R -- Elections and Political Processes (EPP) Unit Director

SOL No. 524-08-001 ISSUANCE DATE: March 14, 2008 CLOSING DATE: March 28, 2008 SUBJECT: Solicitation for Personal Services Contractor (PSC); Director, Elections and Political Processes (EPP) Unit Director USAID/Nicaragua To all Interested Applicants: The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking (Standard Form 171?s or 612?s) from U.S. citizens interested in providing the PS services described in the attached. Submission shall be in accordance with the attached information and delivered to the undersigned in Managua, Nicaragua at the place and by the time specified. E-mail submissions are recommended and shall be sent to: mdraza@usaid.gov. Applications shall include salary history for the prior three years and the names and contact points (telephone/fax numbers, email addresses) for at least two references with knowledge of the applicant?s prior work skills. These documents may be mailed, emailed, or hand-carried to the undersigned. To ensure delivery by the due date, it is recommended that applications be sent as email attachments. If an applicant does not have ready access to a Form 171 or 612, the same information may be initially submitted in resume form, so long as the items stated earlier in this paragraph are covered. The award of a contract is subject to the availability of funds. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Any questions regarding this position should be directed to the above e-mail address. Applicants should retain for their record copies of all enclosures which accompany their applications. Sincerely, Monica Drazba D/Executive Officer USAID/Nicaragua Applications or resumes should be directed to: (Electronic copies are preferred) Monica Drazba Deputy Executive Officer USAID/Nicaragua Embajada Americana Km. 5.5 Carretera Sur Frente a Parque las Piedrecitas Managua, Nicaragua Phone: (505)252-7252 Fax: (505) 252-7111 e-mail address: mdrazba@usaid.gov ATTACHMENT 1, SOL 524-08-001 1. SOLICITATION NUMER: 524-08-001 2. ISSUANCE DATE: March 14, 2008 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME SPECIFIED FOR RECEPT OF APPLICATIONS: March 28, 2008 by 4:00 p.m. local Nicaragua time. 4. POSITION TITLE: Director, Elections and Political Processes (EPP) Unit Director 5. MARKET VALUE OF POSITION: (GS 15 $95,390-$124,010) per annum. The salary to be paid within this grade will depend on experience, qualifications, and salary history. 6. PERIOD OF PEFORMANCE: One year contract. 7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Managua, Nicaragua 8. SECURITY ACCESS: Secret 9. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: U.S. Citizens POSITION DESCRIPTION 1. Background Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere is now facing the challenge of implementing free and fair municipal elections in November 2008. USAID is committed to strengthening electoral processes in the country with a strong program supporting transparent election processes, increased and informed voter participation, robust objective oversight, inclusive political party participation and increased civic advocacy. Recent national activities, however, have revealed a number of flaws in the process of registering voters, a lack of inclusive political party participation and recent government intrusion on civil society activities. In recognition of the strategic importance of the 2008 municipal elections, USAID/Nicaragua has formed a special Elections Unit consisting of one USPSC Director, a dedicated Foreign Service National (FSN) municipal elections specialist with part time support from other FSN democracy specialists, and other staff to be drawn from other sections as required during the critical run up to the Municipal elections, November, 2008. USAID/Nicaragua wishes to contract with an individual under a Personal Services Contract (PSC) to serve as Director for the newly formed Elections and Political Processes Unit (EPP Unit) who will be responsible for planning, designing, managing and monitoring USAID-funded Elections and Political Processes (EPP) related activities. The contract will be for one year. The contractor will be stationed in Managua, work from the USAID/Nicaragua offices in the USAID compound and travel as necessary outside the capital city. 2. Specific Duties and Responsibilities The Director of the EPP Unit for USAID/Nicaragua will take a leadership role representing USAID to a broad range of high-level national and international officials. S/he will be the primary liaison with national and international counterparts, donor and non-governmental organizations, the GON, and other USG agencies, including the USAID/LAC Bureau front office and State/WHA Bureau as appropriate. As Director, the incumbent will be responsible for development of strategies related to the municipal elections as well as overall program management for elections, including administration and coordination. Management and provision of technical assistance to EPP activities require attention to an array of substantive issues including but not limited to: strengthening the ability of the GON, political parties, and civic representatives to more effectively