USAID/Ukraine Solicitation for a Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth)

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72012121R18

2. ISSUANCE DATE: 07/02/2021

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: 08/02/2021 at 11:59 p.m. Kyiv Time

4. POSITION TITLE: Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth)

5. MARKET VALUE: Basic Annual rate (in U.S. Dollars): $32,180-41,841

In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and ADS 309, the Local Compensation Plan (in effect at the time) of the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine forms the basis of compensation. The LCP consists of the salary schedule, which includes salary rates, authorized fringe benefits, and other pertinent facets of compensation. Final basic compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated. This salary range is not inclusive of other benefits and allowances.

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Employment under any contract issued under this solicitation is of a continuing nature. Its duration is expected to be part of a series of sequential contracts; all contract clauses, provisions, and regulatory requirements concerning availability of funds and the specific duration of the contract shall apply. The initial CCNPSC contract will be for five years, with the possibility of renewing. The renewal may be exercised based upon satisfactory contractor performance, mutual agreement between the Contractor and USG, continued Mission requirements and the continued availability of funds.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Kyiv, Ukraine

8. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Foreign Service National Security Certification

9. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Project Management Specialist (“the Specialist”) position is in the Mission’s Office of Economic Growth (OEG). OEG manages a large and dynamic portfolio of projects that work to promote economic growth through reducing corruption, strengthening Ukrainian corporate governance, contributing to the economic recovery of Ukraine’s war-torn eastern region, supporting the financial sector, strengthening competitiveness, enhancing agricultural market systems, and advancing energy reform. The principal role of the Specialist is to design and manage OEG’s foreign assistance activities in the areas of energy and/or corporate governance of state-owned enterprises. As a Specialist, the incumbent will serve as the Contracting or Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR/COR) on one or more OEG activities and will serve as the alternate AOR/COR for one or more activities. The Specialist will join the team that manages a dynamic and constantly evolving portfolio that covers overlapping topics including energy sector reform, state-owned enterprise reform, and climate change. The Specialist will be expected to work across all those sectors, as determined by his/her Supervisor. USAID portfolio project management duties include technical direction, stakeholder coordination, budget monitoring, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, communications, and event planning.

The Specialist assists with all aspects of the Mission’s energy and state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform portfolios. S/he provides advice and high-quality service to support OEG in planning, implementing, managing, and monitoring the Mission’s energy and corporate governance portfolios, especially with energy and SOE reform initiatives. The incumbent will independently undertake necessary research in support of the OEG portfolio, organize and maintain databases, files, and other information repositories; and maintain and develop reports, documentation and other tasks as they arise. Lastly, the incumbent shall be expected to liaise with interlocutors, including other donors and multilateral institutions, on behalf of the Mission. Intermittent travel outside of Kyiv to monitor projects and occasional travel internationally will be required- total travel approximately 10% of time pending full resumption of USAID operations post-COVID.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Activity Management/COR/AOR Duties: The Specialist’s primary responsibility is to both manage, and assist in the management of, Office of Economics’ (OEG) technical assistance activities. Activity management (or COR/AOR) duties may include:      

• serving as the contracting/agreement officer’s representative (COR/AOR; i.e. the lead project manager) for OEG activities;
• serving as the alternate COR/AOR (i.e. a backup project manager) for other OEG activities;
• providing USAID and its implementing partners with technical direction in order to make programmatic decisions;
• reviewing of vouchers, sub-grants, annual implementation plans, performance monitoring plans, key personnel, and other issues requiring AOR/COR “substantial involvement;”
• conducting financial management tasks related to OEG activities, such as preparation of quarterly accruals and pipeline analyses;
• conducting site visits to monitor OEG projects, which may require travel outside of Kyiv, as well as regular meetings and correspondence with partners and program stakeholders;
• tracking partner performance against activity objectives and results;
• tracking partner reporting; ensuring complete reports are submitted on-time and reported results are consistent with the contract or agreement;
• maintaining AOR/COR award files and project files; and
• drafts or assists in drafting daily bullets; program briefs; program directory updates; portfolio reviews; operational plans; annual performance plan and reports; scene-setters; briefers for USAID and other USG officials; report-outs from meetings and events; and other reporting as required.

Planning & Procurement: Participate and/or leads in the assessment, design, award and modification of activities, projects and strategies. Is responsible for drafting polished assessments, concept papers, program descriptions, statements of work, modifications, Project Appraisal Documents, and other analytical and planning documents; drafts and circulates for approval pre-obligation documents; initiates GLAAS requisitions; coordinates with the Regional Contracting Office on new procurements and modifications; serves on and chairs Technical Evaluation Committees.

