Sr HIV_AID_72044023R00002_QH-RA_QH.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development 15/F Tung Shing Square Building 2 Ngo Quyen Street Hanoi, Vietnam

Tel: + 84-24-3935-1260 Fax: + 84-24-3935-1265 http://www.usaid.gov/vietnam

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72044023R00002

ISSUANCE DATE: February 13, 2023

CLOSING DATE/TIME: March 13, 2023 at 17:00 Hanoi local time

SUBJECT: Solicitation for Offshore U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) – Senior HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor.

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 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 offer.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the Attachment 1.

Sincerely, Patrick Kollars Supervisory Contracting Officer USAID/Vietnam

SOL 72044023R00002, Sr HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor

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ATTACHMENT 1

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1) SOLICITATION NO.: 72044023R00002

2) ISSUANCE DATE: February 13, 2023

3) CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: March 13, 2023 at 17:00 Hanoi local time.

4) POINT OF CONTACT: Vietnam-Hanoi-USAID-HR-Recruitment@usaid.gov

5) POSITION TITLE: Senior HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor (Offshore USPSC)

6) MARKET VALUE:

Position is classified at GS-15 with an annual salary range of $117,518 - $152,771 per annum.

Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value depending on experience, qualifications, and salary history. Requests for salary over and above the top of the pay range is not negotiable.

7) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The base period will be two (2) years. Based on the Mission’s needs, contractor’s performance and fund availability, the Contracting Officer may exercise additional option periods of three (3) one-year extensions.

This is a full-time position with 40 hours per week schedule (Monday to Friday).

Base Period TBD two-year period Option Period 1 TBD one-year period Option Period 2 TBD one-year period Option Period 3 TBD one-year period

8) PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Office of Health, USAID/Vietnam satellite office in Ho

Chi Minh City, Vietnam with possible travel upon the work requirements.

9) ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: United States Citizens mailto:Vietnam-Hanoi-USAID-HR-Recruitment@usaid.gov

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10) SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Facility Access level

USAID will provide details regarding this requirement. If such clearance is not obtained within a reasonable time or negative suitability issues are involved, any offer made may be rescinded

11) STATEMENT OF DUTIES

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

As Vietnam reached lower middle-income status in 2011, the focus of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Vietnam began transitioning from direct service delivery of comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services to a greater emphasis on strengthening the health system and enhancing country ownership through increased direct technical assistance. PEPFAR/Vietnam’s bold strategy requires leadership from a seasoned HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor who possesses technical expertise in HIV programming in a concentrated epidemic; strong team management skills; excellent command of evolving PEPFAR guidance, technical considerations, and implementation approaches (index/recency testing); and diplomatic tact to collaborate and negotiate with national and sub-national government counterparts, other donors, and civil society groups to operationalize HIV/AIDS activities.

2. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Senior HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor (Senior Advisor) position is part of the USAID/Vietnam Office of Health (OH) and is located in the satellite office in Ho Chi Minh City. The Senior Advisor serves as the Mission’s HIV/AIDS Subject Matter Expert for program planning (both strategy and budget), policy, partnership/coordination, research, and monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS activities. S/he is a senior professional and expert in his/her field who leads donor and partner coordination related to HIV/AIDS cross-cutting and multi-sectoral approaches; provides evidence-based technical advice to the Mission; and designs and manages projects and programs related to HIV in Vietnam. Given the concentrated nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Vietnam, the successful candidate must have significant experience in, and knowledge of the interventions required to address the drivers of the HIV epidemic in similar contexts. S/he serves as the activity manager or Agreement/Contract Officer’s Representative (A/COR) for select OH activities and is actively involved in the planning, design, monitoring, implementation, and evaluation of those activities. S/he is responsible for keeping the OH Director and Deputy Director regularly informed of program implementation progress, results, and issues/problems on a timely basis.