advocate for and assist in the implementation of electoral processes that are more transparent, competitive, open and efficient including election-related activities; enactment and implementation of appropriate amendments to the electoral law; preparation of the voter rolls and the delivery of voter identification documents; improving the enforcement of elections procedures; better oversight of the electoral process; more informed and increased voter participation; strengthening the relationship between political parties and their constituencies and improving parties? representation of constituency interests; strengthening the democratic management and organization of political parties; and donor coordination and collaboration including the establishment of a donor coordination group for the November 2008 municipal elections. Specifically, the Director/EPP Unit: 1. Manages the EPP team and is responsible for development, design, management and implementation of the USAID/Nicaragua municipal elections program, including various contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with contractors and grantees that will be implementing USAID?s elections and political processes assistance strategy. S/he supervises one FSN senior elections specialist. 2. Serves as USAID/Nicaragua?s principle, in-country technical expert and advisor to the U.S. Government on EPP issues. This will encompass strategic, administrative and technical requirements for electoral administration and operations, as well as political party development, voter education and enfranchisement, media assistance, elections monitoring, and other tasks as assigned; 3. Serves as USAID?s and the U.S. Embassy?s lead interlocutor on EPP matters with the GON, civil society organizations, and bilateral and multilateral donors. The Director/EPP Unit must ensure effective coordination with other USAID activities, U.S. Embassy activities, and projects of other organizations, such as multilateral, bilateral, and private donors. S/he will regularly participate in or lead donor coordination meetings and other venues to maximize this coordination. Opportunities for joint programming should be identified and pursued as appropriate and information widely shared to prevent duplication; 4. Designs, drafts and/or coordinates the preparation of necessary documents related to EPP assistance (e.g. Concept Papers, Project Approval Documents, Congressional Budget Justification, Annual Reports, Congressional and Technical Notifications, briefing papers, and talking points). These documents should be well written and timely, requiring no editing or minimal editing; 5. With support from the FSN municipal elections specialist, provides performance monitoring and evaluation of EPP programs, ensuring acceptable performance and attainment of defined objectives of USAID activities. S/he must oversee the collection of EPP performance monitoring data, reviewing to ensure data quality, timeliness, and on-going utility of the data for documenting program performance and identifying management issues. The data should also be analyzed to pinpoint areas, corrective steps and successes to be replicated to improve achievement of EPP results and the DG strategy; 6. Engages in public outreach and coordination. The advisor will team with USAID Mission public outreach/relations staff in the development of briefing materials for public outreach. In addition, the Director/EPP Unit must maintain dialogue with in-country partners, customers, and stakeholders as well as relevant Washington stakeholders to build their support for the Mission?s EPP activities. 3. Supervision and Relationships A. The Director/EPP Unit shall work under the direction of the Deputy Director, USAID/Nicaragua. Performance of the Contractor shall directly relate to the above statement of work (SOW), the U.S. Embassy?s Mission Performance Plan (Democracy Objectives), and the general technical and administrative objectives of USAID/Nicaragua's Democracy Results Framework. B. Standards for performance evaluation shall include effective interpersonal communication and management skills, timely and effective completion of tasks, high quality and acceptance of written products, creativity, full participation as a team member, and effectiveness in accomplishing the SOW. Performance benchmarks will be established through the preparation of annual work objectives and requirements. A review/update of these objectives will be carried out during a quarterly review and at the end of the contract. This performance evaluation will include a review of program objectives as well as the performance of the Contractor. Therefore, if the specific duties and responsibilities are determined by USAID/Nicaragua to have changed over a period of time, the Contractor will be expected to adapt to and perform the necessary duties as modified. C. Nature, level, and purpose of contacts: The Contractor shall ensure effective coordination and information sharing with other SO teams at USAID, including the Director and Deputy Director, other USG agencies or departments, bilateral and multilateral donors, GON, and civil society groups. The Incumbent will be responsible for reporting directly to the U.S. Embassy, the Ambassador, DCM and Political Counselor, the NSC, and to the USAID/LAC bureau, including the Assistant Administrator. D. The Director/EPP Unit shall supervise one or more FSNs. S/he will perform the full range of supervisor functions, including drafting evaluations, approving leaves, determining scheduling, assigning duties, etc. S/he will also closely collaborate with and advise other FSN Team staff as appropriate. 