USPSC Economic Development Specialist

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 16/2018 ISSUANCE DATE: 12/21/2018 CLOSING DATE/TIME: 01/07/2019 SUBJECT: Solicitation for U. S. Personal Services Contractor (US PSC) Economic Development Specialist, GS-14, USAID/Central Asia (USAID/CA), Dushanbe, Tajikistan 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, Sections I through V 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 offers. Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attached information. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No late submissions will be accepted. Sincerely, James Berscheit Contracting Officer ATTACHMENT TO SOLICITATION NO. 01/2019 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. SOLICITATION NO.: 16/2018 2. ISSUANCE DATE: 12/21/2018 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR 01/07/2019 (6 p.m. Almaty Time) RECEIPT OF OFFERS: 4. POSITION TITLE: Economic Development Specialist 5. MARKET VALUE: $89,370-$116,181 (GS-14 equivalent) Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. 6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 6 months 7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: USAID/Central Asia (USAID/CA), Dushanbe, Tajikistan 8. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Facility Access 9. STATEMENT OF DUTIES: BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION: USAID's program in Tajikistan is part of the USAID Regional Mission for Central Asia (USAID/CA) headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with country offices in Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. USAID/CA is responsible for strategic planning, program design and implementation, achievement of results, and reporting for USAID assistance in the four Central Asia countries. The U.S. Government's regional effort focuses on economic growth, governance and service delivery and managing trans-boundary water and energy resources, implemented through a mix of regional and country-specific programs. Tajikistan's strategic interest to the United States centers on its extreme poverty relative to other Central Asia countries and the fragility of its 800-mile porous border with Afghanistan. USAID's FY2017 $32 million budget for Tajikistan accounts for nearly half USAID/CA's total assistance program. The Tajikistan Country Office (TCO) has 18 staff: five USDH officers, two USPSC, and twelve Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), serving on four teams: Economic Development (ED), Health, Education and Democracy/Governance, and Program. The ED team oversees TCO activities in agriculture, trade, energy, and water. Agriculture is TCO's largest single sectoral program. The Economic Development Specialist will serve as a technical specialist in the design and management of USAID programs supporting economic development throughout Tajikistan. In addition, the Economic Development Specialist will provide a high level of support to the Economic Development Team in a management and administrative capacity. The range of responsibilities and functions are outlined below. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: A. Activity and Strategy Development 1) The Economic Development Specialist coordinates and integrates Tajikistan economic development programs with USAID/Central Asia Regional Economic Development program as well as those of USAID's South Asian missions. 2) Serves as the technical lead on economic development, contributing to the design and management of activities that fall under the Mission's cross-cutting initiatives. 3) Conceptualizes and designs projects and programs that contribute optimally to long term development of the economic development portfolio in Tajikistan. 4) Represents the Mission in discussions with government representatives, economic development advisors and analysts from other donors, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund. 5) Ensures coordination and alignment of USAID/CA/Tajikistan Economic Development activities with those of other USG agencies. Program Monitoring, Evaluation, and Management 6) Takes the lead for the Economic Development Team in program management/administration in terms of budget and reporting processes for the economic development portfolio in Tajikistan. 7) Ensures that administrative and accountability requirements related to USAID economic development projects are handled in accordance with established policies and procedures, in consultation with USAID Controller and Executive Officer in Almaty. 8) Plans and designs evaluation instruments as needed to make informed program design and management decisions. Conduct or lead data gathering, research and analysis, and dialogue with counterparts necessary to inform program design decisions. Evaluate the costs, benefits and effectiveness of projects. 9) Serves as Assistance Officer's Representative and/or Contracting Officer's Representative (AOR or COR), or as alternate AOR or COR, for economic development. 10) Supervises four FSNPSC Project Management Specialists in the administration of their duties. 11) Mentors Economic Development FSNPSCs, works with staff on individual staff development plans, identifying appropriate training and professional growth opportunities. Supervision Received: Work is performed under the general policy and technical guidance of the USAID/CA/Tajikistan Country Office Director or his/her designee. Supervision Exercised: The incumbent will supervise three FSNPSC Project Management Specialists. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: U.S. citizen U.S. citizen or permanent resident/registered alien ("green card holder"). Must be able to obtain a U.S. Government "Facility Access" security clearance. Must be able to secure a medical clearance to serve in Central Asia. 10. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands. 11. POINT OF CONTACT: USAID/Central Asia Human Resources Office, e-mail: CentralAsiaJobs@usaid.gov and/or almatyhr@usaid.gov II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION a. Education: Education: A graduate degree in economics, business, agriculture, finance, public policy, international relations, or a related field. b. Prior Work Experience: This position requires maturity and a minimum of seven years of relevant experience with a proven track record of programmatic accomplishment and professional achievement as well as the ability to function in complex, frequently changing political and economic conditions. At least five years of effective international program development experience in areas related to agriculture, private-sector development and economic policy reform in developing or transition economies. Candidates will be assessed on their leadership in previous positions in conceptualizing, developing, and implementing high-impact international economic-reform and private-sector-development programs. Project or program management experience while residing in a transition or developing country. Previous experience in project implementation should include monitoring and evaluating programs' effectiveness and the application of the results of such monitoring and evaluation in refinements to programs to enhance their effectiveness. At least three years of successful leadership experience in a team environment. c. Skills and Abilities: Skills and Abilities: Strong analytical and writing skills as evidenced by previous experience and a writing sample. Exceptional interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work in a collegial and persuasive fashion in a team environment. Demonstrated team-mentoring and leadership skills, as well as staff professional development abilities. Fluent in English and proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly, and concisely, demonstrating a high degree of articulateness both orally and in writing, including technical reports. Given the level of interaction with host-country counterparts required by this position, strong command of Russian or Tajik is also desirable. Demonstrated a thorough understanding of private-sector development best-practices in developing or transition economies, with a mix of both theoretical and knowledge and practical experience. Demonstrated ability to produce professional quality statements of work in the specified technical areas, and to make oral presentations logically and persuasively to senior USG officials, other donors, the NGO community, and host-country counterparts (government and non-government.) d. Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Exceptional leadership, communications and inter-personal skills. Ability to interact effectively with a broad range of internal and external partners and USAID clients, international organizations, and host country government officials or NGO counterparts. Ability to function collaboratively and productively as a member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-functional team, and to work effectively in a team environment to achieve consensus on policies, activities and administrative matters. Technical skills are not sufficient to be selected for this position candidates are required to convincingly relate how their experience demonstrates their ability to mentor and develop staff within team environments. III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS Applicants will be evaluated against the following criteria: International Economic Development Experience: 40 points Management and Team Leadership Skills and Experience: 20 points Writing and Communication Skills: 30 points Academic Qualifications: 10 points TOTAL: 100 POINTS IV. APPLYING For an offeror to be considered for this position, s/he must adhere to the following guidelines and complete, sign and submit the following documents to centralasiajobs@usaid.gov and almatyhr@usaid.gov This will enable the evaluation committee to thoroughly and objectively review the offer against the requirements of the position 1. AID 302-3, Offeror Information for Personal Services Contract Form Eligible offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 302-3, "Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts," available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms. 2. Resume/Curriculum Vitae 3. Reference Persons Offerors are required to provide three (3) reference persons who are not family members or relatives, with working telephones and email contacts. The references must be able to provide substantive information about offerors past performance and abilities. Reference checks will be made only for offerors considered as finalists. If an offeror does not wish for the current employer to be contacted as a reference check, this should be stated in the offeror's AID 302-3 form and/or resume. The interviewing committee will delay such reference check pending communication with the offeror. 4. 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. 5. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission. V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES Once the CO informs the successful Offeror about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful Offeror 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) 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 2. ALLOWANCES: Section numbers refer to rules from the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas) (a) Temporary Quarter Subsistence Allowance (Section 120) (b) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130) (c) Cost-of-Living Allowance (Chapter 210) (d) Post Allowance (Section 220) (e) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260) (f) Education Allowance (Section 270) (g) Education Travel (Section 280) (h) Post Differential (Chapter 500) (i) 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. TCN PSCs are required to abide by local laws with regards to applicability of local income tax to their contract. 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. USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), Appendix J, "Direct USAID Contracts With a Cooperating Country National and with a Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad," including contract clause "General Provisions," available at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf 3. Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms. 4. 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. 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