (Section 650)

8. Educational Allowance (Section 270)

9. Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

10. Educational Travel (Section 280)

* Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas).

http://www.usaid.gov/forms https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=282&menu_id=101

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 item is to be determined upon contract award as described below:

LINE ITEMS

ITEM NO

(A)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(DESCRIPTION)

QUANTITY

(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: [e.g. R497]

- Accounting Info:

[insert one or more citation(s) from

Phoenix/GLAAS]

11 Months LOT

$ _TBD__

$_TBD at

Award after negotiations with

Contractor_

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.

***END OF SOLICITATION***