USPSC Support Relief Group Shelter and Settlements Advisor

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720FDA20B00062
ISSUANCE DATE: June 23, 2020
CLOSING DATE AND TIME: August 18, 2020, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC)

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), is seeking offers
from qualified U.S. citizens to provide personal services as a Support Relief Group (SRG)
Shelter and Settlements (S&S) Advisor under a United States Personal Services Contract
(USPSC), as described in the solicitation.

Submittals must be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified.
Offerors interested in applying for this position MUST submit the following materials: 1. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:

(a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours
worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience
must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations,
and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
(b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
(c) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related
skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments.
(d) U.S. Citizenship
(e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (beta.SAM.gov, OFDA Jobs,
Career Fair, etc.).

Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully
meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information must be
clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your
qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.
**
2.** Supplemental document specifically addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) shown
in the solicitation.

3. USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I.
This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted. AID 309-2
is available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

NOTE REGARDING DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBERS
AND THE SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

All USPSCs with a place of performance in the United States are required to have a DataUniversal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award
Management (SAM) database prior to receiving an award. You will be disqualified if you either
fail to comply with this requirement or if your name appears on the excluded parties list. The
selectee will be provided with guidance regarding this registration.

NOTE: As of March 28, 2018, all new SAM.gov entity registrations will now require a signed
notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity administrator for the entity associated with the
DUNS number. Additional information on the format of the notarized letter and where to submit
can be found via the below Federal Service Desk link:

https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/answer.do?sysparm_kbid=d2e67885db0d5f00b3257d321f96194b&
sysparm_search=kb0013183

Offerors can expect to receive a confirmation email when offer materials have been received.
Offerors should retain for their records copies of all enclosures which accompany their offers.

Your complete resume and the supplemental document addressing the QRFs must be emailed to:

OFDA Recruitment Team
E-Mail Address: recruiter@ofda.gov
Website: www.OFDAjobs.net

Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to OFDA Recruitment Team via the
information provided above.

Sincerely,

/s/

Renee Newton
Contracting Officer

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of an S&S Advisor will include the following:

 Conduct initial sector-specific assessments and make expert technical recommendations
for appropriate activities, both for the initial disaster response phase and for longer-term
disaster risk reduction related to shelter and settlements sector activities. Assessments
may be conducted at the local, regional, sub-regional, or national level, and may be
related to disaster response or to comprehensive strategy development.

 Actively represent OFDA in emergency shelter sector discussions and activities, serve as
a USG shelter and settlements sector resource person, and display expert technical and
organizational leadership in sectoral activity commensurate with the role as a primary
resource person for shelter and settlements.
 Contribute to OFDA thinking on shelter and settlements sector activities, formulate
shelter and settlements sector strategies and recommendations, and provide technical
support for OFDA field offices, other offices within USAID, and to OFDA’s PSPM
Division.

 Contribute to planning and decision-making on a wide-range of shelter and settlements
activities, both in the Washington, D.C. and in the field.

 Facilitate and coordinate actual USG emergency response activities within the shelter and
settlements sector with the USAID Mission, other donor agencies, and the U.S. Embassy.

 Liaise with other humanitarian organizations (UN, NGOs, IOs) and host governments to
coordinate OFDA activities within the shelter and settlements sector with those of the
wider humanitarian community.

 Provide coordination and managerial oversight of OFDA-funded shelter and settlements
technical activities to ensure the proper use of OFDA program funds.

 Provide technical review of submitted proposals and/or concept notes to ensure that
proposed activities and programs align with best practice in the shelter and settlements
sector.

 Monitor and evaluate OFDA-funded shelter and settlements sector activities in relation to
other sectors (e.g. protection, livelihoods, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Water,
Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), etc.). Work requires extensive experience in and
understanding of integration with other sectors (e.g., protection, livelihoods,
environment, WASH, health, DRR, etc.), as well as experience and understanding of
transitional, recovery, and reconstruction issues related to shelter and settlements.

 Prepare written and oral reports on shelter sector activities and issues.

 Conduct or support studies to examine market conditions for building materials and nonhousing
portions of the building stock in affected areas. Apply new developments in the
shelter and settlements sector to OFDA programming.

 Facilitate workshops and lead trainings on shelter and settlements to build capacity of
OFDA and its partners.

 Coordinate shelter and settlements sector activities across a wide range of actors (UN,
NGOs, host governments, etc.) to ensure consistency of programming.

 Provide shelter and settlements assessments following a disaster and decide on sector
strategy and programming.
 Work entails engagement and representation at local, national, international, and academic fora, and with host country officials and civil society organizations, as well as other related activities, to include training and publication as part of education and outreach.