The incumbent will represent USAID within multiple internal USG and multi-stakeholder Government of Vietnam led technical working groups, and play a lead role in program coordination, analysis of progress and activity design for inclusion in the annual Country Operational Plan (COP). S/he facilitates communication and maintains highly collaborative working relationships with mid to senior level government officials in the

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GVN, other donors and USG agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Finally, the incumbent spends a significant amount of his/her time ensuring skills transfer and mentoring USAID and GVN staff and community groups on effective methodologies and strengthening Vietnam’s overall HIV/AIDS system.

3. SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Specific activities of the Senior Advisor will include the following:

The Senior Advisor provides expert technical advice in the design and implementation of USG PEPFAR HIV/AIDS activities in Vietnam. S/he monitors program progress and identifies achievements as well as problems in performance and initiates appropriate action in consultation with the OH Director and Deputy. S/he is responsible for the mentorship and development of key leaders with the OH, with a focus on bringing in international technical expertise and adapting it to the Vietnamese context. S/he provides technical leadership and guidance to the USG interagency and GVN colleagues.

Technical Leadership and Expertise (60%)

• Provide technical leadership on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment issues to the USAID Mission and the broader USG PEPFAR community.

• Mentor FSN staff to support professional development, including technical expertise and leadership skills.

• Play a leadership role in the interagency TWGs, developing multi-sectoral programming and providing technical guidance and direction.

• Provide technical and program assistance (including drafting briefing papers, cables and memos for information and action) on HIV/AIDS.

• Coordinate dissemination of lessons learned among all HIV/AIDS stakeholders, including the USG, other development partners and the GVN at national and sub-national levels.

• Develop documents related to the assigned area of responsibility.

• Develop and/or maintain linkages among USAID’s activities with other USG-funded activities, with a focus on strengthening multi-sectoral programming.

• Provide technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of indigenous organizations

(CSOs/CBOs) to respond to the human resource shortage in Vietnam and ensure the sustainability of USG and other donor efforts.

• Strengthen collaboration with other donors, particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), to reduce funding overlaps, strengthen technical collaboration, provide technical assistance and enhance the long-term sustainability of program activities.

• Provide technical assistance to ensure program investments are consistent with international norms and standards and are synergistic with other investments made by the USG and partnering agencies.

• Provide technical support on the development and implementation of guidelines, interventions and programs.

• Monitor current public health literature, reports, international guidelines and standards and best practices.

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• Provide recommendations in developing innovative approaches to designing, implementing and evaluating HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs in Vietnam.

Program Management (30%)

• Provide technical leadership on annual work plans and design for HIV/AIDS implementing partners. Conduct regular site visits to review program implementation and meet with beneficiaries. Based on the information collected during field visits, communicate findings and recommendations to the USG PEPFAR team and, as appropriate, implementing partners and GVN counterparts.

• Ensure that implementing partners are in compliance with relevant regulations and procedures. Specific and in-depth knowledge of applicable USG laws and legislative directives as well as regulations, particularly regarding the allowable use of HIV/AIDS funds in the spectrum of HIV programming. Based on personal observations, assessment reports, performance statistics and other available data, make programmatic recommendations to the PEPFAR Team.

• Provide strategic technical advice for, and prepare portions of, key USG planning and budget documents, such as the PEPFAR Country Operational Plan, semi-annual and annual progress reports, Congressional Notifications, and the Operational Plan.

• As requested, serve as OH Director or Deputy Director when needed.

Representation/Coordination (10%)

• Work with the HIV/AIDS team leads to strengthen coordination within the PEPFAR interagency team, and with the GVN, other donors, development partners, UN agencies and NGOs involved in the HIV/AIDS response.

• Provide leadership to bring in international best practices and technical advances while coordinating and collaborating with the GVN, other donors, UN agencies and other key stakeholders on planning, implementation and policy issues related to HIV prevention among MARPs.

• Work closely with the GVN, bilateral and multilateral agencies and other key stakeholders to strengthen collaboration of HIV/AIDS activities at the national and sub-national levels to ensure greater country ownership and technical capacity.

• Represent USAID, and the USG as appropriate, on relevant GVN and donor working groups and in technical discussions on issues related to HIV/AIDS programming.

• Lead collaboration and coordination efforts with the GVN, donors, and other relevant partners on HIV/AIDS activities to ensure technical and programmatic synergy.

• As requested, serve as the USAID Health Office representative at meetings when needed. This may include USAID Senior Staff meetings, Embassy Health Cluster, special limited country teams for Congressional Delegations, Development Partner meetings and others.

• Provide routine briefings, PowerPoint presentations and other presentations representing the USAID HIV portfolio for diverse audiences including the government of Vietnam, US government, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders.

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10) SUPERVISORY RECEIVED

The position is directly supervised by the Office of Health Deputy Director at USAID/Vietnam and works under the general direction of the Director of the Office of Health.

11) SUPERVISION/OVERSIGHT OVER OTHERS

The position will provide technical direction and mentorship to four Cooperating Country Nationals (CCNs) HIV Team Leads in Hanoi and three CCN staff in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mentorship responsibilities will include supporting professional development, including technical expertise and leadership development, among CCN staff.

12) PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

A. Education: Possession of a terminal degree (MD, PhD, or equivalent) in medicine, public health, social or behavioral sciences or other related field is required. Additional courses/certificates/training related to the subject areas is highly desired

B. Professional Experience:

● A Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible experience in HIV/AIDS strategy development, program development and implementation is required. Experience in HIV programming for key populations and continuity of care related to reaching 95-95-95 goals and experience working in a concentrated epidemic is preferred. Experience in the Asia Region is highly desirable.

● Experience working in a PEPFAR environment, donor coordination processes such as the Global Fund, and familiarity of current PEPFAR guidelines and approaches are highly desirable.

C. Technical Knowledge

● Demonstrated, comprehensive knowledge and experience in HIV/AIDS programming in both facility and community settings is required. Specialized knowledge and experience working with key populations in a concentrated epidemic is preferred.

● Strong technical and analytical skills in providing technical support and capacity building for host-country governments (national and sub-national level) and civil society on HIV is required. This includes demonstrated experience in technical skills transfer or mentoring.

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● Understanding and knowledge of US Government regulations, procedures, and systems to include knowledge and experience working with PEPFAR and USAID are highly desired.

D. Communication and Interpersonal Skills (20 points)

● Excellent interpersonal skills, tact and diplomacy are required to establish and maintain a wide range of senior-level and working-level contacts with health programs in governmental, non-governmental, and private-sector circles.

Demonstrated ability to collaborate in a multi-agency setting, often under pressure of short deadlines and multiple demands in a cross-cultural environment.

● Demonstrated mastery of writing and speaking/presentation skills, and in preparing analytic briefings for key USG and other leaders/decision makers are required.

● Strong financial and performance management skills to track the performance of implementing partners.

E. Other Requirements: The incumbent must also be:

1) A US Citizen.

2) In possession of, or able to obtain a facility access security clearance (that involves applicant’s comprehensive background investigation performed by a US Government Agency) and a medical clearance for serving in Hanoi, Vietnam. Details of how to obtain US Department of State Medical Unit medical clearance will be provided once a job offer is made and accepted.

3) Available and willing to work outside the regular 40-hour workweek when required/necessary.

4) Willing to travel to work sites and other offices both in Vietnam and regionally as/when requested.

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. FAR provisions of this solicitation are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

A. Selection Process https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far Augustin, Randolph (HANOI/OH) Is there a way to have the same type of bullets as other sections?

Hoang Thi Tu, Quyen (HANOI/EXO) Done. Tks.

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After the closing date for receipt of applications, a committee will be convened to review applications and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications from candidates who do not meet the required selection criteria will not be scored. As part of the selection process, final candidates may be interviewed either in person or by telephone at USAID’s discretion. Reference checks will be made only for applicants considered as finalists. Reference checks may be conducted with individuals not provided by the offeror.

If an applicant does not wish USAID to contact a current employer for a reference check, this should be stated in the applicant’s cover letter, and USAID will delay such reference check pending communication with the applicant. Only finalists will be contacted by USAID with respect to their applications. The final selected candidates must obtain security and medical clearances within a reasonable period of time (USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidates). A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection.

