Personal Services - Senior Program Specialist for USAID/Mexico

ISSUANCE DATE: November 8, 2013 CLOSING DATE: November 22, 2013; 5:00pm Mexico City, Mexico Local Time Ladies and Gentlemen: Subject: SOL-523-14-000001 Personal Services - Senior Program Specialist for USAID/Mexico The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications from qualified individuals interested in providing personal services as described in the attached solicitation. Submissions must be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified. Interested applicants must submit: i. Her/His most current curriculum vitae or resume; ii. Signed form OF 612; unsigned forms will be rejected. iii. Three professional references with contact information, both email and telephone number. iv. A one-page written statement that addresses the Evaluation/Selection Criteria in the solicitation. The CV/resume must contain sufficient information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. The applicant's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. USAID/Mexico reserves the right to obtain from previous employers relevant information concerning the applicant's past performance and may consider such information in its evaluation. Any questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted to Molly Steinbauer at [email protected] Only Electronic submissions will be accepted. All application packages must be submitted via email to [email protected] . Please quote the number and position title in the subject line of your email application. USAID reserves the right to award the contract subject to availability of funds. This request in no way obligates USAID to award a contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of your application. We look forward to receiving and reviewing your applications. Sincerely, Molly Steinbauer Executive Officer, USAID/Mexico 1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: SOL-523-14-000001 2. ISSUANCE DATE: November 08, 2013 3. CLOSING DATE / TIME: November 22, 2013 5:00 pm , Mexico City, Mexico, Local Time 4. POSITION TITLE: Senior Program Specialist 5. MARKET VALUE: $99,628 - $129,517 per annum (GS-15 equivalent) 6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Six Months 7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Mexico City, Mexico 8. CLEARANCES: The final selected candidate must be able to obtain an Employment Authorization, for other than U.S. Citizens, and a Secret-level Security Clearance, for U.S. Citizens. The final selected candidate must be able to obtain a medical clearance. If such clearances are not obtained within a reasonable time or negative suitability issues are involved, any offer may be rescinded. 9. STATEMENT OF WORK/POSITION DESCRIPTION: A. OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND Working with Mexican public- and private-sector institutions, USAID supports the country's initiatives to improve citizen security and well-being. USAID programs support Mexican leadership in specific technical areas that are high priorities for both the United States and Mexican Governments, including: 1. Development and testing of models to mitigate the impact of community crime and violence; 2. Implementation of criminal justice constitutional reforms that protect citizens' rights; 3. Mexico's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and 4. Economic competitiveness to improve citizens' lives. Work in all four areas focuses on developing models and mechanisms to leverage public- and private-sector resources; increase individual and institutional capacity; and strengthen policy and legal frameworks that support reforms. B. BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION The USAID/Mexico Senior Program Specialist leads the Program Office. As such, he/she provides support for all aspects of programming and planning for the Mission's approximately $58 million annual operating year budget. The Senior Program Specialist directly oversees responsibilities and personnel related to strategic planning, budgeting, project design and approval, performance management, reporting, public outreach, and donor/partner coordination. The Program Office has a total of six personnel, comprised of one USDH / Development Leadership Initiative position and four FSN professionals. This position serves as the office director. C. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Senior Program Specialist's responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following: 1. Supervision and Coordination • Serves as a senior member of Mission staff with full responsibility for the management of the Program Office and provides expert program advice on all issues relating to the program cycle, including strategic planning, programming policy, project implementation, and performance management. • Supports Mission management to coordinate the USAID program with the U.S. Embassy. This includes coordinating budgeting and reporting requirements across the whole of government for all foreign assistance funding to Mexico. 2. Technical & Program Support • Provides major programmatic and planning input on all aspects of USAID decision-making in Mexico, with particular emphasis on overseeing program strategy development and coherence; project development; budgeting; host country, donor, and partner coordination; performance management; and, communications and outreach. • Manages annual budget totaling at least $58 million. Supervises the budget process and makes recommendations to management regarding budget allocations. Monitors pipelines and ensures that all appropriate program and budgeting documentation is completed on schedule. • Oversees other cross-cutting programs, including those related to the provision of monitoring and evaluation support to technical offices and implementing partner organizations and female empowerment and gender equality initiatives, and others. • Coordinates, drafts, and edits major Mission programming documents for Washington, including the Mission's Operational Plan, Mission Resource Request, Congressional Notifications, etc. • Manages overall project design process to ensure timely implementation of the Mission's strategy, including quality control of project appraisal documents and other pre-obligation requirements, ensuring that they conform to USAID procedures and policy, federal regulations, funds availability, and fiduciary best practices. • Oversees performance management practices in the Mission, including maintenance of the performance management plan and evaluation schedule. • Supervises public outreach and communications initiatives. D. POSITION ELEMENTS 1. Guidelines/Exercise of Judgment: The Senior Program Specialist will report to the USAID/Mexico Deputy Mission Director. Under broad USAID/Mexico Mission guidance, work is performed with a high degree of independence and is reviewed only for adherence to administrative policy of the Agency and for assurance that the broad, technical objectives have been fulfilled. The incumbent will keep the Mission informed of progress/and problems/issues; his/her recommendations are considered authoritative and are not reviewed technically. 