This RFQ is amended on June 3, 2019 to extend the quote submission deadline for all Pay Band levels FROM Monday, June 3, 2019 TO Monday, June 10, 2019 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Original Notice: Request for Quotation (RFQ) 95332419Q0060 is for a full-time Personal Services Contractor (PSC) in the Department of Policy & Evaluation (DPE) at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). MCC works with developing countries to promote sustainable economic growth to reduce poverty. One of MCC's guiding principles is a focus on measurable results. After a country is selected as eligible for a compact with MCC, MCC and its country partners undertake a growth diagnostic to identify the binding constraints to broad-based economic growth in the national economy. Prior to signing a compact, MCC conducts cost-benefit analysis to assess the proposed projects' likely economic impact and cost-effectiveness. MCC also analyzes the likely poverty and distributional impacts of proposed projects as part of a beneficiary analysis. During and after compact implementation, MCC conducts independent evaluations that seek to quantify the projects' actual impact on household welfare. MCC strives for transparency in all of its programs and posts many of these analyses on the agency's public website. SCOPE OF POSITION The Economic Analysis (EA) Division of DPE is seeking a full-time PSC to serve as an Economist specializing in growth diagnostics. The Contractor must possess expertise in the field of economics, with an emphasis on macroeconomics and development economics, and knowledge of growth diagnostics (constraints analysis). The Contractor will work in collaboration with MCC Economists and technical staff under the direction of MCC's Managing Director for Economic Analysis and will provide leadership and technical oversight to members of the EA Division as requested. The Contractor will also work as a member of the DPE team and in cooperation with other MCC staff. The Economist position is being solicited at the 4B, 4A, and 3B levels. Though the nature of the duties is similar across these levels, they differ in the amount of independence and leadership exercised in performing tasks, as well as in the required or desired years of relevant experience. KEY REQUIREMENTS - U.S. citizenship. - Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. - For PSCs at the 4B level, performance is at MCC Headquarters in Washington, DC. For PSCs at the 4A or 3B levels, performance is at MCC Headquarters in Washington, DC, or at a remote location subject to the approval of MCC (Note: A remote PSC must personally cover all travel costs between their remote duty location and Washington, DC, when required to be present at MCC Headquarters, and must reimburse MCC for any increase in the cost of official travel due to departure from a home of record outside of the metropolitan DC area. See Section 11 of the solicitation for more details). Relocation expenses will not be paid. - Domestic and international travel may be required. - Statement of Employment & Financial Interest (i.e. Office of Government Ethics "OGE Form-450", or similar statement) may be required. - Active System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov) registration and be listed as sole-proprietor before the contract is awarded. See Addendum 6 for a Quick Start Guide on the SAM registration process. An active SAM registration is not required at the time of application (although candidates are highly encouraged to initiate the registration process before submission), but must be complete and active before the contract is awarded. - Designated and/or random drug testing required. DUTIES The PSC will conduct research and analysis in support of activities within the EA Division and DPE. Specific duties and responsibilities vary by position level. Please see Section 5 of the solicitation for detailed information. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - A minimum of a Master's degree in economics, public policy or a closely related field that has a significant quantitative analysis component. Doctoral degree strongly preferred. - Demonstrated knowledge of relevant sub fields of development economics, statistics and econometrics. - Experience in applied policy analysis or equivalent thesis work (For 4B level at least 2 years; for 4A level 3-5 years; for 3B level more than 5 years). - Familiarity with issues related to economic growth or micro economic topics relevant to growth and poverty reduction. For 4A and 3B levels, specific knowledge of the methodology of Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco is required. - Experience with data analysis, including the analysis of household and/or firm surveys. - Excellent communication skills with the ability to discuss complex economic and policy issues orally and in writing. - Knowledge of statistical software. - Proficiency in using Microsoft Excel, to include understanding and creating complex formulas, building graphs and charts, and manipulating large amounts of data. DEADLINES Questions regarding the solicitation must be submitted via email to Ms. Cindy Guo (
contact@example.gov) and Ms. Jacqueline Naranjo (
contact@example.gov) no later than Monday, May 20, 2019 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time. Offers must be submitted via email to
contact@example.gov and
contact@example.gov before the submission deadline of Monday, June 3, 2019 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time. Include both the position title AND the announcement number in the email subject line. Offers must include all required documentation listed in Section 8 of the solicitation (transcript, bio-data form, CV/resume, written narrative, list of publications and/or writing sample, and professional references). Please refer to section 12 "Instructions to PSC Candidates" of the attached solicitation for detailed information on what to include in an offer. Addenda 5 and 6 contain additional resources on applying for a PSC position.
