USPSC Humanitarian Program Officer/Senior Humanitarian Program Officer

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA23R00052

ISSUANCE DATE: October 17, 2023
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: December 1, 2023, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

SUBJECT: 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 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.

USAID will evaluate all offerors based on stated evaluation criteria. USAID encourages all individuals,
including those from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, to respond to the solicitation.

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 Attachment 1.

Sincerely,

Ousay Wahaj
Supervisory Contracting Officer
Office of Acquisition & Assistance
(M/OAA/BHA-CPS/PSC)

ATTACHMENT 1

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA23R00052

2. ISSUANCE DATE: October 17, 2023

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 1, 2023, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Africa Recruitment Team, BHA.AfricaRecruitment@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE: Humanitarian Program Officer/Senior Humanitarian Program Officer (HPO/SHPO)

6. MARKET VALUE: $71,099- $92,429 equivalent to GS-12 (not eligible for Locality Pay)

Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value and will include Locality Pay for
domestic USPSCs based on the location of the Official USAID Worksite, or the approved alternative
worksite if approved for remote work. USPSCs performing overseas are not entitled to Locality Pay.

The initial grade level of this position will be the equivalent of a GS-12 with the opportunity for
advancement to the GS-13 equivalent after at least two years at the GS-12 level, if the individual
receives a recommendation from the supervisor for advancement along with an Exceeds Fully
Successful performance evaluation. Advancement to the GS-13 level is not guaranteed.

Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Juba, South Sudan

There may be an initial training program in Washington, D.C. for three months, which will include
formal classroom training and on-the-job training; and may include security training. After completion
of initial training, the Humanitarian Program Officer/Senior Humanitarian Program Officer
(HPO/SHPO) will be assigned to the place of performance.

Overseas USPSCs may be authorized to telework or remote work only from a location within the
country of performance, in accordance with Mission policy. Telework or remote work from outside
the country of performance may only be authorized in certain situations in accordance with the terms
and conditions of the contract.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years, tentatively 145 day estimated start date from closing

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens Only

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret
If there is a change in circumstances requiring access to National Security information classified at the
Top-Secret level, the offeror may be asked to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive
Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

GENERAL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OF THE CONTRACT

The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive
workplace with a diverse workforce. BHA encourages qualified candidates of all races/ethnicities,
genders, cultural backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses to apply.

The Office of Africa (OA) designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance, including assistance
related to responding to, recovering from, and reducing the risk of human-induced and natural disasters,
while linking with other USAID investments that build resilience. OA consists of five (5) geographic
divisions: East Africa; Central Africa; Sudans; West Africa; and Southern Africa. These divisions are
responsible for the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance through grants and cooperative
agreements to non-governmental organizations (NGOs); international organizations (IOs) including
United Nations (UN) agencies; and to other partners. These divisions also oversee OA’s nonresponse
efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience, and humanitarian transition. To fulfill its mandate, and
to effectively respond to disasters worldwide, BHA has established six regional offices in the following
locations: San Jose, Costa Rica; Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal; Pretoria, South Africa; Budapest, Hungary
and Bangkok, Thailand. BHA also has other, smaller sub-regional and program offices around the world.

BHA requires the services of a Humanitarian Program Officer/ Senior Humanitarian Program Officer
(HPO/SHPO) to support the USAID/South Sudan Mission Office of Humanitarian Assistance (OHA) in the
management of emergency humanitarian, resilience, or DRR activities.

STATEMENT OF DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED

Working under the guidance and supervision of the Team Leader or delegate, the HPO/SHPO supports
the BHA Sudans, East, and Central Africa Regional Office (SECARO) through the management of
humanitarian, resilience, and DRR activities in South Sudan, assisting with program analysis, strategy
development, and coordination with partners in the humanitarian community. The HPO/SHPO will work
closely with a program team that may include field-based Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Senior
Humanitarian Program Officers, Program Management Specialists, and others depending on the work
assigned. This position also requires effective coordination with representatives from other USAID
offices, Embassy staff, and the humanitarian community, and therefore requires a highly collaborative
work style.

Specifically, the HPO/SHPO will be responsible for the following:

At the GS-12 Equivalent:

Contextual Specialty:
● Develop an understanding of the need for humanitarian assistance in South Sudan and monitor
political, social, economic, and operational issues and changes impacting humanitarian efforts.
● Develop, maintain, and contribute to knowledge of U.S. Government (USG) foreign policy
priorities in South Sudan and USAID’s humanitarian and development strategies and objectives,
including priority sectors, geographic areas of focus, and key humanitarian stakeholders.
● Provide and contribute to regular reporting, through cables and other means on issues related to
the humanitarian situations in South Sudan.
● Provide and contribute to regular reports on site visits, meetings, relevant current events, and
contextual updates that impact humanitarian relief efforts.