B. Selection Criteria/Evaluation Factors

Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality of their education, relevant experience, language and work skills, and professional presentation as they relate to this position against the following criteria in descending order of importance:

1. Education, Professional Experience: 45 points

2. Technical knowledge: 35 points

3. Communication and Interpersonal Skills: 20 points

Maximum Points – 100 points

The factors will be the basis for scoring the applications and creating an initial ranking of candidates. Only the highest-ranked applicants (finalists) will be interviewed. Those finalists will also be evaluated on their interview performance, and, finally, satisfactory professional reference checks.

In summary, the steps in the applicant rating system are as follows:

1. Meet minimum education/relevant years of experience requirements: Pass/Fail

2. Evaluation Factors (Technical Knowledge/Professional Experience, Communication, and Interpersonal Skills): combined, are of equal importance to Interview Performance

3. Interview Performance: of equal importance to Evaluation Factors

4. Reference Checks: Pass/Fail

Applicants seeking the required qualifications for the position will be evaluated based on information presented in the application and reference checks. USAID reserves the right to conduct interviews with the most highly ranked applicants.

IV. APPLYING

1) Applications should include the following, with the applicant’s name clearly marked

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a. Cover letter (no more than one page);

b. Most current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume;

c. Supplemental documentation, addressing each of the Evaluation Factors on a separate sheet, describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards or recognition the applicant has received relevant to each evaluation factor described above. Responses are limited to 300 words per factor;

d. Contact information (telephone numbers and email addresses) for at least three references with knowledge of the applicant's prior work skills. Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an applicant; and,

e. 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.

Incomplete/un-signed offers will not be considered.

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, item 4. Late, incomplete or unsigned applications will NOT be considered.

3) To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission.

4) The attachment to e-mail must be in Word format (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat format

(.pdf). The attachment should be formatted with a 10MB limit per email. Package in zip or other compressed formats will be rejected. The U.S. Government will not be responsible for incomplete/corrupted or missing information in electronic submission.

USAID will not ensure quality or completeness of electronic files attached to the e-mail.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO USPSC HIRES

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

1. Medical History and Examination Form (Department of State Forms)

2. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions for National Security (SF-86), or

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

4. Fingerprint Card (FD-258)

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES

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

http://www.usaid.gov/forms

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1) BENEFITS:

1. Employer's FICA Contribution

2. Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance

3. Pay Comparability Adjustment

4. Annual Increase (pending a satisfactory performance evaluation)

5. Eligibility for Worker's Compensation

6. 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

1. Temporary Quarter Subsistence Allowance (Section 120)

2. Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)

3. Cost-of-Living Allowance (Chapter 210)

4. Post Allowance (Section 220)

5. Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)

6. Education Allowance (Section 270)

7. Education Travel (Section 280)

8. Post Differential (Chapter 500)

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

10. Danger Pay Allowance (Section 650)

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 USPSCs

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) Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf

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Item No (A)

Supplies/ Service Description

(B)

Quantit y

(C)

Unit

(D)

Unit Price (E)

Amount

(F)

0001 Base Period – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Firm-Fixed-

Price

- Product Services Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

2 LO

T

- $TBD at award after negotiations with Contractor

1001 Option Period 1 – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Firm-Fixed-

Price

- Product Services Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

1 $TBD at award after negotiations with Contractor

2001 Option Period 2 – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Firm-Fixed-

Price

- Product Services Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

1 $TBD at award after negotiations with Contractor

3001 Option Period 3 – Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Firm-Fixed-

Price

- Product Services Code: R497

- Accounting Info: TBD

1 $TBD at award after negotiations with Contractor

4) 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 .

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.

6) 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 http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman

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Government Ethics, in accordance with General Provision 2 and 5 CFR 2635. See https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations .

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. The Mission also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.

The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation. Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.

___End of Solicitation___ http://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations http://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations

E. Other Requirements: The incumbent must also be: