72048623R10001 - GDO Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth), FSN-11

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72048623R10001

2. ISSUANCE DATE: October 28, 2022    

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 27, 2022/11:59PM Bangkok, Thailand local time

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Duanghatai Sirinuntasakul/ Human Resources Assistant,
   e-mail: RDMArecruitment@usaid.gov

5. POSITION TITLE:  GDO Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth), FSN-11

6. MARKET VALUE: THB 1,340,075 – 2,345,127 per annum equivalent to FSN-11 in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID/RDMA. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:  Five (5) years initial contract. The services provided under this contract are expected to be of a continuing nature that will be executed by USAID through a series of sequential contracts, subject to continued need of the position and availability of funds.

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The United States Agency for International Development/Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA), Bangkok, Thailand with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: This position is opened to Cooperating Country National (CCN). Thai citizen or other country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent Thai residence is eligible to apply. Please note that USAID is not able to sponsor offerors for a Thai residency permit.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED:  The successful candidate shall be required to obtain a Security Certification for Employment from Regional Security Office.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES

    11.1General Statement of Purpose of the Contract
    The Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth) is located in the General Development Office (GDO) as part of the economic growth team in the United States Agency for International Development/Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA). The Specialist serves as a client service provider for USAID client missions in economic growth-related analyses, digital ecosystem development, project design, procurement, and other relevant advisory services. The incumbent also provides expert advice to RDMA and client missions on the use of digital technologies to achieve development goals; this includes support across the program cycle, defining when and how to introduce digital technologies at the design stage, to how to manage the responsible use of digital tools, to measuring, evaluating, and learning. S/he leads the design and implementation of GDO’s work related to the Regional Development Objective 2, “Regional Connectivity Strengthened” of USAID/RDMA’s Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS.) The USAID Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth) serves as a senior technical advisor on all economic growth-related technical areas including enterprise development, competitiveness, trade, digital development, and private sector engagement to USAID/RDMA and its client missions.

    The incumbent may serve as a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) and serves as an Activity Manager for activities within USAID/ RDMA’s economic growth portfolio in line with the implementation of the Indo Pacific Strategy, RDMA’s RDCS, the USAID Digital Strategy and USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Policy, and USAID’s Economic Growth Policy. The incumbent also serves as the USAID/RDMA mission’s private sector engagement (PSE) advisor and digital development advisor (DDA).

    11.2 Statement of Duties to be Performed

    A. TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICE PROVISION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT (45%)

• Serves as a client service provider for USAID client missions in economic growth-related analyses, project design, procurement, and other relevant advisory services.
• Serves as a senior technical advisor on all economic growth-related technical areas including enterprise development, competitiveness, trade, digital development, and private sector engagement to USAID/RDMA and its client missions.
• Tracks new and existing USG and USAID strategies developed in Washington and advises RDMA and client missions on how to effectively implement them.
• Tracks and articulates regional economic growth trends for RDMA strategic plans. Conducts economic growth assessments, policy analyses, and stakeholder mapping to inform the design and implementation of economic growth-related activities. This includes preparing and delivering expert-level presentations for both internal and external stakeholders when warranted.
• Provides advanced and highly specialized expert advice, guidance, and recommendations to client missions in support of their economic growth-related activities. This includes project design, monitoring and evaluation, procurement support, and ongoing technical advisory support. It also includes providing advice on digital tools for development (e.g., crowdsourcing platforms or mobile data collection tools).
• Engages regularly with colleagues in RDMA, USAID/Washington, the State Department, USAID bilateral missions, and other USG Agencies on a range of economic growth topics to ensure that USG priorities are being met and important relationships are maintained and strengthened. Represents RDMA on relevant technical issues and USAID’s digital development strategy in public fora with donors and private sector stakeholders.
• Develops and maintains relationships with private sector companies, multilateral and regional organizations, and donor countries to identify strategic opportunities for collaboration and partnership. Oversees the effective implementation of joint programming with partners.
• Serves as the lead foreign service national in the RDCS mid-course stocktaking for the economic connectivity development objective and associated intermediate results. Responsible for evaluating progress towards achieving this objective, analyzing the impact of activities, and providing well-founded recommendations for strategic shifts to help achieve the objectives and intermediate results. Expected to serve as the lead subject matter expert in identifying economic growth priorities and developing future strategies.
• Participates in and/or lead conferences, trainings, and other means of promoting, creating knowledge, and building capacity related to the responsible use of technology in Agency development and humanitarian assistance activities.
• Facilitates technical support between headquarters and the Mission to support the initiatives of the four-track implementation plan for the Digital Strategy (adopt ecosystem approach, help partners navigate risk and rewards, shift to digital by default, and build USAID of tomorrow)
• Convenes and participates in technical meetings, consultations and working groups with key stakeholders to address issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, digital payments, and digital inclusion, both internally and within the wider international development and technology communities.