Portfolio Management:
● Support OHA team members in assessing emergency response needs in South Sudan.
● Work with BHA’s Washington-based South Sudan Team and OHA to develop program strategies
and annual budget plans for emergency response activities in South Sudan.
● Participate in the review and finalization of funding proposals.
● Oversee day-to-day management of the portfolio and its budgets, and ensure that BHA’s
programs are appropriately responsive.
● Engage proactively to set priorities for OHA’s third party monitoring partner and review findings.
● Provide field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives to assist Washington-based
Agreement Officer’s Representatives (AORs) in managing and monitoring humanitarian, early
recovery, risk reduction, and resilience awards.
● Travel, as permitted, to assess, evaluate, and monitor humanitarian conditions in South Sudan.
● Provide guidance to activity managers and implementing partners (IPs) on USAID regulations and
policies.
● Assist in humanitarian award management and response activities outside of immediate areas of
responsibility, as needed.

Representation:
● Attend meetings on behalf of the BHA Country Team, USAID, or U.S. Embassy, record, contribute
to, or review meeting notes, and report back to stakeholders on relevant issues and updates.
● Coordination with the donor community on policy issues affecting humanitarian operations, and
developing integrated, non-duplicative programs, as needed.
● Engage in and report on joint donor humanitarian evaluations and UN-led assessments, and
participate actively in the international community response structures.
● Prepare briefings, briefing papers, notes, and presentations on BHA programming for USAID and
Embassy/South Sudan leadership and USG stakeholders interested in humanitarian issues. Assist
with communications (press, social media, high-level visits), as requested.
● Represent BHA to various stakeholders and audiences, as requested.

Leadership:
● Participate in office-wide discussions on initiatives that impact program implementation to
provide field-based perspectives, as assigned.
● Consistently model behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to fostering a non-hostile work
environment free of discrimination, bias, unfairness, exclusion, offensive behaviors, and
harassment of any kind.

General Duties:
● Become certified and serve as an AOR/Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), as assigned.
The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the
agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for
approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e., work plans, annual reports, month status reports),
travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for
drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in Contract Performance
Assessment Review System (CPARS). They prepare and review contract/assistance modifications
documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the FAR, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter.

● May be requested to be on-call/sign up for and serve on Washington-based Response
Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to Disaster Assistance Response
Teams (DARTs) deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary.
● May serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an
extended period of time. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits, there
may be some additional physical exertion including long periods of standing, walking over rough
terrain, or carrying of moderately heavy items (less than 50 pounds). Work is primarily
performed in an office setting. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits,
the work may additionally involve special safety and/or security precautions, wearing of
protective equipment, and exposure to severe weather conditions.

At the GS-13 Equivalent (If the PSC is promoted during contract performance): Duties will be expanded
to include the following functions in addition to those listed at the GS-12 level above.

Contextual Specialty:
● Develop and maintain an in-depth specialized understanding of humanitarian developments
across the country to include political, social, and operational issues impacting humanitarian
efforts. Participate in and contribute to OHA interface with the USG interagency at post, up to
and including briefing the Ambassador verbally and in writing, and providing updates on
breaking news and events.
● Develop and maintain knowledge and relationships with stakeholders in USAID/South Sudan
programming including OHA Chiefs of Party (COPs) and Deputy COPs (DCOPs), program
managers, country representatives of OHA’s UN partner agencies (World Food Program,
International Organization for Migration, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Food and
Agriculture Organization, and the Integrated Office’s Risk Management Unit) and NGO partners,
and like-minded donors.
● Develop and maintain advanced knowledge of USAID and USG humanitarian priorities and
strategies within the country and the region, and BHA’s contributions and comparative
advantages to those efforts. Maintain and employ knowledge of priorities and strategies of other
key donors in the humanitarian sector.

Portfolio Management:
● Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of BHA’s program strategy and the
implementation of the resulting awards in South Sudan. Contribute to and guide strategic and
programmatic adaptations of OHA activities.
● Recommend planning, training, technical support, and targeting to improve the capacity of OHA
Activity Managers, partners, and third-party monitoring to monitor, assess, and evaluate
humanitarian conditions and OHA activities in South Sudan.
● Mentor OHA Activity Manages to provide appropriate guidance to IPs on USAID regulations and
policies, with particular focus on compliance with the terms of grant agreements, and protection
from sexual exploitation and abuse and protection policies.

Representation:

● Support OHA in maintaining relations with USAID/South Sudan senior leadership, technical and
support offices, relevant Embassy officers, and the humanitarian community through regular
coordination and collaboration.
● Represent OHA, USAID/South Sudan and the Embassy before various audiences, including sector
clusters, IPs, donors and coordination meetings, as requested.

