USAID Project Management Specialist (2 positions)

1- GENERAL INFORMATION
2- SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068621R0004
3. ISSUANCE DATE: July 14, 2021
4. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: August 14, 2021, 11:59 pm (GMT)
5. POINT OF CONTACT: Recruitment team, email at usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov
6. POSITION TITLE: USAID Project Management Specialist (2 positions)
7. MARKET VALUE: Salary equivalent to grade FSN-11. In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of 8 US Embassy/Burkina Faso. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.
. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The services provided under this contract are expected to be of a continuing nature that will be executed by USAID through a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of funds, the need for services and performance. The base period will be for one year, estimated to start on o/a September 1, 2021. Based on Agency need, the contracting Officer may exercise an additional option period for four years for the dates estimated as follows: Base Period: o/a September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022 Option Period 1: o/a September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2026 8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: US Embassy/USAID compound in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties.
9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: USAID policy is that a Cooperating Country National (CCN), meaning an individual who is a cooperating country (Burkina Faso) citizen or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country is preferred over a TCNPSC in order to integrate the foreign assistance effort into the community, enhance the skills of the cooperating country's population, and contribute to the local economy. The establishment of a TCNPSC position must be temporary and must only be used when: a) Qualified CCNs are not available; b) Limitations on Agency and Mission operations do not allow sufficient time to train CCNs; and c) Program efficiencies and policy objectives can only be achieved using TCNPSCs as a substitute for available, eligible, and qualified U.S. Nationals (USNs) or CCNs.
10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIREMENT: Facility Access
11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance overseas in response to all types of international disasters. The Bureau responds to an average of 75 disasters in more than 70 countries every year. In addition to responding to disasters, BHA helps crisis‐affected communities by building on our humanitarian responses and supporting early recovery efforts that restore and protect basic Solicitation 72068621R0004 3 American Embassy | Route des Almadies | Dakar, Senegal | www.usaid.gov/senegal systems and services. BHA is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance in the world. In FY 2020, USAID provided over $7.2 billion in humanitarian assistance. This includes more than $385 million in targeted resilience and food security activities in 11 countries, including Burkina Faso. The incumbent, along with the BHA Burkina Faso Team Leader and with technical support from the BHA Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, will contribute to the effective design, implementation and management of BHA programs (emergency and resilience) in Burkina Faso. His/her primary responsibilities are to (1) monitor, report and advise on the implementation and performance of ongoing BHA programs; (2) undertake assessments and review stakeholder reporting and analysis to inform funding decisions, program designs or modifications; and (3) represent BHA in internal and external fora and ensure coordination of BHA activities with related USG and external efforts. The incumbent will work under the supervision of the BHA/Burkina Faso Team Leader and will be required to coordinate with a range of stakeholders. This position requires a highly collaborative, proactive work style and work-related travel.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program/Project Management of humanitarian assistance and food security investments (50%)

● Organizes meetings with BHA partners and reviews partner reports to gather updates on program achievements, challenges, implementation progress, and financial spending. Shares findings with BHA colleagues in WARO and Washington, including Technical and Program Quality Advisors,

● Devises, in collaboration with BHA colleagues, an annual monitoring plan outlining the sites to be visited and timeline, and conducts regular field monitoring visits, in accordance with the monitoring plan, spending at approximately 30 percent of time in the field, often in austere conditions, collecting data on the implementation of BHA programs. If security conditions do not allow this frequency of travel, work with BHA colleagues to develop a robust set of remote monitoring tools and approaches.

● Advises of any issues arising that need to be addressed, including immediate reporting of any actual or suspected diversions of USG resources, missed implementation targets, and non-compliance with USAID regulations.
● In collaboration with the BHA Team Leader, makes recommendations for addressing and solving any problems that are discovered, provides feedback to the implementing partners and concludes with follow-up to ensure improvements.

Undertake assessments and review stakeholder reporting and analysis to inform USAID/BHA assistance funding decisions, program designs or project modifications (30%)

● Reviews technical reports and documents related to humanitarian assistance and food security to stay abreast with general knowledge and advances in these fields, and other pertinent information related to his/her area of responsibility.
● Participates in multi-agency assessments of food and nutrition security and humanitarian needs, and assists in the development of funding and programmatic recommendations for BHA and the USAID Mission. The incumbent will help ensure that BHA funded programming is technically sound, on schedule and is efficiently reaching the vulnerable populations targeted for assistance,
● In collaboration with the BHA Team Leader, recommends appropriate response programming based on findings or analysis about food, nutrition or humanitarian needs, environmental concerns, market conditions, transportation requirements, and the cultural and political situation.Solicitation 72068621R0004 4 American Embassy | Route des Almadies | Dakar, Senegal | www.usaid.gov/senegal ● Reports on all field monitoring trips, assessments, etc. Provides information for additional reporting to the USAID Country Representative or Mission Director, the BHA West Africa Regional Office, and BHA/Washington, as necessary,.
● Follows closely current political, social, economic, food security and nutrition trends in Burkina Faso. Uses judgment and experience to assess the accuracy of information, reliability of sources, and the relevance of the information. Also provides analysis on how these trends affect the development and implementation of BHA’s emergency and resilience programming.
● Conducts technical reviews of proposals, award documents, and partner reports. Contributes with relevant and frequent updates to the USAID/Burkina Faso BHA Team Leader. Provides content to, and reviews, BHA information products relating to Burkina Faso. Programming and Coordination (20%)
● Represents BHA, with the Team Leader or in her/his absence, in working group meetings and other fora with UN, NGOs, and other humanitarian donors. Represents USAID to a wide range of government officials at the provincial/district level and representatives at the technical and administrative levels. Engages with beneficiaries, community members and leaders on issues related to BHA programs. All representation is performed in line with the overall direction of the USAID Country Representative and the BHA Team Leader in Burkina Faso.
● Participates in internal USAID working groups and leverages BHA investments with current (and future) USAID development and emergency programs such as Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE II) and Bridge.
● Identifies networks and develops productive relationships with stakeholders and platforms focused on improving the quality and impact of BHA’s emergency and resilience programs.
● Liaises with donor contacts and subject matter specialists in emergency and resilience programming.
● Proactively engages with regional UN, PIO, and PVO partners to ensure effective communication and synergy of BHA in-country emergency and resilience investments.
a. Supervision Received: The incumbent is supervised by the BHA Team Leader in Burkina Faso. Tasks are assigned via jointly agreed upon work objectives and plans and are updated as the situation requires. The incumbent works independently with minimal guidance from the supervisor, prioritizing work, setting and meeting deadlines.
b. Supervision Exercised: There are no supervisory responsibilities in this position.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.
II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

a. Education: Bachelor’s degree in a pertinent field (e.g., agriculture, economics, international relations, statistics, public health, social sciences) is required.
b. Prior Work Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian assistance and/or international development programs. At least two (2) years of this experience must be in the management of food aid, food security or humanitarian assistance programs. Relevant work experience in program monitoring and evaluation is required.

C. Post Entry Training: Short term training to learn USAID (and BHA) regulations and procedures is required during the incumbent’s tenure.
CCN PSCs may participate in temporary duty (TDY) travel to USAID/Washington and other Missions in order to participate in the Foreign Service National Fellowship Program described in ADS 495maa.

d. Language Proficiency: Written and spoken level IV (Fluent) French and English is required. Proven capacity to communicate effectively both orally and in writing will be tested.
e. Job Knowledge: The employee advises USG and partner staff on complex policy issues and must have:
● Expert knowledge on host country programs and strategies in food security, nutrition, or emergency programming.
● An understanding of how food assistance is used in development and humanitarian programs and the interaction among cross-sectoral program activities necessary to address food insecurity.
● A pragmatic understanding of emergency response mechanisms, programming for vulnerable populations, refugees, and internally displaced persons (IDP), as well as guidelines and processes involved in management of USAID Title II development and emergency portfolios.
● A sound understanding of how to conduct food and multi-sector emergency needs assessments.
● Familiarity with how to formulate program objectives and approaches, monitoring and evaluation procedures, and information systems.
● A strong working relationship with humanitarian and development stakeholders in Burkina Faso and good knowledge of the GOBF food security and nutrition policy.
● An understanding of the interrelationships of social, economic, and political factors in Burkina Faso and their impacts on vulnerable populations.
f. Skills and Abilities: The incumbent must have:
● Strong working knowledge of MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and Google platforms.
● Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of staff and representatives including but not limited to implementing partners, the UN, and other donors.
● Ability to work cooperatively in a multicultural team.
● Ability to review, evaluate and apply complex policies and regulations. ● Ability to provide rapid, concise, accurate reporting, both verbally and in written English.
● Ability to grasp the complexities of food security, the wide variety of influencing factors and the influence of international food assistance.
● Ability to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data relevant to food security, resilience and humanitarian needs.
● The ability to plan, organize, monitor, and evaluate complex food security interventions and humanitarian assistance programming. ● A high degree of flexibility.
● Willingness to travel, security permitting.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS
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. The FAR provisions referenced above are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

Selection Process

After the closing date for receipt of applications, applications will be reviewed for basic eligibility (quality check, submitted all required documents, meeting the set requirements, education and experience). Successful Applications will be forwarded to the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) for review. The TEC will review and score the application based on the evaluation factors as described below. Successful Offerors at this stage will be invited for an English Proficiency Test and Skills Test. Offerors with the best scores based on their application and skills test will be invited for interview.

Evaluation factors
- Experience (15 points)
- Job Knowledge (15 points)
- Skills Test (Total 20 Points) Offerors will have one hour to attend a written assessment. Assessment will be
graded on content (10 points) and proper use of the English language (10 points).
Sub-total: 50 Points
Interview: 40 Points
Satisfactory Reference Checks: 10 Points
Total Possible Score: 100 Points

USAID policy specifies that a cooperating country national (CCN) is preferred over a third country national (TCN.) Therefore, CCN and TCN offers will not be evaluated together. USAID will evaluate CCN offers first and if the CO determines that there are no qualified CCNs, only then will USAID evaluate TCN offers.

References of the finalists will be checked prior to offering the position. Applicant’s references must be able to provide substantive information about past performance and abilities. USAID/Senegal reserves the right to seek references from anyone who may be able to provide information about an Offeror; reference checks are not limited to the names provided. A preponderance of negative references will likely disqualify an Offeror from consideration.

USAID/Senegal reserves the right to select additional Offerors if vacancies become available during future phases of the selection process.

III. SUBMITTING AN OFFER
To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 4 and submitted electronically to: usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov with the Solicitation Number and Position Title in the application submission Subject Line.
Qualified applicants are required to submit:
1. Signed Cover letter and current résumé/curriculum vitae (CV). The CV/résumé must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria.
2. Applicants are required to provide no less than five (5) references who are not family members or relatives. References should include Current or Former Supervisors who can provide information regarding applicant job knowledge and professional work experience. Applicants must provide accurate e-mail addresses for all references.
3. Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts form AID 309-2 which can be found at http://www.usaid.gov/forms/. Offerors are required to complete and sign the form.
4. Copies of relevant Academic Degrees.
Offers must be received by August 14, 2021 and submitted in usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov.

To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission and as the subject line in any cover letter. The highest-ranking applicants may be selected for an interview.
ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH.

NOTE: This position requires the submission of complete forms and/or supplemental materials as described above. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in the applicant not being considered for employment.

IV. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD

Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful Offeror about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful Offeror instructions about how to complete all the pre-award forms and clearances necessary (medical and security).

V. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the benefits and allowances in accordance with Mission policy and Local labor laws in Burkina Faso.
Benefits: Annual bonus; Anniversary bonus; and Medical insurance
Allowances: Transportation; Meal; Miscellaneous; and Seniority
VI. TAXES
In accordance with Mission policy and local labor laws.

VII. USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN and TCN PSC awards are available at these sources:
1. 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 .
2. Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms . Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below:
3. Acquisition & 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. 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 .
5. PSC Ombudsman: The PSC Ombudsman serves as a resource for any Personal Services Contractor who has entered into a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and is available to provide clarity on their specific contract with the agency. Please visit our page for additional information:
https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman
The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov.
Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted to participate in the oral interview process