2. Supervision Exercised: The incumbent will provide technical guidance, professional mentoring, and supervision to USAID/Mexico Program Office employees. 3. Complexity/Authority to Make Commitments: As a personal services contract position, the incumbent cannot make financial commitments on behalf of the U.S. Government. E. EVALUATION/SELECTION CRITERIA: Applicants meeting the required qualifications for the position will be evaluated based on the evaluation/selection criteria information presented in the application and obtained through reference checks. USAID reserves the right to conduct telephone interviews with the most highly ranked applicants and make the interview a deciding factor in selection. 1) Education-5% Minimum of a Master's degree is required in a relevant field. Relevant fields include, but are not limited to: international relations, international development, public administration, economics, and technical area studies. 2) Experience -45% The candidate must have at least 10 years of relevant experience and a minimum of five years working within a developing country. Relevant experience is defined as work related to program coordination, high level interaction with a range of development stakeholders, strategic planning, project design, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and public outreach and communications. The candidate must also have demonstrated experience in all of the following areas: • Effectively leading and working within multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural teams. • Interacting with high level contacts, including at the highest levels of government, including ambassadors, ministers, and heads of donor agencies. • Coordinating development issues internally within an organization, across the U.S. Government, and among other donors and implementing partners. • Extensive writing and editing experience, including preparation of program and budget documents, briefing materials, talking points, etc. for a variety of audiences. Additionally, preference will be given to applicants who have the following experience: • Work experience with USAID and/or within a USAID Mission Program Office. • Geographical work experience within the Latin America Region and/or within Mexico. 3) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities- 40% The candidate must have a demonstrated capacity in all of the following knowledge, skills and abilities: • Strong project management skills and the ability to take initiative working with the direction of management; must be able to take ownership of projects and have creative problem solving skills. • Evidence of outstanding coordination and organizational skills, including budget management. • Evidence of broad understanding of issues related to international development. • Knowledge of current USAID regulations, policies and processes. • Familiarity with USAID's means of delivering assistance, especially in terms of the USAID program cycle. • Demonstrated ability to exercise sound, independent, professional judgment. • Excellent organizational, analytical and critical thinking skills. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate highly technical material into easy to understand narrative for a variety of audiences. • Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence relationships positively. • High levels of professionalism while working in a fast-paced environment. • Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and Internet applications, including Social Media. • Language Proficiency: The candidate must be fluent in spoken and written English. 4) Past Performance/Professional Reference Checks- 10% Applicants must provide three professional references with current contact information, including an email address and a telephone number. References will be asked to provide a general assessment of the applicant's suitability for the position. The applicant's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure submitted references are available to provide a written or verbal reference in a timely manner. Total Possible Points: 100 F. BENEFITS As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the benefits and allowances listed in this section. A contractor meeting the definition of a U.S. Resident Hire shall be subject to U.S. Federal Income Tax but shall not be eligible for any fringe benefits (except contributions to FICA, health insurance and life insurance) including differentials and allowances. 1) BENEFITS (if applicable) • FICA Contribution • Contribution to Life and Health Insurance • Pay Comparability Adjustment • Eligibility for Worker's Compensation • Annual & Sick Leave • Access to Embassy medical facilities, Commissary and pouch mail service as per post policy 2) ALLOWANCES (if applicable) • Temporary Lodging Allowance (section 120) • Living Quarters Allowance (section 130) • Post Allowance (section 220) • Supplemental Post Allowance (section230) • Post Differential (chapter 500) • Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (section 600) • Danger Pay (section 650) • Education Allowance (section 270) • Separate Maintenance Allowance (section 260) • Education Travel (section 280) **Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians in Foreign Areas) 3) FEDERAL TAXES • PSCs are not exempt from payment of Federal Income Tax under the foreign earned income exclusion. G. PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTING INFORMATION Can be found at www.USAID.gov H. APPLYING AND POINT OF CONTACT All applications should be submitted electronically before the closing date listed above to Gabriela Marin, Human Resources Assistant, USAID/Mexico, at the following email address: [email protected] I. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR INITIAL CONSIDERATION Interested candidates must submit: 1) Qualified individuals are required to submit a U.S. Government OF-612 which can be found at http://www.supremecourt.gov/jobs/forms/of612.pdf 2) Her/his most current curriculum vitae or resume 3) Three professional references 4) A one-page written statement that addresses the Evalaution/Selection Criteria in this solicitation. The CV/resume must contain sufficient information to evaluate the applicant in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. Broad general statements that are vague or lacking specificity will not be considered as effectively addressing particular selection criteria. * * * * SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS * * * *