USAID/Ukraine Solicitation for an Acquisition and Assistance Assistant (Host Country National only)

Overview

Provide A&A support to the RCO staff and manage procurement documentation.

You have:

• At a minimum two (2) years of College or University studies in business administration, public administration, or a field related is required.
• A minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible administrative support experience is required. Out of this at least one year of experience in an international organization is required.
• Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) speaking/reading and writing English and fluency in Ukrainian are required.

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

Solicitation No.: 720-121-23-R-10021

Position Title: Acquisition and Assistance Assistant

Issuance date: June 20, 2023

Closing date and time: July 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Kyiv Time

Work hours: 40 hours (Full time)

Position Grade: FSN-09

Market Value: Basic Annual Rate (in U.S. Dollars): $28,376-36,890 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 (5) years contract with the possibility of extension

Security Level Required: Facility Access

STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) position is located in the Regional Contracting Office (RCO), at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Ukraine (USAID/Ukraine).

The RCO is a regional support office that plans, solicits, evaluates, negotiates, executes and administrates a procurement portfolio of grants and contracts. The A&A Assistant provides a full range of A&A and administrative support to the RCO Office Director, RCO Contracting Officer/s (COs) and other RCO staff. A&A support duties are the majority of the incumbent’s responsibilities. The incumbent also provides administrative support to RCO. The incumbent provides support in the following areas: administrative assistance to the RCO team, A&A awards administration, including administrative or incremental funding A&A actions, award and closeout tracking and reporting, A&A planning for the region, contractors’ past performance reports, and A&A documentation and filing compliance.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Acquisition and Assistance Support: 80%

Responsible for providing A&A support to the RCO staff and the regional portfolio. The activities that the incumbent supports are implemented through complex U.S. Government (USG) contracting and grant mechanisms requiring the incumbent to become familiar with federal regulations and procurement policies, as well as the full range of USAID’s A&A terminology, instruments, guidelines and approaches. It also requires the incumbent to understand USAID procedures that guide the solicitation, negotiation, execution, administration and closeout of these complex instruments.

a) Contractor Performance Information System (CPARS): The incumbent is responsible for tracking and managing CPARS for acquisition mechanisms executed and administered by RCO. The incumbent serves as Mission Focal Point for (CPARS). The Focal Point is a formal function under CPARS and is designated by the CPARS Federal custodian after appropriate training. The Focal Point is responsible for the collection, distribution, and control of contractors’ performance reports. The incumbent coordinates CPARS access (create User IDs/passwords) for all Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) in the Mission and contractor points of contact for all contracts/task orders awarded by the Mission, properly register new contracts/orders in the system, and track all interim and final performance reviews to ensure they are initiated and completed within required timeframes. The incumbent is responsible for tracking and indicating to A&A Specialists and the Contracting Officer when CPARs are due, including disseminating information regarding the regional status of all CPARS to Mission management in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The incumbent coordinates with the Agency Focal Point and the Federal Focal Point as necessary to resolve issues and provide status.

b) Agency Secure Image and Storage Tracking System (ASIST): The incumbent is responsible for RCO’s compliance with Agency required A&A documentation and filing. Electronic filing is completed (ASIST) in accordance with Agency policy. The incumbent files pre award and post award files, including critical files such as modification and approval documentation in ASIST after an award/modification/approval is executed.

c) Filing: The incumbent is responsible for maintaining RCO’s official filing system. As the official records custodian for RCO, the incumbent assists in streamlining RCO’s transition to electronic files and folders (in the Mission’s shared drive) to ensure a logical, current and consistent storage of official procurement data for the office. The incumbent is also responsible for conducting the annual file inventory and review.

d) Tracking: The incumbent maintains, improves and streamlines RCO’s tracking systems. This includes various A&A databases, spreadsheets and documents that are required by RCO management for reporting purposes. The incumbent also maintains the list of RCO’s Contracting/Agreement Officer‘s Representatives (COR/AORs) and support documentation regarding their official certification.

e) Planning: The incumbent is responsible for RCO’s procurement planning for USAID/Ukraine and Belarus and USAID/Moldova in accordance with Agency policy. The incumbent is responsible for working with all offices in the region, and the A&A Specialists, to develop procurement plans for the fiscal year - information that is required to be entered into the Agency’s planning system, the A&A Plan, in accordance with Agency policy. The incumbent is responsible for tracking any changes to planned procurements in the region and maintaining accurate information in the system throughout the fiscal year. The incumbent is the regional focal point for the A&A Plan system and liaise with USAID/Washington colleagues to resolve any technical or system issues, report on the current status of the A&A Plan for the region, and support the A&A Specialists, CO/s and the Office Director in responding to data calls and questions regarding the Agency Business Forecast of upcoming procurements, as necessary. The incumbent is also responsible for developing any ad hoc informational reports that the A&A Specialists, the CO/s and/or the Office Director may need related to the region’s procurement plans.

f) Distribution: The incumbent is responsible for distributing new awards, administrative approvals, and modifications to existing awards to designated points of contact at RCO and other offices within USAID/Ukraine and Belarus and/or USAID/Moldova, as appropriate.

g) Procurement support and actions: The incumbent assists the A&A Specialists, CO/s, and Office Director in their negotiation, preparation and execution of procurement actions. The incumbent supports A&A Specialists with the production of complex and detailed documentation to support a wide range of procurement actions and approvals. The incumbent also drafts important procurement approval letters and other official determinations. The incumbent supports the CO/s and the A&A Specialist in the due diligence and responsibility determination of potential contractors and recipients, including, but not limited to, requesting key personnel references, organizational past performance and references, researching audit and other accounting statements, checking special designated lists, etc.

h) Global Acquisition and Assistance System (GLAAS: The incumbent processes A&A actions in (GLAAS) to support the procurement actions listed above, and to support the A&A Specialists and the Contracting Officer/s in RCO as necessary.

Administrative Support: 20%

The incumbent is responsible for supporting RCO in fulfilling administrative duties to ensure the effective operation of the office.

a) The incumbent works closely and collaboratively with the Office Director and RCO staff in planning, establishing priorities, organizing, and carrying out administrative support functions within the office.

b) The incumbent serves as timekeeper for RCO staff; collects, reviews, prepares and submits timesheets into the Time & Attendance system, WebTA, as well as paper timesheets for local staff, and keeps regular communication with the Office of Financial Management (OFM)

c) The incumbent manages official travel arrangements for the Office Director and RCO staff in coordination with the travel agency assistant and other concerned offices. Provides guidance to staff on the appropriate supporting reimbursement documentation, and ensures it is attached to travel reimbursements’ requests prior to submission to OFM.

d) The incumbent manages the coordination of meetings for the Office Director; liaises with other offices in obtaining necessary information for meetings. Attends scheduled meetings, prepares minutes for approval by the Office Director and/or their designee for distribution within the RCO. Serves as note-taker at selected meetings, formats notes appropriately to share with concerned staff and provides records for the files.

e) Serves as the point of contact for all official visitors/guests in the RCO, receives and screens visitors for the office, submits necessary access requests in advance, liaises with the Mission’s Executive Office (EXO) on coordinating visit, escorts visitors, and alerts meeting participants upon visitor’s arrival. Schedules all appointments tentatively, confirming and/or rescheduling as necessary.

f) The incumbent manages incoming mail correspondence for RCO such as official mail and memoranda. Receives and reviews all correspondence/documents that must pass through RCO prepared for other functional offices and/or units (such as requests for CO/AO approvals, memos, and letters). The incumbent drafts material consisting of memoranda, letter correspondence, forms, charts, presentation/training materials, and official transmittals in conformance with USAID policies and procedures. Tracks outgoing correspondence. Assists staff in reproduction of electronic materials such as materials for RCO-led training.

g) The incumbent manages the requisition of office supplies, repairs to office equipment, and printing services to ensure supplies are readily available and equipment fully operational. Maintains adequate stocks of office supplies; requisitions supplies and/or any services for RCO staff.

h) Manages, tracks and reports on various office functional databases, Excel sheets and documents; this includes but is not limited to: the electronic shared drive, various internet/cloud-based trackers, the RCO leave plan, RCO training plan, and RCO TDY plan.

i) Manages the logistics for RCO-led trainings, RCO events and meetings working closely with EXO/IT staff. Provides translation and interpretation services as necessary.

j) The incumbent fulfills ad-hoc data calls, reports and administrative duties as requested by the supervisor.

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: Supervision is received from the Office Director of RCO, or his/her designee. Technical guidance on A&A matters is also provided by A&A Specialists, but the Office Director will set the priorities and expectations. The incumbent, in consultation with the supervisor, develops specific objectives and priorities. The incumbent independently plans and carries out the work, selecting the approaches and techniques to be used, and informs the supervisor of progress and significant problems.

Supervisory Controls: The incumbent has no supervisory responsibilities.

Physical Demand: The work requested does not involve undue physical demand.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE:

Education: At a minimum two (2) years of College or University studies in business administration, public administration, or a field related is required.

Experience: A minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible administrative support experience is required. Out of this at least one year of experience in an international organization is required.

Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) speaking/reading and writing English and fluency in Ukrainian are required.

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: Very good working knowledge of administrative support services in order to ensure effective and efficient operations, preferably in the field of procurement; knowledge of office management principles, methods, and procedures to complete work assignments; basic knowledge of financial principles; knowledge of sorting/filing techniques and records retention policies and schedules to maintain accurate records; knowledge of database management (e.g. input, organize, track, and retrieve data); knowledge of general procurement regulations and procedures; knowledge of the office mission, goals, and objectives to carry out assignments; knowledge of laws and government regulations; knowledge of business processes in public or private sectors; basic understanding of project monitoring and management.

60 points – Skills and Abilities:

Professionalism: Able to perform a broad range of administrative, procurement and management functions under timelines while maintaining a calm and effective approach to solutions; achieve results with high quality of output; apply critical thinking skills to solve work-related problems within the scope of the major duties and responsibilities. Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; promotes two-way, collaborative communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve Agency, Mission and office goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; willing to exhibit patience and learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Multi-tasking and Organizing: Able to process information quickly and manage several tasks simultaneously; identifies priorities and assignments and adjusts priorities as required; allocates the appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; uses time efficiently.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions

Computer and software skills: Possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to efficiently and effectively operate computers and office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, e-mail, and internet/cloud-based applications. Able to learn and use Agency specific software related to the work areas listed above in an efficient and effective manner.

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: Acquisition and Assistance Assistant (****720-121-23-R-10021).

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:

• Only short-listed candidates will be notified.
• This vacancy is open to Ukrainian Nationals (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 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
• 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

ITEM NO

(A)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION)

(B)

QUANTITY

(C)

UNIT

(D)

UNIT PRICE

(E)

AMOUNT

(F)

0001

Base Period - Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)

- Award Type: Cost

- Product Service Code: R497

- Accounting Info: Agency/B Code: 797

1

LOT

$ TBD

$ TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor

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.

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.

File: USAID/Ukraine Solicitation for an Acquisition and Assistance Assistant

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: usaid.gov