Needed USPSC Information Officer

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720FDA20B00032
ISSUANCE DATE: March 13, 2020
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: June 4, 2020, 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) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), is seeking offers from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal services as an Information Officer (IO) for the Syria Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) under a United States Personal Services Contract (USPSC), as described in the solicitation.

Submittals must be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified. Offerors interested in applying for this position MUST submit the following materials:

1. 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.
(d) U.S. Citizenship
(e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (beta.SAM.gov, OFDA 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.

1. Supplemental document specifically addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) shown in the solicitation.
2. USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I. This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted. AID 309-2 is available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

NOTE REGARDING DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBERS AND THE SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

All USPSCs with a place of performance in the United States are required to have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to receiving an award. You will be disqualified if you either fail to comply with this requirement or if your name appears on the excluded parties list. The selectee will be provided with guidance regarding this registration.

NOTE: As of March 28, 2018, all new SAM.gov entity registrations will now require a signed notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number. Additional information on the format of the notarized letter and where to submit can be found via the below Federal Service Desk link:

https://www.fsd.gov/fsdgov/answer.dosysparm_kbid=d2e67885db0d5f00b3257d3…

Offerors can expect to receive a confirmation email when offer materials have been received. Offerors should retain for their records copies of all enclosures which accompany their offers. Your complete resume and the supplemental document addressing the QRFs must be emailed to:

OFDA Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
Website: www.OFDAjobs.net

Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to OFDA Recruitment Team via the information provided above.

Sincerely,

/s/

Renee Newton
Contracting Officer

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This position requires an individual who can reside in Amman, Jordan, as determined in consultation with the U.S. Embassy and the USAID Mission and subject to security and programmatic considerations. The selectee must be prepared to function effectively in a challenging and restrictive work environment and be willing to strictly adhere to U.S. Embassy security guidelines.

The IO compiles, drafts, and disseminates information about humanitarian conditions and USG humanitarian response activities for internal USG and external audiences. The IO will:

• Liaise with OFDA’s Regional and Washington, D.C. Offices, USAID Mission, the U.S. Embassy, the Department of Defense, and other USG personnel, as well as other donor government representatives and UN/Private Voluntary Organizations/NGOs/international organizations to present an inclusive and comprehensive picture of U.S. humanitarian response efforts for Syria in information products.
• Draft field-produced information products for Syria response teams in the region and the United States.
• Produce field notes, trip reports, meeting and call notes, updates, reporting cables, public reports, and other information products as needed.
• Manage data and produce or facilitate the production of a range of visual information products, such as maps, photos, tables, and charts.
• Assist in the preparation of agendas and briefings for official USG visitors.
• Obtain appropriate clearances for all information products produced.
• Attend humanitarian coordination and other meetings and collaborate closely with information counterparts from humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies and NGOs, to ensure that all relevant humanitarian information is obtained and incorporated into OFDA field products and provided to Washington, D.C.-based IOs in a timely manner.
• Participate in meetings with OFDA partners, humanitarian assessments, and site visits when possible in order to obtain information for field reports.
• Work closely with the Turkey-based IO on joint field products.
• Travel within and outside of Jordan on short notice for possibly extended periods of time; Travel to Washington, D.C. as needed for training or consultations with / rotations in OFDA’s Information Support Unit (ISU) or the Middle East Crisis Humanitarian Response Management Team.
• May serve, as needed, on non-Syria Washington, D.C.-based RMTs, which provide support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will be varied.
• May serve on non-Syria DARTs, which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time.
• As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the office to meet operational needs during staff shortages, not to exceed six months. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities as well as directly related to the scope of work provided.

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.)

Bachelor’s degree with significant study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, public health, disaster management, or a related field) plus three (3) years of progressively responsible experience working in producing written products under tight deadlines in a challenging, fast-paced environment. Demonstrated familiarity with the USG and three (3) months of overseas experience, and working knowledge of, and interest in, humanitarian issues.

OR

Master’s degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field (including, but not limited to, international relations, economics, public health, disaster management, or a related field) plus two (2) years of years of progressively demonstrated experience producing written products under tight deadlines in a challenging, fast-paced environment. Demonstrated familiarity with the USG and three (3) months overseas experience, and working knowledge of, and interest in, humanitarian issues.

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 cover page 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 will not be accepted.
• Supplemental document specifically addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) submitted.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
• Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.
• Must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
• Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.

QUALITY RANKING FACTORS (QRFs)
(Used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors. The factors are listed in priority order from highest to least. The evaluation of QRF responses will also take into consideration the quality of written responses. Aspects of written responses including, but not limited to typos, grammatical errors, spelling errors, and incomplete sentences will be factored into the evaluation process.)

QRF #1 In 350 words or less, compose a brief providing background on the humanitarian situation and response in Syria for a senior USG official traveling to the region. (Please include a word count at the end of the memo.)
QRF #2 Describe your experience drafting and editing information/reporting documents, including memos, briefing papers, meeting notes, talking points, and/or other correspondence. Please indicate whether these documents focused on humanitarian issues and/or were in a USG context.
QRF #3 Describe your demonstrated experience coordinating information management needs—including triangulating, compiling, and synthesizing information—among a range of stakeholders, such as the USG, foreign governments, UN agencies, international organizations, and NGOs.
QRF #4 Describe your relevant international experience, including field experience. Based on the job description provided in the solicitation, how will your experience help you to succeed as an IO?
QRF #5 Describe your demonstrated experience working under tight deadlines with multiple competing priorities. What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them?

BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated based on scoring of the QRF responses. 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 of the QRFs in a separate document describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, and/or education 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 Quality Ranking Factors may result in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, and/or training.

The most qualified offerors may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. OFDA 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. OFDA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies become available during future phase of the selection process.

The Offeror Rating System is as Follows:
QRFs have been assigned the following points:
QRF #1 – 11 points
QRF #2 – 8 points
QRF #3 – 8 points
QRF #4 – 8 points
QRF #5 – 5 points

Interview Performance – 30 points
Timed Writing Test – 20 points
Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks – 10 points

Total Possible Points: 100