 May serve as needed, on Washington-based RMTs, which provides services and support
to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will be varied.

 May serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment
overseas for an extended period of time.

 Serve as the OFDA after-hours duty officer on a rotational basis, for approximately one
week every six months.

 As needed, may serve on a temporary detail within the office or region not to exceed six
months. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties
and responsibilities as well as directly related to the scope of work provided.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the education and
experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)

Bachelor’s degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field (including, but
not limited to, urban and regional planning, architecture, civil engineering, emergency
construction, or economic development), plus nine (9) years of progressively responsible
experience working in humanitarian relief and response, of which at least three (3) years were
obtained overseas in the shelter and settlements sector.

OR

Master’s degree with significant study in or pertinent to the specialized field (including, but not
limited to, urban and regional planning, architecture, civil engineering, emergency construction,
or economic development), plus seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience working
in humanitarian relief and response, of which at least two (2) years were obtained overseas in the
shelter and settlements sector.

III. 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. FAR provisions of this solicitation are available at
https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

SELECTION FACTORS
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the selection
factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)

 Offeror is a U.S. Citizen.
 Complete resume submitted. See cover page for resume requirements. Experience that
cannot be quantified will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
 USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I.
This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
 Supplemental document specifically addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs)
submitted.
 Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented
Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
 Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.
 Must not appear as an excluded party in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
 Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.

QUALITY RANKING FACTORS (QRFs)
(Used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors.
The factors are listed in priority order from highest to least. The evaluation of QRF will also take
into consideration the quality of written responses. Aspects of written responses including, but
not limited to typos, grammatical errors, spelling errors, and incomplete sentences will be
factored into the evaluation process.)

QRF #1 What international humanitarian assistance and shelter and settlement sector
issues and conditions would you need to know to determine if spontaneous selfhelp
shelter activities, and/or emergency shelter repair and/or transitional shelter
and settlement activities are most appropriate for a humanitarian response?

QRF #2 Describe your experience designing and/or implementing international
humanitarian assistance shelter and settlements programs at the community,
regional, and national level. Please provide details of key program elements that
supported the programs’ success and/or obstacles to achieving expected results.

QRF #3 Describe your experience working with individuals and organizations that support
the linkage of humanitarian focused shelter and settlements activities with other
relevant humanitarian sectors and follow-on reconstruction activities.

QRF #4 Describe efforts to integrate DRR into international humanitarian assistance
shelter and settlements sector activities, and the challenges of operationalizing
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction principles in the shelter and
settlements sector.

BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection
Factors will be further evaluated in accordance with the QRF responses. Those offerors
determined to be competitively ranked may also be evaluated on interview performance and
satisfactory professional reference checks.

Offerors are required to address each of the QRFs in a separate document describing specifically
and accurately what experience, training, and/or education they have received as it pertains to
each factor. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each
additional page. Failure to address the selection factors and/or Quality Ranking Factors may
result in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards.

The most qualified offerors may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. OFDA
will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. Professional references and
academic credentials will be evaluated for offerors being considered for selection. Note: Please
be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the
ones provided by an offeror. OFDA reserves the right to select additional offerors if vacancies
become available during future phase of the selection process.

The Offeror Rating System is as Follows:

QRFs have been assigned the following points:

QRF #1 – 20 points
QRF #2 – 15 points
QRF #3 – 15 points
QRF #4 – 8 points

Interview Performance – 30 points

Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks – 12 points

Total Possible Points: 100

IV. SUBMITTING AN OFFER
Offers must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter.
Qualified individuals are required to submit:

1. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:
   (a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours
   worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience
   must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations,
   and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
   (b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
   (c) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related
   skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments.
   (d) U.S. Citizenship
   (e) Optional: How did you hear about this opportunity? (beta.SAM.gov, OFDA Jobs,
   Career Fair, etc.).
   Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully
   meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information must be
   clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your
   qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.
2. Supplemental document specifically addressing the QRFs shown in the solicitation.
3. USPSC Offeror form AID 309-2. Offerors are required to complete sections A through I.
   This form must be physically signed. Electronic signatures will not be accepted. AID 309-2
   is available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.
   Additional documents submitted will not be accepted.
   By submitting your offer materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the
   offer is true, correct, complete, and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on
   and attached to the offer to be investigated. False or fraudulent information on or attached to
   your offer may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position, or being
   terminated after award, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment.
   To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, please reference the solicitation
   number on your offer, and as the subject line in any email.
   DOCUMENT SUBMITTALS
   Via email: recruiter@ofda.gov