USPSC Humanitarian Advisor/Senior Humanitarian Advisor
SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA21R00013
ISSUANCE DATE: February 11, 2021
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: March 9, 2021, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time
SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC)
Dear Prospective Offerors:
The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Africa (OA), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal service as a Humanitarian Advisor/Senior Humanitarian Advisor (HA/SHA) under a United States Personal Services Contract (USPSC), as described in the solicitation.
Submittals must be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified. Offerors interested in applying for this position MUST submit the following materials:
- Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:
(a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations, and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
(b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
(c) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments.
(d) U.S. Citizenship
(e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (beta.SAM.gov, BHA Jobs, Career Fair, etc.).
Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. This information must be clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.
- USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted. AID 309-2 is available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms .
NOTE REGARDING DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBERS
AND THE SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT
All USPSCs with a place of performance in the United States are required to have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to receiving an award. You will be disqualified if you either fail to comply with this requirement or if your name appears on the excluded parties list. The selectee will be provided with guidance regarding this registration.
NOTE: As of March 28, 2018, all new SAM.gov entity registrations will now require a signed notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number. Additional information on the format of the notarized letter and where to submit can be found via the below Federal Service Desk link:
https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/answer.do?sysparm_kbid=d2e67885db0d5f00b3257…
sysparm_search=kb0013183
Offerors can expect to receive a confirmation email when offer materials have been received. Offerors should retain for their records copies of all enclosures which accompany their offers. Your complete resume must be emailed to:
Africa Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
Website: www.BHAjobs.net
Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to the Africa Recruitment Team via the information provided above.
Sincerely,
Sonja Stroud-Gooden
Contracting Officer
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
With strong coordination and collaboration with the Somalia humanitarian team based in Nairobi, Kenya, the HA/SHA 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 Somalia. The HA/SHA will serve as a 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 U.S. Government (USG) agencies, U.S. military representatives, BHA/Washington and the overall humanitarian community.
Under the supervision of the BHA Somalia Team Lead in Nairobi, Kenya Team Leader in Nairobi with oversight from the Mission Director in Mogadishu, the individual will perform the following duties:
At the GS-13 Equivalent Level
Contextual Specialty
● Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian, resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) issues within Somalia.
● Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and stakeholder interests specific to Somalia.
● 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 Somalia and apply those to program strategy development and implementation.
● Provide substantive assistance in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on Somalia, under the direction of the BHA Somalia Team Lead in Nairobi.
Portfolio Management
● Primary focus is to provide full time in-country coordination and management of USAID humanitarian emergency and resilience programming. This will be achieved through regular coordination and consultation with several BHA Somalia teams in Nairobi and the East and Central Africa (ECA) Regional Office.
● Serve as the primary point of contact for BHA programming in Somalia.
● With strong coordination and collaboration with the Somalia humanitarian team based in Nairobi, the incumbent will support 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 Somalia.
● Closely collaborate with Mission colleagues on program coordination to share information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and resilience efforts, ensuring the BHA Somalia Team in Kenya is consulted throughout. Maintain ongoing dialogue with BHA ECA Regional Office and Washington Team Leads for Somalia on these efforts.
● Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in Somalia. Liaise with partners and other donors, coordinate closely with ECA Regional Office, and provide coordinated field feedback to the partners.
● In consultation and collaboration with the BHA Somalia Team in Kenya, coordinate collection of information and provide updates and recommendations through written reports on issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the following:
o Capacity and ability of UN, IOs, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs;
o Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs;
o Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in general;
o Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in Somalia in facilitating humanitarian assistance;
o 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/Somalia; and
o Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change.
● In consultation and collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, provide guidance to organizations that are developing proposals for BHA, based on “BHA’s Emergency Application Guidelines, as appropriate.
● In collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, review concept papers and proposals and provide timely recommendations/comments to BHA/Washington and the ECA Regional Office.
● In collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA Washington and ECA Regional Office on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.
● Along with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, maintain regular, close coordination and communication with the ECA Regional Office and BHA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
● Participate in discussions on the current and future directions of BHA’s Somalia portfolio to include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements.
Representation
● Work closely with the ECA Regional Office on developing BHA Somalia’s policy and program positions, seeking BHA Somalia Team Lead guidance, input, and clearance wherever possible.
● Provide regular situation updates to the USAID Mission Front Office, and ensure the Front Office remains abreast of any major changes, shocks, or challenges with the humanitarian programming in Somalia.