4. Qualifications ? Selection Criteria A. Skills and Qualifications: (35 points in total) the successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies: ? Advanced Academic degree (M.A., equivalent, or higher) in social science, political science, international relations, international development, management, public policy, or law. -- 10 points ? Spanish language oral and written presentation skills (minimum FSI 3+/3+) -- 10 points ? English oral and writing skills reflecting an ability to analyze and report to a wide audience on the issues and progress of the democracy program, and ability in reviewing and editing documents (minimum FSI 4/4) -- 10 points. ? Computer skills in word processing, and preferably in spreadsheet software as well -- 5 points B. Employment Experience: (65 points total) ? At least five years of direct experience in designing, implementing and monitoring/evaluating EPP programs (e.g. electoral systems, election administration, voter education, media, political party development, voter registration, and election observation) is required. -- 20 points. ? Interpersonal skills: Demonstrated success in pro-active management and attainment of one?s work responsibilities, forward-planning to meet a variety of contingencies and working effectively as a member of a multi-cultural team with the trust and respect of colleagues. Three to five years in Latin America strongly preferred. -- 20 points ? At least 10 years of practical experience designing, implementing and monitoring/evaluating cross-cutting democracy programs (e.g. media, transparency, anti-corruption, municipal development, decentralization, legislative strengthening, political party development, election administration, civil society, rule of law, et al). -- 10 points ? Two years work experience with USG foreign affairs agencies or programs. -- 10 points ? Computer Skills: Proficiency in Word processing programs, PowerPoint, the internet, and e-mail is required. -- 5 points 7. Applying: Qualified individuals are requested to submit: A U.S. Government Standard Form 171 or Optional Form 612 (available at the USAID website, http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms or internet http://fillform.gsa.gov, or at Federal offices); Applications must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter. The highest ranking applicants may be selected for an interview. 8. List of Required Forms for PSCs Forms outlined below can found at http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/psc_solicit/ 1. Standard Form 171 or Optional Form 612. 2. Contractor Physical Examination (AID Form 1420-62). ** 3. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86), or ** 4. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85). ** 5. Finger Print Card (FD-258). ** * Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas). ** Forms 2 through 5 shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job. 9. Contract Information Bulletins (CIBS) or Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directives (AAPDs) pertaining to PSCs. CIBs/AAPDs contain changes to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulations and contracts. Please refer to this website: http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/psc_solicit/ to determine which CIBS apply to this contract. 10. Compensation, Benefits and Allowances: The position has been identified as GS-15 ($95,390-$124,010/year) level by USAID/Nicaragua. The actual salary of the successful candidate will be negotiated depending on qualifications and previous earning history. Currently, the positions allowance includes a Post Allowance (see also detail list of allowances below). As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: (NOTE: An individual defined as a Resident Hire employee may only be eligible for the benefits listed below.) BENEFITS: Employee's FICA Contribution Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance Pay Comparability Adjustment Eligibility for Worker's Compensation Annual & Sick Leave Access to Embassy medical facilities, commissary and pouch mail service ALLOWANCES (If Applicable): (1) Temporary Lodging Allowance (Section 120) (2) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130) (3) Post Allowance (Section 220) (4) Supplemental Post Allowance (Section 230) (5) Post Differential (Chapter 500) (6) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600) and (7) Danger Pay (Section 650) (8) Educational Allowance (Section 270) (9) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260) (10) Educational Travel (Section 280) For more information, please see Standardized Regulations: http://www.state.gov/m/a/als/c1843.htm * Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas).