Solicitation Senior Program Advisor_signed.pdf

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72062124R00011

ISSUANCE DATE: July 10, 2024 CLOSING DATE AND TIME: July 25, 2024, 5:00 pm

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) and Third Country National Personal Services Contractor (TCNPSC) – Offshore Hire – Senior Program Advisor – Program Office

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.

USAID will evaluate all offerors based on the stated evaluation criteria. USAID encourages all individuals, including those from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, to respond to the solicitation. Reasonable accommodations will be made available to offerors who are qualified individuals with a disability. USAID is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in Attachment

Sincerely, Contracting / Supervisory Executive Officer

USAID/Tanzania 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani

P.O. BOX 9130

DAR ES SALAAM

Tel: 255-22-2294490 Fax: 255-22-2294421 www.usaid.gov/Tanzania

ATTACHMENT 1 72062124R00011

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72062124R00011

2. ISSUANCE DATE: July 10, 2024

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: July 25 2024, 5:00 pm

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Hussein Tuwa, email at htuwa@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Senior Program Advisor

6. MARKET VALUE: $ 104,604 -$ 135,987 equivalent to GS-14. Final Compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Dar es Salaam, with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties. Overseas USPSCs/TCNPSCs 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.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The base period will be two years, estimated to start on or about November 2024 or immediately upon receipt of security and medical clearances. Based on Agency need, availability of funds and satisfactory performance, the Contracting Officer may exercise additional option periods for up to three years for the dates estimated as follows:

Base Period o/a November 2024 - November 2026 Option Period 1 o/a November 2026 - November 2027 Option Period 2 o/a November 2027 - November 2028 Option Period 3 o/a November 2028 - November 2029

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. citizens, permanent resident/registered aliens (green card holder) who are currently residing in Tanzania or Third-Country National.

Third Country Nationals means an individual (i) who is neither a citizen nor a permanent legal resident alien of the United States nor of the country to which assigned for duty, and (ii) who is eligible for return to his/her home country or country of recruitment at U.S. government expense.

Please note that as this is a USPSC/TCNPSC position, offerors who are Third Country Nationals should have a valid work permit and exemption certificate; or demonstrate an ability to obtain these requisite documents at the time the contractual agreement is signed. USAID/Tanzania will not be responsible for obtaining work permits and exemption certificates. In this case, USAID/Tanzania will provide all the necessary documentation to obtain the permits and certificates and there would not be any costs, but it is up to the TCNs to obtain these documents, including costs for traveling to Dodoma where the Work Permit is issued.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Facility Access Clearance mailto:htuwa@usaid.gov

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

i. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

As the Senior Program Advisor, the incumbent will serve as a de facto Deputy Director of the Program Office, jointly with an FSN Deputy Director, providing management, oversight, and technical guidance to 14 staff performing Program Office functions in project design, budget management, development, outreach and communications (DOC), and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL). The incumbent will serve as the senior technical advisor and expert on Program Cycle functions for the Program Office, assisting the Office Director in ensuring that Program Office staff have the necessary knowledge, skills, tools, and systems to effectively support the Mission, and providing management oversight of all Program Office functions in support of the Director and FSN Deputy Director. The incumbent will also serve as an alternate member of the Senior Management Team, serving as one of two alter egos for the Program Office Director during his/her absence. S/he may also serve on Technical Evaluation Committees on an as-needed basis.

USAID/Tanzania’s development efforts are focused on empowering Tanzania’s youth through interventions in health, agriculture, economic growth, education, and democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG) activities. In health, USAID/Tanzania focuses on HIV/AIDS relief, malaria prevention, expanding family planning, and saving the lives of mothers and children. In agriculture and economic growth, USAID/Tanzania supports the country’s transition to a competitive, free-market economy focused on productive agriculture and promoting regional trade to support regional food security and prosperity. In education, USAID/Tanzania promotes youth empowerment, a cross-cutting objective, along with scaling up effective basic education approaches across Tanzania. In DRG, USAID/Tanzania works closely in support of Tanzania’s civil society in promoting open civic and political space and continuing recent democratic reforms.

The incumbent will carry out a range of Program Office tasks aimed at supporting these country specific activities to reach their objectives.

ii. Statement of duties to be performed

The incumbent’s primary purpose is to provide expert guidance and oversight for the USAID/Tanzania office across the broad range of Program Office related tasks and responsibilities. The incumbent will support the USAID/Tanzania Program Office Director and other staff regarding issues affecting USAID/Tanzania’s current portfolio including programming, planning, budgeting, procurement, implementation, and MEL. The incumbent will support the USAID/Tanzania Mission through a variety of other assigned tasks, including serving as an expert resource and mentor on all aspects of the Program Cycle for Mission staff in all technical offices, and will respond to urgent information requests and action items as needed. The incumbent will lead on program budget formulation, tracking, and reporting and DOC functions in the absence of the FSN Deputy Director.

