SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72012118R02

ISSUANCE DATE: 10/17/2018

CLOSING DATE/TIME: 11/7/2018 at 11:59 p.m. Chisinau Time

SUBJECT: Solicitation for a Development Assistance Specialist (Budget Analyst), Cooperating Country National Personal Service Contractor (CCN PSC) under the Local Compensation Plan.

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking offers from qualified persons to provide personal services under contract as described in this solicitation.

Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1, Sections I through V of this solicitation.  Incomplete or unsigned offers will not be considered.  Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records.

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 offers.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in the attached information.

Sincerely,

Nathan Drury

Contracting Officer

GENERAL INFORMATION

SOLICITATION NO.: 72012118R02

ISSUANCE DATE: 10/17/2018

CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: 11/7/2018 at 11:59 p.m. Chisinau Time

POSITION TITLE: Development Assistance Specialist (Budget Analyst)

MARKET VALUE: Basic Annual rate (in U.S. Dollars): $16,498 to $24,737

In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and ADS 309, the Local Compensation Plan (in effect at the time) of the U.S. Embassy to Moldova forms the basis of compensation. The LCP consists of the local 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. This salary range is not inclusive of other benefits and allowances.

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 an initial five year period, with possible renewal pending continued need for the position, contractor performance, and funds availability.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Chisinau, Moldova.

SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Foreign Service National Security Certification

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION:

The Budget Analyst for USAID/Moldova provides budget support to Mission leadership and the technical teams and acts as the ‘one stop’ customer service representative for all budget planning, development, and forecasting support needs, as well as the assisting the program office in preparation of reports to inform Congress how foreign assistance dollars will be spent.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Budget Development Support: Percentage of Time: 30%

The incumbent assists the Mission in the formulation of the program budget for the Mission. The incumbent's work is closely related to the Appropriation, Allotment, Allocation and Allowance of Federal Government money into USAID/Moldova’s programs. Under Program Officer guidance, the incumbent helps develop and track the Mission Resource Request (MRR), the Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ), Congressional Budget Notification (CBN), Annual Budget Review (ABR), Change Notice (CN), requests for early release of funds from Washington, reprogramming funds between various classifications of funds, keeping track of federal earmarks, and ensuring funds are spent consistent with those earmarks and other notifications to Congress. The incumbent helps assure that budget programs and obligations are fully consistent with all USAID policies and procedures. The incumbent ensures that any budget changes proposed by any Mission staff are approved by the appropriate, authorized officials. The incumbent also is responsible for aiding in the preparation of regular budget reports, as well as replying to ad-hoc budget information requests, to the Mission Front Office, to USAID’s Europe and Eurasia Bureau, and the EUR/ACE office of the U.S. Department of State. The incumbent coordinates with the USAID/Ukraine Office of Financial Management. In particular, the incumbent verifies, in collaboration with the Chief Accountant, the recording of implementation transactions, de-obligations, earmarks, commitments and de-commitments, and other aspects of financial management related to the program. The incumbent coordinates the roll-down of funds and the creation of activity allowances in the Phoenix general ledger with E&E/PCS which performs these functions at the incumbent's request for USAID/Washington obligation actions. The incumbent also works with the Financial Analyst to ensure integrity of the budgeting process and expenditure of U.S. government funds. As needed, the incumbent serves as backup Financial Analyst.

Program Cycle Reporting: Percentage of Time: 30%

The incumbent prepares budget and narrative inputs for the Mission’s annual Operational Plan (OP) coordinating across the entire U.S. Embassy community if necessary. The incumbent also ensures that the Public/Private Partnership database remains up-to-date, as well as tracks Local Solutions activities (those implemented through Moldovan organizations or systems). In addition, the incumbent maintains the Mission’s Activity list and responds to data calls and taskers from USAID/Washington or EUR/ACE as necessary. The incumbent also assists the Mission’s Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with budget data for the annual Performance Plan and Report (PPR) and semi-annual mission portfolio reviews.

Budgeting Systems Assistance: Percentage of Time: 20%

The incumbent assists with data entry into multiple budgeting systems including the Global Acquisition and Assistance System (GLAAS), OPsMaster, FACTS INFO, and FACTS INFO NEXT GEN computer systems, and serves as a GLAAS Requestor. The incumbent also maintains the templates for the Country Checklist, Terrorism Assessment, and Activity Checklist forms need by the technical staff and advises on which forms to utilize based upon the year of the funding being sub-obligated. The incumbent is the Program Office’s key link with E&E Bureau Program Office (E&E/PCS) and USAID/Ukraine Office of Financial Management (OFM). The incumbent distributes budget allowances to the activity level and sees that allowances are created by OFM for activities in Phoenix. S/he utilizes the OPS Master database to determine the appropriate fund-site needed to fund activities. The incumbent performs the role of Requester in the GLAAS procurement system. Through this work, the incumbent enables the Program Office to create Requisitions in GLAAS for the specific Program Office-related activities (evaluations/ assessments/ GDAs/ USPSC etc.). The incumbent is also responsible for updating databases, as needed. The incumbent performs other tasks and duties as deemed appropriate for the continuous improvement of operations within the Mission.

External Relations: Percentage of Time: 20%

Liaison with the Government of Moldova and Washington: The incumbent helps in the formulation of the Mission’s Development Objective Agreements (DOAG) with the host country and coordinates with Government of Moldova technical-level counterparts to ensure DOAGs are executed and funds are obligated under the DOAG. The incumbent also assists in drafting and execution of amendments to the DOAGs and implementation letters. The incumbent supports the Program Office’s liaising with the EUR/ACE office in Washington, with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on different issues regarding obligation reports, etc. The incumbent interacts routinely with various staff in USAID’s E&E Bureau in Washington regarding budgeting, obligations, and reporting. The incumbent also interacts regularly with State Department officials, particularly on the coordination of legislation (including congressional earmarks and EUR/ACE directives), policies, rules and regulations, and procedures. In particular, the incumbent (a) in coordination with E&E/PCS, helps ensure that the Mission portfolio meets the requirements of the Congressional Notification (CNs) process; (b) assures that financial data at the activity level are fully consistent with agreements made with the E&E Bureau and the State Department Coordinator's Office EUR/ACE; (c) prepares all budget requests, coordinating with E&E/PCS to assure that the needed fiscal information is entered into the Phoenix system, and, once the budget has been received, allocates funding to activities.

Program design support: The incumbent advises other USG agency staff involved in the delivery of U.S. Foreign Assistance on policies, procedures, and reporting requirements, particularly related to budget matters. The incumbent advises technical offices on most appropriate ways to reprogram/adjust budgets in response to program changes that occur after the approval of the budget, and tracks all documents required to meet re-programming requirements, including memos for the Director of Foreign Assistance, Change Notices, and Protected Items Change Requests. Preparation of these documents requires frequent consultations with the E&E Bureau colleagues to seek advice on the most efficient way to re-program Mission funds to respond to the host country government's requests, getting Mission Director's and Deputy Chief of Mission's approvals as necessary. Once the funds are obligated into the DOAG, the incumbent works with the Financial Analyst to sub-obligate the funds into individual activity mechanisms (contracts, grants, etc). The incumbent also serves as back up to the Financial Analyst who monitors the day-to-day financial operations of the Mission's portfolio.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:  Incumbent is under the supervision of the Program Officer. After receiving instructions and based on existing guidelines and systems, s/he is expected to perform tasks independently and prioritize among multiple competing priorities in consultation with the Program Officer.

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.

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

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

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Education: A College/University studies in Business, Public Administration, Accounting, Finance or other relevant field is required.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in financial management, budgeting, and/or operations is required, including experience in the analysis and interpretation of data and the presentation of findings in written and oral form.

Language Proficiency:  Level IV (fluent) proficiency is required in English as well as Romanian. Skills in written English are particularly important.

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.

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: A College/University studies in Business, Public Administration, Accounting, Finance or other relevant field is required. Additional education in the aforementioned areas is desired.

30 points – Experience: Minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in financial management, budgeting, and operations is required, including experience in the analysis and interpretation of data and the presentation of findings in written and oral form. Additional experience in the aforementioned areas, especially with the USG, is desired.  

30 points – Knowledge: A thorough knowledge of the concepts, principles, techniques and practices of financial management, budgeting and operations is required. Advanced knowledge in one or more of the aforementioned areas is desired.

30 points – Skills and Abilities: Ability to develop a thorough understanding of United States government, USAID, and host government policies and procedures. Ability to quickly learn, multitask, and prioritize work assignments. Must have the ability to communicate professionally with diverse, high level officials. Ability to carry out complex technical analysis, both factual and analytical, of financial reports involving Mission projects and activities. Demonstrated negotiation skills. Ability to develop and maintain close working relationships in the public and private sectors with both American and host country nationals. Must have advanced Excel and WORD program proficiency, and the ability to graphically display data to maximize understanding of the information.

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 100 points

PRESENTING AN OFFER/APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION

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

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

Offerors must complete the DS-174 form in English (standard resumes are no longer accepted), 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 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 offeror’s qualifications could make the offeror ineligible for the position.

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.

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

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. Documents/offers received through links to Google Drive, Sky Drive, and/or any other private cloud computing database/websites will not be considered.

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

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.

Questionnaire for Employment Authorization (U.S. Embassy Moldova form)

Authorization for Release of Information (U.S. Embassy Chisinau’s form)

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.

BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES

The local compensation plan (LCP) is the basis for all compensation payments to locally employed staff /CCNPSCs. The LCP consists of the local 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:

BENEFITS:

Health Insurance coverage

Defined Contribution Fund 12%

ALLOWANCES (as applicable):

The Mission provides miscellaneous allowance in accordance with the Moldova Local Compensation Plan, in amount of $800.

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

TAXES

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

USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN/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/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf .

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

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.

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

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.