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SOLICITATION NUMBER: 14/2019 ISSUANCE DATE: 07/11/2019 CLOSING DATE: 08/01/2019 (6:00 pm Almaty local time) SUBJECT: Solicitation for Personal Services Contractor (PSC) No. 14/2019 Education Program A... SOLICITATION NUMBER: 14/2019 ISSUANCE DATE: 07/11/2019 CLOSING DATE: 08/01/2019 (6:00 pm Almaty local time) SUBJECT: Solicitation for Personal Services Contractor (PSC) No. 14/2019 Education Program Advisor, USAID/Central Asia/Uzbekistan Country Office, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 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 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 offer. Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attachment 1. Sincerely, Mark Gray Contracting Officer ATTACHMENT 1 SOLICITATION NO. 14/2019 I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. SOLICITATION NO.: 14/2019 2. ISSUANCE DATE: 07/11/2019 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: 08/01/2019 (6:00 PM Almaty local time) 4. POINT OF CONTACT: Mark Gray, mgray@usaid.gov, or USAID/CA Human resources, almatyhr@usaid.gov and centralasiajobs@usaid.gov 5. POSITION TITLE: Education Program Adviser 6. MARKET VALUE: $90,621-$117,810 per annum (equivalent to GS-14). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. 7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The U.S. Personal Services Contract will be for one year, subject to possible extensions 8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The duty post for this contract is Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The selected candidate is expected to work eight hours per day during the core working hours of the USAID/Central Asia Mission/Uzbekistan Country Office. 9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens 10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret 11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES 1. Basic Function of the Position Supervision and Coordination - Lead USAID/Central Asia, Uzbekistan Country Office (UCO) Education Team and supervise education staff to ensure overall quality and coherence of the team's education products and initiatives. - Lead the implementation of the UCO's education activities. - Represent UCO at the senior level in all matters pertaining to education activities with other branches of the USG, host country governments, implementing partners, other donor agencies, and other groups or institutions. - Work with the Ministry of Public Education (MOPE) to support education development programs, including the development of appropriate and effective national education strategies. - Serve as the senior advisor to UCO management regarding all education matters. - Establish and maintain contacts with donor representatives, implementing partners, and other USG agencies. 2. Major Duties and Responsibilities: Specific duties include, but are not limited to, the following: Education Activities Oversight - Serve as Agreement/Contracting Officer's Representative (A/COR) and/or Activity Manager of selected USAID-funded education projects implemented by contractors, grantees, and/or host country government entities. - Serve as a focal point for a particular technical area in education, specifically early grade reading and math, learning assessments, school management, curriculum reform and accreditation, and capacity building; cross-cutting education topics; i.e., gender, youth, etc.; and/or serve a coordination function. - Collect and review quarterly and annual program and financial reports and other required deliverables from contractors, grantees, and/or host country government entities. Track progress and provides technical feedback and direction to ensure consistency with USAID regulations; ensure projects are on track and deliverables are acceptable; and promote activity effectiveness and sustainability. - Exercise independent judgment in areas such as project management and advise on mission and Uzbek education policy. Work involves formulating projects, assessing program effectiveness, and investigating and analyzing a variety of unusual conditions, problems or questions, including audits. - Review financial reports from contractor and grantee implementing partners with special attention to financial indicators (expenditures, pipelines, and congruity of expenditures against activities). - Respond to requests from the USAID/Washington, Congress, U.S. Embassy, Ministry of Public Education;, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other entities working in the sector and drafts official correspondence. - Draft official USAID documentation such as and briefing papers, annual reports, action/decision Memos, Project Appraisal Documents, Implementation Letters, and procurement documents. Monitoring and Evaluation - Conduct monitoring and evaluation activities and ensures projects are being successfully implemented through multi-tiered verification that includes USAID or United States Government (USG) sources, implementing partner, Government of Uzbekistan, civil society, and third party independent monitors. - Participate in activity assessments and evaluations and develops program recommendations based on USAID comparative advantage; security permitting, conducts visits to project sites and reports successes as well as inconsistencies/problems; contributes to the data collection and synthesis necessary for the preparation and revision of Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Annual report, the Operational Plan and other required documents. - Collect and review quarterly and annual program reports from contractor/grantee implementing partners, or host-country government, provides feedback on reports, and works with partner to resolve challenges and implementation issues. Reporting and Conducting Presentations - Write reports or significant sections of reports as required. - Collect and synthesize information and data from various sources to be included in reports such as Performance Plan and Report (PPR), Operational Plans (OP), quarterly and annual reports, audit reporting, briefing documents, cables, and ad hoc reporting requests for various audiences including USAID/Washington, Congress, and the U.S. Embassy. - Conduct presentations on the education sector, program, projects, topics and issues to various USG, Government of Uzbekistan, and other audiences, as needed. Perform other duties/activities that the US Ambassador, USAID Mission Director and Deputy Director, USAID/Washington and circumstances may dictate. Supervisory Relationship: The incumbent supervises one to two senior FSN staff. Supervision includes providing technical and management guidance and mentoring to direct reports. This also includes defining roles and responsibilities within his/her team as well as managing assignments, identifying staff training needs, and mentoring and coaching. Supervisory Controls: The Education Program Advisor will work under the supervision of the Uzbekistan Country Office Director or his/her designee. The supervisor will review and approve the Education Program Advisor's annual work objectives and performance measures and provide periodic feedback and guidance. The supervisor also provides parameters on work priorities and technical and programmatic approaches in implementing the incumbent's work and those of his/her direct reports. The supervisor works with the incumbent to set deadlines and define delegated authorities, as applicable. 12. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: U.S. Citizens 13. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands. 14. POINT OF CONTACT: For any additional questions you may contact Mark Gray, mgray@usaid.gov, or USAID/CA Human resources, almatyhr@usaid.gov and centralasiajobs@usaid.gov II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION 1. GENERAL: Must be a U.S. citizen, must be able to obtain a U.S. Government "SECRET" security clearance. Must be able to secure a medical clearance to serve in Central Asia. Must be willing to travel throughout Uzbekistan and occasionally to other countries in Central Asia; available and willing to commit to the Contract Performance Period of 12 months. 