Democracy and Governance Advisor, GS-13

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72038819R00016 ISSUANCE DATE: September 11, 2019 CLOSING DATE AND TIME: October 09, 2019 SUBJECT: Solicitation for (Offshore Hire) U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) - Democracy and Governance Advisor, GS-13 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. Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in Attachment 1. Sincerely, Sara Suliman Contracting Officer ATTACHMENT 1 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72038819R00016 2. ISSUANCE DATE: September 11, 2019 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: October 09, 2019 at 04:30PM local time in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 4. POINT OF CONTACT: Kafia Khan, e-mail at kafkhan@usaid.gov 5. POSITION TITLE: Democracy and Governance Advisor 6. MARKET VALUE: $76,687- $99,691 equivalent to GS- 13 Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. 7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The period of performance for this contract will be 12 months, with the possibility of extension. 8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Dhaka, Bangladesh with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties. 9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: This USPSC position is open to all U.S. Citizens and lawful permanent U.S residents. 10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: The successful candidate will be required to obtain a Facility Access clearance. 11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES 1. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract The Democracy and Governance Advisor supports the Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Office and Mission Management on processes and institutions of democratic representation and governance. S/he monitors significant developments in representative politics, tracks trends in democratic development and identifies opportunities to promote representative and effective governance, decentralization, human rights and other key objectives of the DRG portfolio. 2. Statement of Duties to be Performed A. Identifying policy reforms pertaining to elected government bodies, electoral processes, and political parties and advises on programming strategies in support of those reforms; B. Supporting implementation of major initiatives in legislative strengthening, citizen participation, political-party development, and electoral assistance; C. Supporting proper project management, monitoring and reporting. 3. Supervisory Relationship The Advisor will be supervised by the DRG Office Director. 4. Supervisory Controls The Democracy Advisor will direct the activities of one or two FSNs. 12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS The work requested does not involve undue physical demands. II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION To be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum Qualifications listed below. Education: The applicant must have an undergraduate degree (bachelor's degree or equivalent) in political science, sociology, development studies, public administration, international affairs, or other related academic discipline. Prior Work Experience: Minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in development programs, with multilateral and bilateral donors, NGOs, or government is required, at least three years of which must be in democracy and governance programs. Experience with donor agency/mission organization, procedures, and operations systems (e.g., development approaches; procedures for programming funds, defining objectives, and monitoring results, and procedures for awarding Grants and contracts) required. South Asia experience is desired. Job Knowledge, Skills and abilities required: Knowledge of a broad range of issues related to democracy building is required. Knowledge of best practices in DRG program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation is needed. Knowledge of the Bangladeshi context, government organizational culture, structure, policies, programs and operations and development priorities is desired but not required. Knowledge of strategies, programs, and working methodologies of other donor agencies in the DRG sector is desired. Knowledge of the structure and workings of the U.S. government is desired. III. EVALUATION & 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. Applicants who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated. Applications that do not meet the required minimum qualifications will not be scored. Candidates meeting the above required qualifications for the position will be evaluated based on information presented in the application. After meeting the minimum qualifications, consideration and selection will be based on a panel evaluation of the Evaluation Criteria. Additionally, USAID may request writing samples and an interview from the top-scoring candidates. Top-scoring candidates will also be asked to provide three professional references. Please note that not all applicants will be interviewed or contacted. USAID will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews unless the expenses are pre-authorized. Reference checks may be conducted on candidates selected for an interview. To be considered for this position, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications noted above. For those who do, further consideration and selection will be based on panel assessment of the Selection Criteria listed below. Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria to a maximum score of 100 points: a. Education and Knowledge: Total Points 25 b. Past Working Experience: Total Points 25 c. Leadership/Interpersonal Skills: Total Points 25 d. Communication Skills: Total Points 25 Total = 100 points NOTE: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an applicant. OTHER AREA OF CONSIDERATION: To meet basic eligibility requirements, the offeror must: - Be a U.S. Citizen; - Submit a complete offer as outlined in the solicitation section titled SUBMITTING AN OFFER; - Be able to attain security clearance at the "Facility Access" level; - Be able to obtain a Department of State medical clearance; - Be willing to travel to work sites and other offices as/when requested. - Complete Foreign Affairs Counter-Thread (FACT) Training before arriving in Dhaka. SECURITY AND MEDICAL CLEARANCE The USPSC will be required to complete a full physical examination (including relevant immunizations) from his/her own physician and then obtain a medical clearance from State M/MED prior to service overseas. Also, USAID/Bangladesh must initiate a security clearance prior to the Contractor's travel to post of duty. Until a temporary or final adjudication of a security clearance is received, the contract shall not be signed. If candidate fails to obtain a medical clearance and a security clearance (temporary or full) within six months, the offer may be retracted. Candidate must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). 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," available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2. Applicants are required to complete sections A through I. 2. A cover letter of no more than one (1) page that demonstrates how the candidates' qualifications meet the work requirements and a statement certifying the date and length of time for which the candidate is available for the position. 3. A curriculum vitae (CV) which describes education and career experiences and achievements. In order to fully evaluate your application, your CV 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. 4. Names, contact numbers, and e-mail addresses of three professional references from individuals who are not family members or relatives. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the email address listed in Section IV. By submitting your application materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the application is true, correct, complete, and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on and attached to the application to be investigated. False or fraudulent information on or attached to your application may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position, or being terminated after award, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, candidates must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission. SUBMIT APPLICATION PACKET ELECTRONICALLY: Interested candidates should send above electronically to dhakajobs@usaid.gov, to the attention of the addresses indicated below. To ensure that the application is considered for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number and title of position on your application and as the subject line in any cover letter. E-mail applications must be received by the closing date and time specified in the solicitation. Attention: Supervisory Executive Officer USAID HR Section/Executive Office USAID/Bangladesh Only qualified and shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Additionally, only candidates that are interviewed will be notified if the position is filled. 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: 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. Finger Print Card (FD-258) Forms 1 through 4 shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that a candidate is the successful candidate for the job. Do not submit forms 1 through 4 with your application. VI. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: 1. BENEFITS (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 (g) Sunday pay (h) Shipment and storage of household effects (i) Shipment of POV (Private Own Vehicle) (j) Access to Embassy medical facilities, and pouch mail service (k) Transportation to Post (l) Housing 2. ALLOWANCES USPSCS will be eligible for allowances listed in the Standardized Regulations Government Civilian Foreign Areas Sections cited below - if applicable. Section numbers refer to rules from the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas): (a) Post Allowance (COLA) (Section 220) (b) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260) (c) Education Allowance (Section 270) (d) Education Travel (Section 280) (e) Post Differential (Chapter 500) (f) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600) 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," includes 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. 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. CIBs and AAPDs contain changes to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulations and contracts. Please refer to the following link to determine which CIBs and AAPDs apply to this contract: http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs 5. ADS 309 - Personal Services Contracts can be found at: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/309.pdf 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 Government Ethics, in accordance with General Provision 2 and 5 CFR 2635. See https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/OGE%20Regulations. USAID IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: All qualified candidates will be considered regardless of age, race, color, sex, creed, national origin, lawful political affiliation, non-disqualifying handicap, marital status, sexual orientation, affiliation with an employee organization, or other non-merit factor. Management may consider the following when determining successful candidacy: nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status. -----x-----