Re-Solicitation for a USPSC Office Director, Economic Growth Office

Re-Solicitation for a USPSC Office Director, Economic Growth Office SOL-388-17-000014 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. SOLICITATION NO.: SOL-388-17-000014 2. ISSUANCE DATE: September 17, 2017 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: October 16, 2017 at 4:30pm, local time in Dhaka, Bangladesh 4. POSITION TITLE: Office Director, Economic Growth Office 5. MARKET VALUE: GS-15 equivalent ($103,672 - $134,776 per annum). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value based on the successful candidate's salary history, work experience and educational background. Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated. 6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The period of performance is one year, with the possibility of extensions. The contract and extensions cannot exceed 5 years. 7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Dhaka, Bangladesh with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Work. 8. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: The successful candidate shall be required to obtain a Secret level security clearance 9. STATEMENT OF DUTIES BACKGROUND The Director of the Office of Economic Growth (EG) is the Mission's principal officer responsible for developing U.S. strategy, ensuring coordination with a large donor community, and overseeing implementation of the Mission's economic growth, energy, and environment programs. He/she is supported by and provides guidance to two US Direct Hire Deputy Directors. He/she leads a team of 28 professional staff and oversees a complex portfolio encompassing the Feed the Future initiative with a combined annual budget of approximately $70 million. BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POSITION With considerable latitude for decision-making and exercising independent judgment, the EG Office Director will be responsible for overseeing all EG aspects of the USAID/Bangladesh program. This will require a highly experienced professional with a broad combination of senior managerial experience combined with substantial relevant technical experience. The incumbent must possess exceptional interpersonal and communications skills as well as outstanding professional knowledge of one or more of the following disciplines: macroeconomic policy, private sector led growth, agricultural development, business enabling environment, trade, business competitiveness, public-private partnerships, energy, or environment. The successful candidate will have superior leadership and interpersonal/communications skills, significant knowledge and understanding of USG operating procedures and standards, and extensive management experience. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Nature and Scope of Work: The EG Office Director provides strong managerial leadership and general guidance on the development and execution of all USAID-financed programs related to agriculture, food security, business enabling environment and trade, business competitiveness, energy, and the environment. He/she serves as a leadership anchor to the Environment and Feed the Future teams and provides advice and guidance on strategy and the implementation of activities as and when necessary. The incumbent serves as the lead in communication with the Mission leadership and with regard to all managerial responsibilities connected with other Mission offices and with all external parties including government entities and the donor community. More specifically, with regard to the sectors listed above, the incumbent: a) Directs the EG Office; supervises and provides overall direction and leadership either directly or indirectly for all professional and administrative staff; mentors and develops staff; directs the EG Office according to established Mission policies, practices and programmatic guidance, and in accordance with all applicable USAID regulations and guidance. b) Working with and through the EG staff, monitors and reports on the performance of long-term and short-term development activities. c) Serves as the senior advisor to the Mission Director on economic growth policy and programs. d) Maintains a wide range of contacts with government, private sector, civil society, and other donors in order to ensure collaboration and close cooperation in developing sound and sustainable host-country development programs. e) Keeps abreast of developments and issues; determines the nature and extent of host-country needs for foreign assistance; and identifies ways to further achieve USAID's programmatic policy objectives in Bangladesh. f) Coordinates sectoral planning within the office and with other teams (offices) in the Mission in order to integrate activities into the overall Mission program. g) Participates in all aspects of strategic and program planning. h) In accordance with USAID rules and regulations, represents the Mission in public events as well as in consultations and negotiations with host-government officials. i) Exercises the full range of authorities to assure adequate oversight and accountability as well as effective implementation of the results frameworks. Supervisory Relationship The incumbent will report to and be supervised directly by the Deputy Mission Director. Supervisory Controls Will oversee and manage USAID EG programs through the EG Professional staff. 10. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: This position is open to all U.S. Citizens. 11. PHYSICAL DEMANDS The work requested does not involve undue physical demands. The work requested is generally sedentary and poses few physical demands. The selected candidate must obtain medical clearance from State/MED in order to deploy to post. 12. POINT OF CONTACT: Mark Gray, at MGray@usaid.gov. Please DO NOT send applications to this email address. For mailbox to send application, see section IV of this solicitation. II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION To be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum Qualifications listed below. Education: A minimum of a Master's Degree in International Business, International Finance, Economics, International Development or other relevant degree (required). Work Experience: At least 10 years of senior leadership experience in a large organization managing diverse technical staff and developing and implementing programs connected with economic growth working in the environment/energy industries, the food industry, agriculture, in ancillary industries, or in a development environment, of which at least seven years in a supervisory role (required). Technical ability to help design, and to manage, monitor and evaluate economic growth programs (required). Familiarity with USG regulations is highly desirable. South Asian experience is highly desirable. Knowledge: Mastery of the economic development sector including business enabling environment, trade, private sector led competitiveness and growth, agriculture, value chain development (required). Knowledge of energy and environment programming is desirable. Skills and Abilities: Proven ability to communicate and work cross-culturally at a high level, in a challenging and ever-changing environment (required); excellent written and oral communications skills in English (required); strong interpersonal skills, team player, and the proven ability to multi-task and lead diverse technical teams (required); knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of applications (required). Language: Excellent proven written and oral English communication skills are required. Consideration and selection will be based on a panel evaluation of the Evaluation Factors (Section III). Please note that not all candidates will be interviewed or contacted. USAID will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews unless expenses are preauthorized. Reference checks may be conducted on those candidates selected for an interview. The candidate's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS 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. USAID reserves the right to conduct interviews with the top ranked short-listed candidates. If the interview is conducted, the interview will be one of the determining factors in the final selection. References will be asked to assess the candidate's technical knowledge, work performance, communication skills, and group dynamics, using the above criteria. - Education (Pass/Fail) - Work experience (50 points) - Knowledge (20 points) - Skills and abilities (20 points) - Language (10 points) - Reference Verification (Pass/Fail) Total possible points: 100 TERM OF PERFORMANCE The base term of the contract will be for a period of one year, which may be extended upon mutual agreement and subject to, continued need, satisfactory performance and availability of funds. This position has been classified as equivalent to a GS-15 position in the USG Civil Service. The actual salary of the successful candidate will be negotiated depending on qualifications and previous salary history. In addition to the basic salary, differentials and other benefits in effect at the time and which are applicable and subject to change on a similar basis as for direct-hire USG employees will be added. 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 final adjudication of a security clearance is received, the contract shall not be signed. If candidate fails to obtain a security clearance, the offer will be retracted. Candidate must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). IV. APPLYING Interested candidates must submit the following: 1. A cover letter that demonstrates how prior experience and/or training has prepared you to meet the specific challenges of the duties and responsibilities described above, and a date of availability to begin the assignment in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2. A complete offer form AID 302-3, "Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts," available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms. 3. A resume must be attached to the AID 302-3. In order to fully evaluate your application, 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. 4. Names and contact information for a minimum of three and a maximum of five professional references within the last five years of your professional life from individuals who are not family members or relatives. Three references must be from direct supervisors who can have knowledge of your ability to perform the duties set forth in this solicitation. Please provide e-mail addresses and/or working telephone numbers for all references. 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 11. 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. 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. 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 FOR PSC HIRES Once the CO informs the successful Candidates about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful Candidate 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. 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/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) Shipment and storage of household effects (h) Shipment of POV (Private Own Vehicle) (i) Access to Embassy medical facilities, and pouch mail service (j) Defense-based Accreditation and Medevac insurance 2. ALLOWANCES: Section numbers refer to rules from the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas) (a) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130) (b) Cost-of-Living Allowance (Chapter 210) (c) Post Allowance (Section 220) (d) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260) (e) Education Allowance (Section 270) (f) Education Travel (Section 280) (g) Post Differential (Chapter 500) (h) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600), and 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," 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. 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. 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.