● Consult with the ECA Regional Office prior to senior level meetings with USG and other humanitarian stakeholders. Based on these consultations, 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.
● Participate in policy development meetings such as:
o Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges;
o Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with humanitarian concerns or impacts; and
o Donor and implementing partner coordination forums.
● Serve as a 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 Regional Advisor and BHA’s technical advisors to consult on and understand sectoral priorities.
● Coordinate the representation of USG humanitarian interests at national and international meetings and conferences with the ECA Regional Office.
● Facilitate travel and briefings for official USG visitors to Somalia interested in humanitarian issues.
General Duties
● Serve in 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 Response Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to Disaster Assistance Response Teams (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, month status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment Review System (CPARS/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 FAR, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.
At the GS-14 Equivalent Level
Offeror’s selected at the HA (GS-13) may have an opportunity for advancement to the SHA (GS-14) equivalent after at least two years at the GS-13 level if the individual receives a recommendation from the supervisor for advancement along with an Exceeds Fully Successful
performance evaluation. Advancement to the GS-14 level is not guaranteed.
Contextual Specialty
● Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian, resilience, and DRR issues within Somalia.
● Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and stakeholder interests specific to Somalia.
● 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 Somalia 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 Somalia.
Portfolio Management
● With strong coordination and collaboration with the Somalia humanitarian team based in Nairobi, 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 Somalia.
● Closely collaborate with Mission colleagues on program coordination to share information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and resilience efforts. Maintain ongoing dialogue with BHA ECA Regional Office and Washington Team Leads for Somalia on these efforts.
● Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in Somalia. Liaise with partners and other donors, coordinate closely with ECA Regional Office, and provide coordinated field feedback to the partners.
● In consultation and collaboration with the Nairobi-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:
o Capacity and ability of UN, IOs, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs;
o Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs;
o Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in general;
o Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in Somalia in facilitating humanitarian assistance; and
o 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/Somalia.
● Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change.
● In consultation and collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, provide guidance to organizations that are developing proposals for BHA, based on U.S Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance’s (“OFDA’s) Guidelines for Unsolicited Proposals and Reporting” and Food for Peace’s (“FFP’s) Annual Program Statement”, as appropriate.
● In collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, review concept papers and proposals and provide timely recommendations/comments to OFDA and FFP/Washington and the ECA Regional Office.
● In collaboration with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA Washington and ECA Regional Office on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions.
● Along with the Nairobi-based humanitarian team, maintain regular, close coordination and communication with the ECA Regional Office 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:
o Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges;
o Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with humanitarian concerns or impacts; and
o Donor and implementing partner coordination forums.
● Serve as the principal 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 Regional Advisor and BHA’s 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 Somalia interested in humanitarian issues.
● As the humanitarian specialist in Somalia, engage in 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’s Somalia portfolio to include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements.
● Serve in a leadership role within USAID/Somalia, in coordination with Mission senior leadership, to incorporate humanitarian and resilience concerns into Mission activities and identify opportunities to leverage USAID 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, month status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment Review System (CPARS/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 FAR, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)
For the GS-13 Equivalent Humanitarian Advisor Level
Bachelor’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, East 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, food security, DRR and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including two (2) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.
OR
Master’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, East African studies, or a related field or country) plus five (5) years of progressively demonstrated humanitarian and development experience, at least three (3) of which must be in emergency relief, food security, DRR and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including two (2) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.
For the GS-14 Equivalent Senior Humanitarian Advisor Level
Bachelor’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, East 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, food security, DRR and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including four (4) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.
OR
Master’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, East 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, emergency food security, DRR and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, including four (4) years of overseas humanitarian field experience.
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
.
SELECTION FACTORS
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the selection factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)
● Offeror is a U.S. Citizen.
● Complete resume submitted. See cover page for resume requirements. Experience that cannot be quantified will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
● USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
● Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.
● Must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
● Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.
BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated in accordance with the Offeror Rating System. Those offerors determined to be competitively ranked may also be evaluated on interview performance and satisfactory professional reference checks.
Offerors are required to address each factor of the Offeror Rating System in their resume, describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received as it pertains to each factor. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each additional page. Failure to address the selection factors and/or Offeror Rating System factors may result in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards.
The most qualified offerors may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. BHA will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. Professional references and academic credentials will be evaluated for offerors being considered for selection. Note: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror. BHA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies become available during the future phase of the selection process.