  B. PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT (35%)
   

• Leads the development of strategic public private partnership initiatives and activities at RDMA. Explores, identifies, and advocates for opportunities to engage the private sector to strengthen RDMA’s programming across the energy and environment, public health, democracy and governance, and economic growth sectors in Southeast Asia.
• Develops and maintains relationships with the private sector across the region, including regional and international companies operating in the ASEAN region. Identifies potential partners, builds relationships with private sector counterparts, and connects private sector companies with relevant teams within USAID RDMA and client missions.
• Represents RDMA on our private sector engagement strategy in public fora with host country officials, other donors, and private sector stakeholders.
• Collaborates with Mission leadership, as well as technical and support office staff at RDMA and in client missions, all to integrate private sector engagement throughout the Program Cycle in line with USAID’s Private Sector Policy. Provides advisory support to client missions in the development of private sector action plans and policies.
• Develops and refines systems, processes, tools, and criteria to support monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts related to RDMA and client mission private sector engagement and digital development action plans.
• Coordinates and works closely with USAID’s Private Sector Engagement and Digital Development communities of practice to learn and share best practices about private sector engagement and digital development. Assists meetings in representation of RDMA, prepares presentations for USAID Washington DC and the relevant communities of practices, and shares insights from lessons learned at RDMA and client missions regarding partnering with the private sector and digital development.

  C. PROGRAM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT (30%)
   

• Leads and supports the design of economic growth-related activities, to include supply chain resiliency, digital ecosystem development, and responsible investment facilitation.
• Conducts literature reviews, stakeholder and beneficiary interviews, and consultations with bilateral missions to design economic growth-related activities.
• Supports and fosters collaboration with the implementing partners of economic-growth related activities to ensure the timely and effective implementation of activities; provides technical guidance as needed, oversees the financial management and monitoring and evaluation of the implementation.
• Serves as the Activity Manager for the Digital Asia Accelerator. Supports and fosters collaboration with the implementing partner to ensure the timeline and effective implementation of activities; provides technical guidance as needed and oversees the monitoring and evaluation of implementation.
• Coordinates with the COR in Washington D.C. for the monitoring of financial management of the activity, approval of sub-contracts and grants, and other technical support as needed.
• Serves as chair or member of RDMA or client mission technical evaluation committees (TEC) for new activities or technical service contracts.

  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.

  11.3 Supervisory Relationship

  This position reports to the General Development Officer or his/her designee.

  11.4 Supervisory Controls

  Full supervision of other USAID staff is not contemplated.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

2. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

1. Education: A minimum of a master’s degree in a relevant area such as international development, economics, economic law, business, management, or related field is required.
2. Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of professional work experience in economic development, international development, private enterprise, and/or enterprise development with the US Government, other donors, private sector companies, and/or implementing partners is required.
3. Language: Level IV – Fluent in Thai and English with a valid TOEIC score of 855 is required.

3. EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

The Government may award a contract without discussions with offerors in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. The CO 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 CO 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 CO 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.

Application Rating System

The application rating system factors are used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors. offerors must demonstrate the rating factors outlined below within their application and/or resume, as they are evaluated strictly by the information provided. The rating factors are as follows:

1. Experience (35 points):

Additional points will be given for relevant experience above the minimum requirement stated in Section II which may include direct experience in business consulting, trade, economic analysis, entrepreneurship, digital development, and managing supply chains with private regional or international organizations, government agencies, or non-governmental organizations.

2. Knowledge (30 points):

• Demonstrates a combination of knowledge around digital ecosystem development, agricultural market development, economic competitiveness, business enabling environment, public financial management, regional economic integration, trade facilitation, and/or workforce development.
• Demonstrates knowledge of economic challenges in developing countries, especially within the context of Asia, and how to work with a broad spectrum of stakeholders including government, civil society, and the private sector.
• Demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the concepts, principles, techniques, and practices of development assistance; strategy design/implementation; collaborating, learning, and adapting; and/or partnering with host country counterparts, other donors, or regional bodies.

3. Skills and Abilities (35 points):

• Demonstrates excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, including diplomacy and tact, to work and maintain strong working relationships with people at all levels in a culturally diverse environment.
• Demonstrates an ability to work independently and perform at a high level with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrates an ability to work effectively on multiple tasks under intense time pressure.
• Demonstrates an ability to plan, organize, manage, and evaluate complex projects.
• Demonstrates an ability to communicate information in an objective, transparent, accurate, and concise oral and written form.
• Demonstrates an ability to prepare professional quality reports and present information, analyses, and recommendations in clear written and oral formats in English.
• Demonstrates excellent analytical, technical and project management skills to review and provide substantive feedback on concept papers, proposals, program descriptions/scopes of work, performance reports, and other technical and programmatic documents.
• Demonstrates an ability to use computer and office software such as Microsoft Office, Google Suite, web-based databases, and electronic filing. Ability to learn and use Agency specific software related to work software with efficiency.

Total Application Rating: 100

Recruitment Test: 100

Interview Performance: 100

Total Possible Points: 300

SELECTION PROCESS:

To be considered for candidacy, offerors must address each criterion in their application as to how they meet the minimum qualifications required for the position mentioned in Section II, Item 1-2. If the application submitted fails to demonstrate eligibility, the application will be marked unqualified. It is the responsibility of the offeror to provide all pertinent information.

Applications will be initially screened and scored in accordance with evaluation factors and points mentioned in Section III, item 1-3.  Offerors in a competitive range will be given a recruitment test. Offerors with passing marks from the recruitment test and a valid TOEIC score mentioned in Section II, item 3, will be invited for an interview. The recruitment test and the interview will be structured around the evaluation factors mentioned above. The successful offeror will be selected based on a review of his/her qualifications, work experience, knowledge, skills and abilities; a written test; an interview; and the results of reference checks. References may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror.

Only offerors within a competitive range will be contacted. No response will be sent to unsuccessful offerors.

PRESENTING AN OFFER

Interested offerors must submit the following:

1. Eligible offerors are required to complete and submit the AID 309-2 (Offeror Information For Personal Services Contracts With Individuals) form. The AID 309-2 Application form can be found on the USAID website https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2. Continuous Pages are required if your work experience description goes beyond Section C - Additional Work Experience in AID 309-2. Continuous Pages can be found on the U.S. Embassy website https://th.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/jobs/usaid-job-vacancies/
2. A resume or curriculum vitae (CV) without photo.
3. A copy of transcript.
4. A copy of Thai ID card or valid Thai Residency Permit to verify eligibility to work in Thailand. Please note that USAID is not able to sponsor offerors for the permit (check with Thai Immigration Bureau website https://www.immigration.go.th for the information of Thai Residency Permit).
5. A cover letter (optional), a certified copy for name change (if any), and a valid TOEIC score (if invited for the interview). 
6. All required documents must be scanned and submitted via email only. Please ensure documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF formats. Please do not submit documents in zip files or web links.
7. 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 4.
8. To ensure consideration of application for the intended position, the offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents. The email subject should read: First name Last name – USAID 72048623R10001 GDO Project Management Specialist (Economic Growth), FSN-11

By submitting application materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the application is true. False or fraudulent information on or attached to your application may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position or being terminated after award.

4. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD

1. The CO will provide instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms after an offeror is selected for the contract award:

• Medical Clearance:  Prior to signing a contract, the selected individual will be required to obtain a medical clearance.
• Security Clearance:  Prior to signing a contract, the selected individual will be required to obtain a Security Certification.  Temporary clearances may be requested while a personal background investigation is conducted. 

2. Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors - Please be advised that, upon award, the contractor will be required to follow the Mission policies and/or directives from the U.S. Department of State regarding COVID-19 requirements.

5. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a CCN PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:

1. Annual bonus
2. Annual leave plan
3. Health benefit plan
4. Severance pay plan
5. Retirement plan
6. Life insurance program
7. Premium compensation – Overtime and Holiday pay

6. TAXES

The U.S. Mission does not make deductions for income tax to local governments. The U.S. Mission expects its employees to fulfill their fiscal obligations required under their country’s laws, including paying income taxes. Paying these taxes is a matter strictly between the employees and the Thai government.

Employees holding American citizenship or Permanent Resident Alien (Green Card holder) status must report to HR at first hire or when there is a change in nationality status. A copy of the Social Security or resident alien card must be submitted to HR together with completed W-4 Form to initiate U.S. Federal tax/FICA withholding.

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

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN 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.

3. 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

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.

5. 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.

The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: PSCOmbudsman@usaid.gov.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: USAID/RDMA provides equal opportunity in employment to all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. Management may consider the following when determining successful candidacy: nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status.

END OF SOLICITATION