SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- INVESTING IN PEOPLE TECHNICAL ADVISOR - PSC- GUATEMALA
- Notice Date
- 5/11/2010
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 812990
— All Other Personal Services
- Contracting Office
- Agency for International Development, Overseas Missions, Guatemala USAID-Guatemala City, Amer Emb/Guatemala, Unit #3323, APO, 34024
- ZIP Code
- 34024
- Solicitation Number
- SOL-520-10-000003
- Archive Date
- 6/9/2010
- Point of Contact
- Sofia de Hernandez, Phone: 502-24224103
- E-Mail Address
-
shernandez@usaid.gov
(shernandez@usaid.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Market Value of Position: GS-12 Salary Range from $60,274 - $78,355 Period of performance: Two years Background Guatemala is a lower middle-income country with a per-capita income of $2,600. It is Central America's largest country in terms of economy and population and plays a pivotal role in regional trade and integration. Nevertheless, Guatemala is the third most unequal country in the world for income distribution: 51% of the 12.9 million people live in poverty, and 15% are extremely poor; 71% of the population considered poor is concentrated in rural areas. The inequalities between urban and rural and indigenous and non-indigenous populations reflect the limited social investment by the Government of Guatemala (GOG) for the poor. Public health expenditures in Guatemala are amongst the lowest in the Western Hemisphere with only 1.4 % of GDP going to the health sector in 2009 and 3% to education. As a result of historical inequity and the low health and education investment in the country, Guatemala is challenged with some of the lowest social indicators in Latin America. The Fifth Demographic and Health Survey (ENSMI 2008-2009) indicates that Guatemala has a total fertility rate of 3.6% - the fertility rate is the highest in the hemisphere (3.6 per woman); infant and maternal mortality are proportionally high (30 per 1,000 live births and 290 per 100,000 live births, respectively); and only 51.3% of births are delivered by a skilled health provider. The stunting rate in rural areas is 51.8% and 28.8% in urban populations, with chronic malnutrition at 58.6% for indigenous children. Malnutrition can lead to learning disabilities, blindness, hearing loss, impaired brain development and low resistance to disease. Deficiencies of iodine, iron, and Vitamin A cause considerable disability. Chronic malnutrition in Guatemala is the result of inequality, exclusion and poor nutrition and hygiene practices. Addressing the problem requires leadership from the Government of Guatemala (GOG) and a cohesive and well-coordinated strategy among the different organizations implementing the National Food Security Strategy. It is also one of the priorities for the USG and the GOG and for the USAID/HEO portfolio. In the education sector, close to one million children ages 5 to 17 do not attend school and most of these are indigenous girls in rural areas. Net primary school enrollment has risen dramatically (from 76% in 1991 to 98% in 2009) yet Guatemala has the lowest primary school completion rate in Central America. For every one-hundred school-age children, 98 enter first grade, 55 complete sixth grade and 18 finish high school; only 8.5% of university-age youth pursue a higher education. USAID's long-term goal for the health sector in Guatemala is to foster awareness and political will to increase national and local investments in health and education. USAID programs are focused on increasing the coverage and quality of basic health services, supporting an enabling environment to reduce disparities related to gender, geography and ethnicity, and integrating health and education interventions where appropriate. USAID supports the public sector, collaborates closely with NGOs and engages the corporate sector in alliances for health and education. The USAID bilateral budget for Investing in People for 2010 is $20.6 million for maternal child health and nutrition, family planning/reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and basic and higher education programs. USAID will receive additional resources to respond to the current acute nutrition crisis and to strengthen the medium- and long-term national response to decrease the high levels of chronic malnutrition in the country. There is potential to create synergies among USAID-funded interventions and develop and implement a robust food security strategy. Immediate technical support is required OBJECTIVE The objective of this contract is to provide leadership and technical direction to the USAID/Guatemala Investing in People (IIP) team in the USAID/Office of Health and Education (HEO) for the implementation of maternal and child health programs, with an emphasis on nutrition, and family planning/reproductive health activities. The IIP Technical Advisor will provide leadership, guidance, and overall technical direction of USAID-financed activities in the health portfolio. S/he will have broad responsibilities for planning and managing USAID-financed programs including collaborating on strategic planning and activity design, development of program descriptions, oversight of work plan development and activity implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of programs and activities that contribute to the HEO portfolio. DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Specific job duties for this position are listed follows: 1. Analyzes economic, political, and other trends affecting the health sector and nutrition issues and identifies ways to further meet both USG foreign policy and GOG sector policy objectives in Guatemala. Applies data for decision making at the highest levels. 2. Provides support and technical assistance to the USAID Health portfolio in maternal and child health and nutrition. Participates in all aspects of strategic program planning for USAID/HEO activities related to improved health and nutrition. Leads discussions and analyses of HEO programs, identifies gaps, proposes interventions, recommends suitable indicators and evaluation needs. 3. Provides oversight and manages existing maternal and child health/nutrition programs under the guidance of the health team leader. 4. Interacts with other USAID offices on all issues related to health and nutrition in the health portfolio, including reporting, budgeting, and outreach functions. Also coordinates with other USAID/Guatemala Mission Offices on cross-cutting issues affecting the health sector, i.e. ensuring continued incorporation of gender, cultural adaptation and environmentally sound initiatives. Coordinates with the USAID Global Food Security Initiative, Title II Food for Peace Program and other food security efforts, acting as liaison and promoting coordination and productive collaboration between all USAID programs related to production, access and utilization of food. 5. Participates in evaluation efforts of HEO health projects, including surveying the performance of contractors and grantees; ensures that relevant recommendations are applied and taken into consideration in the design of new initiatives; and evaluates report findings and participates in corrective action. 6. Maintains a wide range of contacts with government, private sector, voluntary institutions as well as other multilateral and bilateral donors on matters related to the health portfolio. Specific requirements regarding maternal and child nutrition: 7, Carries out a rapid assessment of the nutrition situation in Guatemala (analyzing existing data); provide specific recommendations to the USAID/Health and Education Office in terms of the most appropriate response to the nutritional crisis; design a program that gains support from the health community; and guide its implementation at all levels. The nutrition strategy should contain the following elements: a) recommendations for the best use of limited health resources to effectively decrease the high levels of malnutrition affecting rural children in Guatemala, especially those of Mayan descent; b) technical and specific recommendations to harmonize health/nutrition interventions with other food security interventions carried out by the Guatemala Mission; c) an approach to harmonize health/nutrition interventions with other donors,; and, d) an approach to align USAID's activities with the GOG. 8. Other duties within the USAID IIP portfolio as required and assigned. QUALIFICATIONS AND SELECTION CRITERIA Experience (40 POINTS): 1. Five to eight years of relevant experience in planning and managing development assistance activities and programs in developing countries is required. Experience in the Latin American region or with other predominantly Spanish-speaking countries is desirable. 2. Experience should encompass: 1) use and analysis of data for decision making, program design, implementation and monitoring of social sector programs in such areas as maternal and child health, nutrition education, community mobilization and outreach, and behavior change and communication; and 2) implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of systems in large governmental institutions such as Ministries or large organizations. 3. Experience with Maternal and Child Health (MCH) with emphasis on nutrition and hygiene practices for undernourished children. Knowledge and Skills (25 POINTS): 1. Prior knowledge of development assistance program design and implementation. 2. Knowledge of and/or previous work with public health sector programs. 3. Training in nutrition education and promotion is desirable. 4. Excellent interpersonal skills are required. Education (20 POINTS): The desirable candidate must have a Masters degree in health or the social sciences and at least 8 years of experience supporting maternal and child health/nutrition programs, or a PhD and at least 5 years of experience with similar maternal and child health/nutrition sector programs. Training in community mobilization and behavior change methods is desirable. Language (15 POINTS): 1. Excellent English writing, editing and speaking skills are required (Level 4/4), as well as an excellent ability to process information from a wide variety of sources into cohesive, polished documents. 2. Level IV English (oral and written) and Spanish (oral and written) language skills are required. SUPERVISION RELATIONSHIP The HEO Director or his/her designee will supervise the IPP Technical Advisor on a day-to-day basis. The incumbent is expected to have regular communication and contact with USAID staff and partners, and USAID/Washington and obtain consultation on issues pertaining to ongoing HEO programs. The incumbent will not supervise U.S. or FSN staff but may provide technical oversight and manage support to partner organizations to ensure the smooth implementation of the HEO portfolio. Selection Process : After the closing date for receipt of applications, a committee will be convened to review applications and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Applications from candidates which do not meet the minimum educational and work experience requirements will not be scored. As part of the selection process, final candidates may be interviewed either in person or by telephone at the discretion of the selection panel. Reference checks will be made only for applicants considered as finalists. If an applicant does not wish for the current employer to be contacted as a reference check, this should be stated in the applicant's cover letter. The interviewing committee will delay such reference check pending communication with the applicant. Only finalists will be contacted by the interview committee with respect to their applications. The final selected candidates must obtain security and medical clearances within a reasonable period of time (USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidate). A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection. Applying : Qualified individuals are requested to submit a U.S. Government Application for Federal Employment SF-171 OR Optional Form 612 including experience, salary history and references, and a recent sample of his/her written work (maximum 1-3 pages, i.e. report on food issues) no later than COB May 25, 2010 5 p.m. Guatemala time). The forms are at the USAID website, http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms or internet http://fillform.gsa.gov, or at Federal offices). Applications, recent supervisor reference and three (3) personal references and writing sample may be submitted by e-mail, fax, or air courier by the closing date above to: Sofia de Hernandez Administrative Specialist USAID/Guatemala E-mail: shernandez@usaid.gov All applications should be received by the closing date and time previously specified. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter. The highest ranking applicants may be selected for an interview. NOTE REGARDING GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS FOR THIS SOLICITATION This solicitation in no way obligates USAID to award a PSC contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the application. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSCS Forms outlined below can found at: http://www.usaid.gov/business/business_opportunities/psc_solicitations.html 1. Standard Form 171 or Optional Form 612. 2. Contractor Physical Examination (AID Form 1420-62). ** 3. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86), or ** 4. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85). ** 5. Finger Print Card (FD-258). ** ** Forms 2 through 5 shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job. CONTRACT INFORMATION BULLETINS (CIBS) PERTAINING TO PSCS AAPDs and CIBs contain changes to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulations and contracts. Please refer to this website http://www.usaid.gov/business/business_opportunities/cib/subject.html#psc to determine which AAPDs and CIBs apply to this contract. BENEFITS, ALLOWANCES AND PAYMENT OF TAXES As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: 1) BENEFITS Employee's FICA Contribution Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance Pay Comparability Adjustment Annual Increase Eligibility for Worker's Compensation Annual and Sick Leave Access to Embassy medical facilities, commissary and pouch mail service Cost of Travel to/from Post Shipment of Unaccompanied Baggage Shipment and Storage of Household Effects Shipment of POV (Privately Owned Vehicle) 2) ALLOWANCES (as applicable as found in the Standardize Regulations for Government Civilians Foreign Areas) Temporary Lodging Allowance (Section 120) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130) Post Allowance (Section 220) Supplemental Post Allowance (Section 230) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260) Educational Allowance (Section 270) Educational Travel (Section 280) Post Differential (Chapter 500) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600) and Danger Pay (Section 650) FEDERAL TAXES: USPSCs are required to pay Federal Income Taxes, FICA, and Medicare.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/AID/OM/GUA/SOL-520-10-000003/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USAID/Guatemala, Km. 6.5 Final Blvd. Los Proceres, Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, Guatemala
- Record
- SN02146024-W 20100513/100511234755-26fad456877088ff3d21e948b6258e98 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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