Strategic Planning and Coordination: Provides analysis and recommendations on energy or SOE reform issues and activities; tracks key political and reform developments to ensure USAID programs are designed and targeted to respond to needs, opportunities, and challenges; conducts research and analysis to support current and future programming; prepares briefing material; cultivates personal contacts; briefs USG stakeholders, including Mission management on updates in the sector.

Coordination, Representation, and Communication: Meets regularly with USG stakeholders, other donors, government counterparts, civil society organizations, implementing partners, and other stakeholders to share information and coordinate OEG programming; may be required to represent USAID in external meetings related to his/her portfolio.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP: The Specialists directly supervised by the Office Director or his/her designee.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: None.

10. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Open to All Interested CCN (Cooperating Country National) Candidates.

“Cooperating country” means the country in which the employing USAID Mission is located.

“Cooperating country national” (“CCN”) means an individual who is a cooperating country citizen or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country.

NOTE: ALL CCNs MUST HAVE THE REQUIRED WORK AND/OR RESIDENCY PERMITS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION. THE MISSION DOES NOT SPONSOR WORK PERMITS.

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

12. POINT OF CONTACT: Completed offers (including all required documents – see section IV below) must be submitted electronically to: [email protected]. When submitting an application, the solicitation number and the title of the position are to be mentioned in the subject line of the email.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Education: This position requires at least a university degree (B.A. or B.S.) with a degree such as engineering, economics, natural or physical sciences, international relations, business, or other related field.

Prior Work Experience: This position requires at least three years of progressively responsible experience in development assistance or program management, with demonstrated project management skills. Knowledge of Ukraine’s energy sector or state-owned enterprise governance is required.

Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) English ability for reading, speaking and writing is required; fluency (Level 4) in Ukrainian or Russian is also required for reading, speaking, and writing.

Only offerors clearly meeting the above minimum qualifications will be considered for further evaluation.

Foreign Service National Security Certification and Medical Clearances: The ability to obtain the required foreign national security certification and medical clearances for the position is considered a minimum qualification. See section V below.

The probationary period is three months.

III. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

Selection Process and Basis of Evaluation: Offerors who clearly meet the aforementioned minimum education and work experience qualification requirements may be further evaluated through review of the offeror’s submitted required documents (see section IV below) and ranked based on the below evaluation and selection factors. A competitive range may be established of the highest-ranked offerors, who may be further evaluated through technical/language tests, interviews, and reference checks to determine the most qualified/highest-ranked offeror. Reference checks may be conducted with individuals not provided by the offeror, and without prior notification to the offeror. Any offeror not receiving satisfactory reference checks will no longer be considered for the position. Negotiations may be conducted with the most qualified/ highest-ranked offeror at the conclusion of evaluations.                             

10 points – Education: This position requires at least a university degree (B.A. or B.S.) with a degree such as engineering, economics, natural or physical sciences, international relations, business, or other related field.  Additional education in the aforementioned areas is desired.

20 points – Experience: This position requires at least three years of progressively responsible experience in development assistance or program management, with demonstrated project management skills. Knowledge of Ukraine’s energy sector or state-owned enterprise governance is required. Additional experience in the aforementioned areas is desired.

30 points – Knowledge: Knowledge of project management principles as well as Ukraine’s current political, economic, social and cultural environment is also essential. Strong technical knowledge of the SECTOR sector is needed to succeed in the role. Furthermore, a good working knowledge of the institutions, government actors, non-government organizations, and private sector actors whose engagement is necessary to successfully implement SECTOR reforms in Ukraine is essential. Advanced knowledge in one or more of the aforementioned areas is desired.

40 points – Skills and Abilities:

The following skills and abilities are essential for this position:  

• Strong program management skills and familiarity with program management fundamentals like budget, monitoring, strategic planning, communications,
• excellent listening, writing and verbal communication skills – including presentation skills;
• strong learning agility and the ability to effectively adapt to new or changing situations;
• strong organizational and time management skills;
• strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish and maintain contacts with counterparts, other donor agencies, and international organizations;
• teamwork skills, including the ability to work collaboratively in a multicultural, team-based environment under tight deadlines;
• ability to recognize significant developments and trends in the energy or SOE reform sectors and identify potential impact on program implementation;
• demonstrated ability to handle sensitive issues with professionalism, tact and diplomacy, including matters that require resolving disagreements or potentially divisive issues;
• ability to analyze and synthesize complex data;
• good working knowledge of the use of MS Office suite, Gmail, and Google suite is desirable.

Advanced skills/abilities in one or more of the aforementioned areas are desired.

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 100 points

IV. PRESENTING AN OFFER/APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION

1. Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit through email all the below documents in English in order to be considered for the position.

a. Completed DS-174 (application for Employment as Locally Employed Staff) which can be retrieved here: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds174.pdf

Offerors must thoroughly complete the DS-174 form in English and are advised to include all of their current and previous work experience related to this position. Offerors may use continuation pages to further explain their relevant work experience, if needed.

An Internal Offeror’s experience acquired before/after joining the U.S. Government should correspond to the information provided in the Official Personnel Folder (OPF). Any discrepancy found between the current application form (DS-174) and the information provided in the OPF related to the offeror’s qualifications could make the offeror ineligible for the position.

b. A cover letter of no more than 2 pages that demonstrates how the Offeror’s qualifications meet the evaluation and selection factors in section III. Excess pages (beyond 2) will not be read or considered.

c. A CV or standard resume of no more than 4 pages.

Offerors who do not include all above required documents in their offer submission will not be considered for this position.

d. Names of three professional references, including at least one current/former supervisor, that have knowledge of the offeror’s ability to perform the duties set forth in the solicitation. This information may be included in the cover letter or resume/CV.

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, item 12 by email with appropriate attachments. Documents/offers received through links to Google Drive, Sky Drive, and/or any other private cloud computing database/websites will not be considered.

3. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors are to prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission.

NOTE:  Due to the high volume of applications received, we may only contact applicants who are being considered. Thank you for your understanding.

V. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES

Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful Offeror about being selected for a contract award, the HR unit will provide the successful Offeror instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms, needed to obtain medical and security/facility access.

1. Questionnaire for Employment Authorization (U.S. Embassy Kyiv form)
2. Authorization for Release of Information (U.S. Embassy Kyiv’s form)
3. Certificate of Criminal Records (obtained from the pertinent authorities)

Failure of the selected offeror to accurately complete and submit required documents in a timely manner may be grounds for the CO to rescind any conditional pre-contract salary offer letter and begin negotiations with the next most qualified/highest ranked offeror.

VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES

The local compensation plan (LCP) is the basis for all compensation payments to locally employed staff /CCNPSCs. The LCP consists of the salary schedule, which includes salary rates, authorized fringe benefits, and other pertinent facets of compensation such as health and life insurance, and retirement allowance. As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:

1. BENEFITS:

a) Health and Life Insurance coverage

b) Defined Contribution Fund 12%

2. ALLOWANCES (as applicable):

a) Meal Allowances: The annual amount is currently $853 for employees working on a full time basis.

b) Family Allowances: The mission provides a child allowance. Grants amounts are subject to change as determined by the Ukrainian State Budget Law.

Additional information may be provided to the selected offeror at time of salary offer.

VII. TAXES

Locally Employed Staff are responsible for paying local income taxes. The U.S. Mission does withhold year-end local income tax payments.

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

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN/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.

ITEM NO (A)	SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION) (B)	QUANTITY (C)	UNIT (D)	UNIT PRICE (E)	AMOUNT (F)
0001	Year 1 – Compensation and Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs) Award Type: Cost Product Service Code: R497 Accounting Info:	1 year	LOT	$ _TBD__	$_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor
1001	Year 2 – Compensation and Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs) Award Type: Cost Product Service Code: R497 Accounting Info:	1 year	LOT	$ _TBD__	$_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor
2001	Year 3 – Compensation and Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs) Award Type: Cost Product Service Code: R497 Accounting Info:	1 year	LOT	$ _TBD__	$_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor
3001	Year 4– Compensation and Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs) Award Type: Cost Product Service Code: R497 Accounting Info:	1 year	LOT	$ _TBD__	$_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor
4001	Year 5 – Compensation and Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs) Award Type: Cost Product Service Code: R497 Accounting Info:	1 year	LOT	$ _TBD__	$_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor

3. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins (AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available at https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs.

• AAPD 16-03 Expanded Incentive Awards for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals
• AAPD 06-08 AIDAR, Appendices D and J: Using the Optional Schedule to Incrementally Fund Contracts

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.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:  The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. Management may consider the following when determining successful candidacy: nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status.