The incumbent will support the Program Office Director in providing strategic direction to the Program Office and for providing management oversight and direction, while monitoring work progress, deliverables, and quality of work, and will serve as the subject matter expert on the Program Cycle for the Program Office and the Mission. This will include assisting in managing and delegating tasks, reviewing documents produced by staff, providing feedback on documents, and giving direction in concert with Agency best practices, guidance, and regulations. This will also include providing professional development for current and new Program Office and Mission Staff, and developing the systems, tools, and resources necessary for the Program Office to effectively support the Mission in executing the Program Cycle. S/he will also serve as an alternate member of the Senior Management Team, as Acting Program Office Director as needed, and work jointly with the FSN Deputy Director to provide leadership to the Program Office in support of and in the absence of the Program Office Director.

The incumbent is expected to apply a broad knowledge of the U.S. Government and USAID regulations and procedures to strategic, sector, and program planning and design based on a comprehensive understanding of Agency objectives and requirements.

S/he will prepare and contribute to reports and other presentations on strategy development, program planning, and MEL. S/he will interpret and provide guidance on the application of the Agency and the Mission program planning procedures and requirements to USAID staff members and assist with the analysis, design, planning, and procurement of program/project/activity proposals.

The incumbent will participate in broad development assistance assessments, program design, results framework development, and MEL planning. S/he will provide guidance to technical teams and other Mission staff; coordinate information and build consensus from various offices, bureaus, and USAID staff; assist in preparing Congressional briefings and draft responses to congressional inquiries; review and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to improve program performance; and perform other related duties as assigned.

The incumbent will apply critical thinking and detailed analysis in contributing to reports, strategic planning documents, and evaluations for internal and external audiences, including operational plans and performance reports.

Specific responsibilities may include:

● Provides daily direction and oversight in support of the Director and in concert with the FSN Deputy Director. Serve as the Acting Program Office Director as needed.

● Serves as subject matter expert and mentor on USAID’s agency-wide programming principles, reviewing and updating Mission policies, guidance, systems, and tools as appropriate.

● Supports Program Office excellence and ensures a customer service-oriented engagement with field, front, technical, and functional offices.

● Provides expert guidance on the Program Cycle and the execution of major Program Office functions, such as budget management, project design, cross-cutting functions like gender and environment, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning,

● Manages and implements an ongoing professional development process for the Program Office and Mission to ensure mastery of Program Cycle functions and continuous learning throughout the Office and Mission.

● Actively collaborates with Mission and Embassy staff to identify and leverage opportunities, respond to challenges, and solve problems.

● Reviews and edits a wide range of documents through the clearance process, including DOC products.

● Produces high-quality material, including reports, memos, or briefers.

● Flexibly supports the Program Office and Mission through other tasks, as assigned.

iii. Supervisory Relationship: S/he is expected to work independently with direction received from the Program Office Director. S/he will also serve as an alternate member of the Senior Management Team, work closely with the Program Office Director and FSN Deputy Director, and regularly collaborate with colleagues at USAID/Washington and Embassy Dar es Salaam.

The incumbent reports directly to the USAID/Tanzania Program Office Director.

iv. Supervisory Controls: The incumbent will have supervisory responsibilities for FSN and other PSC staff. If a TCNPSC is selected for award, during the period of this contract, the TCN personal services contractor must provide at least 90 days 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.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

A. Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, public or business administration, political science, international relations, or related field is required.

B. Prior Work Experience: A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in strategy design, project management and implementation, and MEL with U.S. Government agencies is required.

C. Job Knowledge: Knowledge of USG laws, policies, regulations, and procedures related to international development assistance. Working knowledge of development project design as well as the principles of sound program oversight, budgeting and reporting, MEL, and assistance and acquisition is required. A working knowledge of the East / Central Africa region, its institutions, and overall development challenges is preferred. Demonstrated ability to work across multiple technical sectors is required.

D. Skills and Abilities: Excellent written and oral communication; analytical; management; and interpersonal/teamwork skills are required. Organizational skills and computer skills, including the development and management of spreadsheets, tracking systems, etc., and the ability to interpret, organize, and present data to a variety of audiences is necessary. Proven ability to mentor USAID staff in the execution of the Program Cycle required.

E. Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) in English.

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.

To meet the basic eligibility requirements for this position the offeror must:

- Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident/registered aliens (green card holder) who are currently residing in the Tanzania, or Third-Country National with a work permit;

- Submit a complete application (Offer) as outlined in the section IV;

- Be eligible to attain a security certificate for Facility Access;

- Be cleared medically to work in Tanzania.

After the closing date for receipt of applications, those that meet the minimum qualification requirements (Education and Experience) will be referred to a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).

Applications from candidates who do not meet the minimum requirements will not be considered.

The TEC will review and score the applications to create a list of applicants to be interviewed.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on information presented in the application, interview, and obtained through reference checks.

An applicant’s references must be able to provide substantive information about past performance and abilities.

BASIS OF RATING

Applicants are rated as outlined below. Reference checks will be conducted and are rated as pass or fail.

Application Review:

The application will be scored based on information provided outlining the quality of experience supporting the statement of duties as outlined in this solicitation (See Section II. c. Job knowledge, d.

Skills and Abilities).

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

Writing Test:

Applicants will be provided a topic and will write an essay that outlines their knowledge and experience.

Interview Performance:

Interview questions will be intended to explore the candidate’s:

● Knowledge of USG laws, policies, regulations, and procedures related to international development assistance;

● Knowledge of development project design as well as the principles of sound program oversight, budgeting and reporting, MEL, and assistance and acquisition is required;

● Knowledge of the East / Central Africa region, its institutions, and overall development challenges is preferred; and

● Demonstrated ability to work across multiple technical sectors is required.

Reference Check Pass/Fail

A “Fail” Reference Check would result from any information regarding confirmed illegal or unethical activities or from a preponderance of negative feedback from numerous references, e.g., not a single critical comment.

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.

The successful candidate will be expected to perform hands-on duties and the detailed tasks of a Senior Program Advisor on a daily basis, and to provide thorough guidance and oversight of Program Office staff in the execution of these tasks. It is not solely expected that the successful candidate will provide general mentoring and strategic direction, but will have demonstrated a recent and nuanced ability to "get their hands dirty" in the work of the Program Office.

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 with Individuals,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms

2. 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.

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

Interested applicants must submit the following: (1) a current Form AID 309-2, Offeror Information for Personal Services Contract; (2) a current resume or curriculum vitae; (3) a cover letter, not to exceed three pages, addressing how the applicant meets the Required Qualifications {(a) education; (b) prior work experience; (c) knowledge, (d) skills and abilities}; and (4) any other documents (certificates, awards, copies of degrees earned, etc.) that address the qualification requirements of the position as listed above, and a list of three (3) to five (5) references with complete contact information, including email address and telephone numbers.

Submittals should be sent to USAID/Tanzania PSC Applications mailbox, at daressalaampscsap@usaid.gov.

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:

For Medical clearance:

● DS-1843 Medical History and Examination - for individuals age 12 and older.

● DS-1622 Medical History and Examination - for children age 11 and younger.

● DS-3057 Medical Clearance Update (MCU).

Forms found at https://www.state.gov/forms-medical-clearances/ (USN)

For Security Clearance:

Forms outlined below can be found at: http:/www.usaid.gov/forms/

1. Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals (AID 309-2)

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

3. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86) * or

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

5. Fingerprint Cards (FD-258) *

*The above listed forms for Medical and Security Clearances shall only be completed 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:

mailto:daressalaampscsap@usaid.gov http://www.state.gov/forms-medical-clearances/ http://www.usaid.gov/forms/

(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

VII. TAXES

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

TCNPSCs are required to pay tax requirements per AIDAR Appendix J.

Note: As a US Citizen or a US resident (Green Card Holder), the Contractor’s salary will be subject to employee’s FICA and Medicare contributions.

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. Direct USAID Contracts With a Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad,” including contract clause “General Provisions,” available at https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar

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/SERVI

CES

(DESCRIPTION)

(B)

QUANTITY

(C)

UNIT

(D)

UNIT

PRICE

(E)

AMOUNT

(F) https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar https://www.usaid.gov/forms

0001 Base Period -

Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct

Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Cost

- Product

Service Code:

R497

1 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

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.gov/work- usaid/personal-service-contracts ombudsman. The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov

6. FAR Provisions Incorporated by Reference

52.204-2

PROHIBITION ON A BYTEDANCE COVERED APPLICATION June https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations mailto:PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-27