2. EDUCATION: A Master's degree in international development, international relations/affairs, education/education management, economics, public policy, business administration is required. (Education requirements must be met at the time of application for the subject position). 3. PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE: A minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible experience, part of which in a supervisory role, in program/project management with a proven track record of programmatic accomplishment which includes program and/or activity management, planning and analytical skills in education programming. Experience managing programs/projects in basic education, early grade reading and math, girls' education, learning assessments, introducing IT into the classroom, English, community-based/non-formal education, or tertiary education is required. (Work experience requirements must be met at the time of application for the subject position). 4. KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL SKILLS: Strong and demonstrated knowledge of the principles and practices of approaches to basic education, early grade reading and math, girls' education, learning assessments, community-based/non-formal education, or tertiary education is required. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to translate highly technical material into easy to understand narratives. Exceptional analytical and editing skills. Excellent organizational and critical thinking skills. Proficient knowledge of Google Suite Programs, and the capacity to present information creatively. Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point a plus. A broad understanding of issues related to international development and transition economies, as well as the political, social and economic conditions in Uzbekistan are preferable. Superior project management skills and the ability to take initiative; must be able to take ownership of projects, creatively problem solve and see them through to completion. Demonstrated ability to work independently, managing several activities at once, and to work under pressure to meet very short deadlines while exercising sound independent professional judgment. Ability to maintain superior levels of professionalism while working under pressure in a fast-paced and sometimes difficult or dangerous environment. 5. INTERPERSONAL AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS: Exceptional leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability and willingness to function collaboratively and productively as both a leader and a member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team, and must have the ability to work effectively in a team environment to achieve consensus on policies, activities and administrative matters and to influence relationships positively. Proven ability to work well in complex institutional settings and to develop networks of relationships that facilitate collaboration among colleagues and a genuine interest in assisting USAID staff with expedient program implementation. Must exercise discretion, tact and diplomacy especially when dealing with politically sensitive issues, must be able 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. Strong oral and written communication skills, and an ability to work with a range of senior and technical officials in a collegial and productive way. Technical skills alone are not sufficient to be selected for this position. 6. LANGUAGE SKILLS: Minimum Level IV (Fluent) English and proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly, and concisely, both orally and in writing. Reading and speaking proficiency in Russian or Uzbek language is highly desirable. III. 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. FAR provisions of this solicitation are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far. Applicants who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated. 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. After meeting the minimum qualifications, consideration and selection will be based on a panel evaluation of the Evaluation Criteria. Additionally, USAID may request writing samples and an interview from the top-scoring candidates. Top-scoring candidates will also be asked to provide three professional references. Please note that not all applicants will be interviewed or contacted. USAID will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews unless the expenses are pre-authorized. Reference checks may be conducted on candidates selected for an interview. Applicants must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Applicants will be evaluated against the following criteria (100 points total): Education: 15 points Experience: 20 points Knowledge and Technical Skills: 30 points Interpersonal and Leadership Skills: 20 points Language Skills: 15 points Total: 100 points IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER Submission of a résumé alone IS NOT a complete application. This position requires the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described in this section. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your not being considered for employment. All application packages are to be submitted via email to: centralasiajobs@usaid.gov and/or almatyhr@usaid.gov, and Mark Gray mgray@usaid.gov citing the Solicitation number and the Position title. Interested individuals meeting the Minimum Qualifications above are required to submit the following: 1. Complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2, "Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals," available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms. 2. 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. 3. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the number of this Solicitation to ensure the offer is for the position in this Solicitation. 4. 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. Broad general statements that are vague or lacking specificity will not be considered as effectively addressing. Ensure the application covers the evaluation and selection criteria, as outlined in Section III of this solicitation. 5. Applicants must provide a minimum of three references within the last five years from the applicant's professional life, namely individuals who are not family members or relatives. Ideally, references should be from direct supervisors who can provide information regarding the applicant's work knowledge and professional experience. Applicants must provide e-mail addresses and/or working telephone numbers for all references. 6. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position. Offerors must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission. USAID/CA expects to award a personal services contract for an off-shore hire US Citizen for one year period (extension optional) commencing o/a September 1, 20 19, subject to security and medical clearances and funds availability. V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful applicant about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful applicant instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms: Forms outlined below can found at: http://www.usaid.gov/forms 1. Medical History and Examination form (DS-6561) 2. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86), or Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85) 3. Finger Print Card (FD-258) 4. Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) The above listed forms shall only be completed upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job. VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a USPSC 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: (if/as applicable) 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 (j) Danger Pay Allowance (Section 650) The employee must meet qualification requirements for certain benefits and allowances. VII. TAXES It is the responsibility of the selected candidate to abide by the tax regulations. 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 . [The CO must check http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs to determine which AAPDs/CIBs apply and insert the relevant AIDAR deviation or other policy text as applicable by the type of USPSC.] 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 .