Leadership:
● In close coordination with program team members in Juba, South Sudan, and Washington, DC,
work with and provide guidance to NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies that are developing proposals
for BHA (including grant amendments and extensions) to ensure compliance with BHA’s
guidelines.
● Serve as a peer mentor to team members on grants and portfolio management, to include BHA’s
business process, portfolio-specific budget and workload management, and post-award
monitoring and management.
● Lead activity managers in the review of concept papers and management of activities to improve
the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of OHA programming.
● The HPO/SHPO does not have supervisory responsibilities; however, the PSC may serve in an
acting leadership role within the bureau in order to meet short-term staffing needs, not to
exceed 120 days in a 12-month contract year.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The USPSC will take direction from and will report to the Team Leader or their designee in Juba, South
Sudan.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
At the GS-12 Equivalent:
The supervisor sets overall objectives and resources available and works with the USPSC to develop
deadlines, work to be done; the USPSC is responsible for planning and carrying out assignments,
coordinating with others and interpreting policy in terms of established objectives. May also determine
the approach to be taken and the methodology to be used, keeping supervisor informed of progress.

At the GS-13 Equivalent:
The supervisor sets overall objectives. USPSC and supervisor together develop deadlines, projects and
work to be done. The USPSC independently plans, designs, and carries out project, studies, and
programs. Completed work is reviewed only from an overall standpoint in terms of feasibility,
compatibility with other work, or effectiveness in meeting requirements, or expected results. Technical
problems are generally resolved without reference to supervisors.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the education and
experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)

At the GS-12 equivalent:
Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and at least five (5) years of work experience with a humanitarian or
development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting
programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of
cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance,
emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

OR

Master’s degree in any discipline and at least four (4) years of work experience with a humanitarian or
development focus. This experience must include responsibility in determining budget levels, selecting
programs for funding, or managing or evaluating programs. Experience must include one (1) year of
cumulative international field experience in at least one of the following: humanitarian assistance,
emergency management, relief, DRR, post-emergency rehabilitation, recovery, or resilience.

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.

The technical evaluation committee may conduct reference checks, including references from individuals
who have not been specifically identified by the offeror, and may do so before or after a candidate is
interviewed.

SELECTION FACTORS
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the selection factors are
considered NOT qualified for the position.)
● Offeror is a U.S. Citizen.
● Complete resume submitted. See section IV for resume requirements. Experience that cannot be
quantified will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
● USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form
must be physically signed. Electronic signatures may be accepted.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance. If there is a change in circumstances requiring
access to National Security information classified at the Top-Secret level, the offeror may be
asked to obtain and maintain up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level
clearance as provided by USAID.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Department of State medical clearance throughout the life of
the contract.
● Must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
● Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.

OFFEROR RATING SYSTEM
The offeror rating system factors are used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in
comparison to other offerors. Offerors must demonstrate the rating factors outlined below within their
resume, as they are evaluated strictly by the information provided. The rating factors are as follows:

Matrix (30 points)

Program and Portfolio Management: (10 points)
● Experience managing budgets and selecting programs for funding. (2 points)
● Experience evaluating humanitarian, resilience, or development programs. (3 points)
● Experience monitoring programmatic awards relevant to humanitarian assistance. (2 points)
● Experience providing field-based insights, knowledge, perspectives or supporting knowledge
management systems related to humanitarian, development, or resilience programming. (3
points)

Teamwork: (10 points)
● Experience working with a diverse array of teams and organizations involved in any of the
following sectors: (humanitarian assistance, development, or resilience programming), among
the following groups:
o U.S. Government agencies (2 points)
o International organizations (3 points)
o Non-governmental organizations (3 points)
o Other governments (2 points)

Representation and Leadership: (5 points)
● Demonstrated ability to lead, facilitate meetings or represent team input at official functions. (3
points)
● Demonstrated sharing of program management expertise with team members, through
mentorship, training, or problem-solving support. (2 points)

Communication: (5 points)
● Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills by communicating topics to groups
across a range of meeting types and range of participants. (5 points)

Interview (40 points)

Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks (30 points)
Offerors must provide their references to BHA upon request no later than seven (7) days from initial
request. Failure to meet this requirement will lead to a score of zero (0) in this portion of the Offeror
Rating System.

Total Possible Points: 100

BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will
be further evaluated in accordance with the Offeror Rating System. Those offerors determined to be competitively ranked may also be evaluated on interview performance and satisfactory professional
reference checks.

Offerors are required to address each factor of the Offeror Rating System in their resume, describing
specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received as it
pertains to each factor. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each
additional page. Failure to address the selection factors and/or Offeror Rating System factors may result
in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards.

The most qualified offerors may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. BHA will not
pay for any expenses associated with the interviews.

Professional references and academic credentials will be evaluated for offerors being considered for
selection.

Note: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition
to the ones provided by an offeror. BHA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies
become available during the future phase of the selection process.

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER

1. Eligible Offerors are required to 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 Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.

4. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, 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. Failure to identify an academic discipline will result in disqualification. (d) U.S. Citizenship (e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (SAM.gov, BHA Jobs, Career Fair, etc.). Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information must be clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.

Additional documents submitted will not be accepted.