Solicitations open to: Ukrainian Nationals (Residency/Ukrainian Work Permit)

Solicitation No.: 720-121-24-R-10002

Position Title: Development Program Specialist

Issuance date: February 09, 2024

Closing date and time: February 23, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Kyiv Time

Work hours: 40 hours (Full time)

Position Grade: FSN-10

Market Value: Basic Annual Rate (in U.S. Dollars): $32,180 – $41,841 In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID/Ukraine. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

Place of Performance: Kyiv, Ukraine

Period of Performance: Five-Year Period of Performance with possibility extension

Security Level Required: Facility Access

STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Program Management Specialist is located in the USAID/Ukraine Program Office and serves as a member of the Ukraine Program Office team that leads project and activity design. The Program Office provides overarching strategic guidance to the Mission and programmatic advice to the Mission Front Office and technical offices. The Program Office manages the Mission’s $2.5 billion portfolio and the $1.5 billion annual program account. The Program Office provides intellectual leadership and rigor in aligning USG policies and strategies through strategic planning, project design, program budget planning, monitoring, evaluations, reporting; donor coordination; Government of Ukraine relations; and public outreach for the Mission.

Reporting to the Deputy Program Office Director or his/her designee, the Project Development Specialist is responsible for supporting Program Cycle functions across all ongoing activities. The incumbent’s primary responsibilities include support to the Program Office and all technical teams in project development, which comprises strategic planning, project design, and underlying analyses, program administration and monitoring along the entire program cycle. The incumbent will also serve as the Program Office backstop to one of the Technical Offices.

The nature of the position requires that the incumbent be highly knowledgeable in the local development context, international and regional development principles and approaches as well as USAID’s design, gender, environmental compliance, implementation, procurement and program monitoring mechanisms and procedures, and budgetary processes. The position requires that the incumbent work independently with minimal direction. Travel will be expected approximately 15% of the time for site visits and designing projects.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

PROJECT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT/BACKSTOPPING (70%)

• Fosters mission-wide collaboration on project design and ensures Agency, regional, and national strategies are integrated into all project designs.
• Serves as a mission subject matter expert on project and activity design, development of logical and results frameworks, assessment preparations, and linkage with U.S. government strategies and initiatives.
• Work closely with Program Office colleagues and technical offices to develop, articulate and test development hypotheses.
• Updates design schedule(s) updated and provides weekly follow-up on design status.
• Schedules and provides logistics for design review meetings and related meetings; takes minutes and decisions discussed in those meetings.
• Assists Project Design Teams in drafting waivers, activity checklists, pre-obligation checklists, and other required pre-obligation/sub-obligation documents.
• Reviews design amendment packages, and ensures that required program documentation is accurate and submitted to the Program Office and other Mission offices in a timely manner.
• Files, and distributes activity and project design documents and follows up on unfinished project designs:
• Maintains the Program Office’s official approved activity and project design electronic filing, disseminating approved activity and project design documents to the extended teams, preparing the amendments and updates to be uploaded to the Agency’s community of practice (Programnet).
• Identifies and compiles data or analyses needed for the design effort.
• Supports the design and delivers in-house “brown bag” seminars and training sessions on topics related to project design; USAID Program Cycle; gender; and environmental compliance.
• Reviews and submits program documents to the Agency’s archives/depository, as required.
• Assists technical teams in drafting program descriptions or scopes of work, as requested.
• Expedites clearances and approvals throughout the design process.
• Supports the drafting of design and implementation mission orders and procedural documentation.
• Participates in Program Office activities on policy, strategic planning, project design, compliance, and special initiatives.
• Supports technical teams in ensuring that documentation complies with Agency policy, USG regulations, and any other relevant guidance.
• Maintains and updates a project backstopping file and generates related trackers, as needed.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE FILE MANAGEMENT (20%)

• Supports Mission Environmental Officer.
• Maintains environmental compliance electronic filing documents.
• Updates the environmental compliance status/schedule sheets/trackers.
• Follows up with technical teams on Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plans (EMMP).
• Reviews the Mission’s inputs and contributions on the Agency’s environmental compliance database for accuracy and consistency.
• Assists technical teams in drafting of the environmental compliance procedure manuals and tutorials.
• Serves as initial reviewer of Environmental Compliance documents to ensure consistency with agency requirements.

Social Inclusion (10%)

• Ensures social inclusion is incorporated into all designs in line with Agency best practices and other data/information from Mission wide and Donor analysis.
• Analyzes and extracts intersectionality of results achieved to enhance reporting on the status of vulnerable groups.
• Develops and maintains a log/tracking system of women/gender and social inclusion taskers.
• Research social inclusion issues, new publications and recent data, maintains statistics, and compiles social inclusion related contact lists.
• Supports technical teams to follow-up on implementing partners’ plans to support vulnerable groups.

The contractor is eligible for temporary duty (TDY) travel to the U.S., or to other Missions abroad, to participate in the “Foreign Service National” Fellowship Program, in accordance with USAID policy.

Supervisory Relationship: The incumbent works under the general supervision of the Program Office Director and direct supervision under the Deputy Director. The incumbent operates independently but consults closely as necessary with the supervisor or his/her designate. Assignments are made orally and in writing. Most assignments occur in the normal course of the work, but the incumbent is required to determine those that must be coordinated with the supervisor. The supervisor provides a review of the assignment, the goals and objectives to be achieved and the results expected. The incumbent will seek advice and assistance as required. Work is reviewed in terms of results achieved. S/he consults when critical or urgent decisions are required from the Front Office, USAID/Washington or the host country government.

Supervisory Controls: No supervision of other staff is anticipated.

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

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in international development, business administration, public administration, political science, gender studies, or other relevant subjects is required.

Prior Work Experience: A minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in international development, business management and administration, or a position that requires closely related skills, such as program design, strategic design, management, and related processes is required. Experience with a government or non-government organization, the private sector, or within an international or donor organization, is required.

Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) English ability for reading, speaking, and writing is required; native facility in Ukrainian (Level IV).

EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS:

The Government may award a contract without discussions with offerors in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. The Contracting Officer 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 Contracting Officer 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 Contracting Officer 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. The FAR provisions referenced above 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 Process and Basis of Evaluation: Offerors who meet the minimum education and work experience qualification requirements will be further evaluated through review of the offeror’s submitted required documents (see points below) and ranked based on the 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.

40 points – Knowledge: Knowledge of general development principles and approaches, the Ukrainian development environment, challenges and priorities is required. In-depth understanding of program design, planning, implementation, project management, and monitoring. Understanding of gender and environmental issues and how they influence development is required.

60 points – Skills and Abilities: Good judgment and strong communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to interpret project design policies and guidance and follow procedures accurately. Ability to work independently on multiple tasks and meet deadlines. Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and to proactively build consensus. The Specialist must be able to use detailed information to plan, design and execute activities in a fast-paced and unpredictable environment. S/he must also support other Program Office staff and Technical Teams to ensure that design activities are completed in a timely manner and comply with agency standards and guidelines. The incumbent must use judgment in planning and designing complex programs, guiding internal technical teams, and liaising with external government counterparts in undertaking the design of USAID/Mission funded programs and activities. The ability to semi-independently oversee all aspects of his/her design portfolio is a must. An ability to deal effectively with office counterparts, technical teams and mid-level representatives of the US, local, and host governments throughout the country is required. Demonstrated analytical, negotiating, and time management skills, along with strong proofreading skills and attention to detail, are required. The ability to work calmly, tactfully, and effectively under pressure is essential, as well as the ability to maintain strict confidentiality, and meet all standards of conduct and ethics standards are required. Good research and analytical skills. Excellent MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint skills and/or equivalent google applications. Creativity and resourcefulness required to support teams’ timely completion of project design process and deliverables.

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 100 points

HOW TO APPLY:

Eligible Offerors are requested to submit a complete application package which must include all the required documents in English electronically to [email protected] with Subject line: Development Program Specialist (720-121-24-R-10002).

ANY/ALL application submissions received after the closing date will not be considered.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

1. Cover Letter: A memo or email that outlines how your qualifications and experience meet the selection criteria.
2. Application for Employment (DS-174): The form can be downloaded from this link 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. AND;

3. Current Resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV): The CV/resume must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the applications in accordance with the stated technical evaluation criteria, listed above.

IMPORTANT:

IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR APPLICATION CONSIDERED, YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL THREE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. IF YOU OMIT ANY OF THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS, COVER PAGE, CV or DS-174 FORM, YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Note:

• This vacancy is open to Ukrainian Nationals (Residency/Ukrainian Work Permit Required).
• Applications with insufficient, incomplete and inconsistent information to make a determination will not be considered.
• No in-person appointments or telephone calls will be entertained.
• Offerers who are applying for this position must fully meet the education requirement (graduated and degree and/or diploma already received) as specified. At the time of applications, candidates must also meet in full the experience requirement.
• Short-listed candidates will be requested to provide educational documents such as degrees, diplomas, certificates and other pertinent documents (passport, proof of residency or work permit) as needed. Failure to provide the required documentation will result in the rejection of their application from further consideration.
• The Agency retains the full right to cancel or amend the solicitation and associated actions at any time.

BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES:

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a CCN PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances in accordance to the Mission Policy:

BENEFITS

• Health and Life Insurance coverage: Provided under the Compensation Plan.
• Defined Contribution Plan: Upon separation, a lump sum benefit equal to 12% of the basic salary earned for the duration worked under the appointment.

ALLOWANCES (as applicable)

• Meal Allowances: The annual amount is $853 for employees working on a full-time basis.
• Family Allowances: The mission provides a child allowance. Grants amounts are subject to change as determined by the Ukrainian State Budget Law.
• Unique Conditions of Work Allowances/ Benefits: 10% of Basic Rate Additional information may be provided to the selected offeror at the time of the salary offer.

TAXES:

Taxes apply and are deductible as per the Ukrainian government regulations.

USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs:

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN and TCN PSC awards are available at these sources:

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/ads/policy/300/aidar

Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms.

Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below:

LINE ITEMS

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

USAID Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directives (AAPD-20-08): Leave and Holidays for CCNs and TCNs, available at https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs/aapd-20-08

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

PSC Ombudsman:

The PSC Ombudsman serves as a resource for any Personal Services Contractor who has entered into a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and is available to provide clarity on their specific contract with the agency. Please visit our page for additional information: https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman.

FAR Provisions Incorporated by Reference

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO):

The U.S. Mission in Ukraine provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender status), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, religion, marital or parental status, veteran status, membership in an employee organization, political affiliation, or involvement in protected equal employment opportunity (EEO) activity. USAID/Ukraine also strives to achieve equal employment opportunities in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.

The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation. Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.