USPSC - Sr. Regional Advisor (West Africa) (GS-15)

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 7200AA24R00109 SYNOPSIS ISSUANCE DATE: September 25, 2024 SUBJECT: Synopsis/Pre-Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) Dear Prospective Offerors: The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is planning to seek offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal services as a Senior Regional Advisor (West Africa) (GS-15) under a personal services contract, as described in the forthcoming solicitation. Submittals must be in accordance with the forthcoming information at the place and time specified. For further information, please see the forthcoming solicitation on www.SAM.gov, or contact the OTI Recruitment Team. OTI Recruitment Team E-Mail Address: OTIjobs@usaid.gov Website: www.OTIjobs.net Sincerely, Ousay Wahaj Supervisory Contracting Officer 500 D St. SW Washington, D.C. 20547 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. ACTION CODE: P (pre-solicitation) 2.SOLICITATION NO.: 7200AA24R00109 3. SYNOPSIS ISSUANCE DATE: September 25, 2024 4. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: approximately October 2024 5. POINT OF CONTACT: OTI Recruitment Team, e-mail at OTIjobs@usaid.gov. 6. POSITION TITLE: Senior Regional Advisor - West Africa 7. MARKET VALUE: This position has been designated at the GS-15 equivalent level, non-locality pay ($117,518 - $152,771 per annum). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value based upon qualifications, previous relevant experience and work history, salary and educational background. Salaries over and above the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated. 8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: One (1) year, with four (4) one-year option periods 9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Accra, Ghana 10. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: United States Citizens 11. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: SECRET POSITION DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) is seeking highly motivated, highly qualified individuals who want the opportunity to help support rapid international transition programs for priority conflict-prone countries. Created in 1994 as a distinct operating unit within USAID, OTI helps local partners advance peace and democracy in politically-transitioning countries. In support of U.S. foreign policy, OTI seizes emerging windows of opportunity in the political landscape to promote stability, peace, and democracy by catalyzing local initiatives through adaptive and agile programming. Countries experiencing a significant political transition in the midst of a disaster or emerging from civil conflict have unique needs that cannot be fully addressed by traditional disaster relief. Timely and effective assistance to promote and consolidate peaceful, democratic advances can make the difference between a successful or a failed transition. OTI assists in securing peace by aiding indigenous, mostly non-governmental, civil society and media organizations. OTI uses such mechanisms as support for re-integration of ex-combatants into civilian society; development of initiatives to promote national reconciliation; identification of quick-impact community self-help projects to meet urgent economic needs; and aid to independent media outlets and community-based organizations to help promote informed debate and broaden public participation. To respond quickly and effectively and meet its program objectives and mandate OTI retains a group of high level professionals and experts under U.S. Personal Services Contracts (USPSCs). These knowledgeable and skilled professionals make up the vast majority of the OTI work force and are at its forefront implementing and achieving the office's programmatic goals and objectives. There are several benefits that USPSCs may participate in, such as partial reimbursement for health and life insurance costs, as well as full coverage of workers compensation, among other benefits. For more complete information on USPSC benefits, please see Section VI of this solicitation. INTRODUCTION The OTI Senior Regional Advisor position was developed in response to a significant increase in USAID's portfolio of countries that face various forms of fragility or crisis as well as an increase in demand for OTI's experience and programming methodology. As USAID's lead operational unit for crisis intervention programming, OTI has evolved to carry out more assessments, provide more experientially-based technical advice and analysis, and closely monitor countries that face possible political crises in order to deepen understanding, identify opportunities and constraints, and prepare programming when necessary. As OTI takes its place within the new Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) Bureau, the new bureau's leadership envision this position more broadly representing CPS equities and capabilities. The Senior Regional Advisor will train, mentor, backstop, and support OTI country teams, including Country Representatives, Deputy Country Representatives, and other staff on the OTI business model, procedures, minimum program requirements, and best practices. He or she will help to determine the learning and training needs of in-country staff, and contribute to broader office policy and process discussions to promote state-of-the-art transition programming. Through coordination with OTI's home office, the Senior Regional Advisor will stay abreast of current thinking, policy determinations, lessons learned and best practices from other regions, while at the same time cultivating and sharing best practices found in the field. Through on-the-ground knowledge of OTI country programs, the Senior Regional Advisor will contribute to the refinement of OTI's learning and training strategy, training regimes, and materials for staff in country programs as well as office surge staff known as the Bullpen. BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who clearly meet the Education/Experience Requirements and Selection Factors set forth in the coming solicitation will be further evaluated based on scoring of the Evaluation Factor responses. Offerors who meet these minimum qualifications will be reviewed against set Evaluation Factors, describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received that are relevant to each factor. Failure to specifically address the Selection and/or Evaluation Factors may result in your not receiving credit for all of your pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards. The most qualified offerors may be interviewed, required to provide a writing sample, and demonstrate an ability to operate commonly used office applications. OTI will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. In addition, offers (written materials and interviews) will be evaluated based on content as well as on the offerors writing, presentation, and communication skills. In the event that an offeror has fully demonstrated their qualifications and there are no other competitive offerors, OTI reserves the right to forgo the interview process. Professional references and academic credentials will be evaluated for offerors being considered for selection. Offerors must submit at least three (3) professional references, one (1) of which must be a current or former supervisor. OTI reserves the right to contact previous employers to verify employment history. If the offeror had a previous position with USAID, the TEC and/or CO are encouraged to obtain reference checks from the previous supervisor(s) or CO(s). See ADS 309.3.1.11.a.4 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.