Solicitation No.: 72012120R00001 for U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC), Senior Commodities and Supply Advisor, GS-14, USAID/Ukraine
SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72012120R00001
ISSUANCE DATE: November 07, 2019
CLOSING DATE/TIME: December 08, 2019 (11:59 p.m. EST)
SUBJECT: Solicitation No.: 72012120R00001 for U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC), Senior Commodities and Supply Advisor, GS-14, USAID/Ukraine
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 VIII 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,
/s/
Nathan Drury
Contracting Officer
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72012120R00001
2. ISSUANCE DATE: November 07, 2019
3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: December 08, 2019 (11:59 p.m. EST)
4. POSITION TITLE: Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor
5. MARKET VALUE: $90,621 - $117,810 per annum, equivalent to GS-14
Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value
6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: one (1) year, with two (2) option years. Options may be exercised based upon satisfactory contractor performance, mutual agreement between the Contractor and USG, continued Mission requirements and the continued availability of funds
7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Kyiv, Ukraine - with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties
8. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret
9. STATEMENT OF DUTIES
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION:
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor will be an expert resource responsible for PEPFAR-Ukraine and USAID-Ukraine program management and monitoring activities related to commodity selection, procurement, and supply chain technical assistance. S/he will represent USG interests regarding commodity security for USG-purchased HIV and other health-related commodities, meaning that products are available and accessible and maintained at appropriate quality at designated sites and that they are dispensed to patients according to standards. S/he will be responsible for providing technical leadership for all essential pharmaceutical management and supply chain components, including: (1) product selection (including registration and patent protection issues); (2) quantification and supply planning; (3) procurement; (4) distribution and storage; (5) logistics management information systems; and (6) policies, human and organizational capacity, financial resources mobilization, and monitoring. The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor liaises with the Ministry of Health, Oblast Health Authorities, UN and Global Fund, and Global Fund-supported Principal Recipients, and other key USG staff and implementing partners to thoroughly understand their procurement and supply chain systems and ensure that a harmonized approach is successfully negotiated between all relevant parties.
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor will manage procurement and supply chain communications between the PEPFAR interagency partners and also within the Ukraine interagency team, while ensuring that agency leadership and the PCO are aware of interagency communication. S/he will develop a monthly report that will be shared among all interagency partners and also draft weekly bullets and monthly success stories for USAID management. As it relates to health sector procurement reform goals, the Specialist also serves as the procurement and supply chain technical liaison with USAID and partners on Government of Ukraine procurement reform initiatives.
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor may serve as an Agreement Officer's Representative (AOR) or Activity Manager, or s/he will provide technical expertise for interagency project managers who occupy these positions. He/she will be responsible for documenting, drafting, and reviewing procurement and supply chain sections in PEPFAR Country Operational Plans and USAID Operational Plans and Performance Monitoring Plans; the incumbent will also review relevant Implementing Partner workplans and quarterly reports and furnish expert advice to coordination and technical working groups, including the MOH Pharmaceutical Management Technical Working Group and Immunization Technical Working Group.
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor will work with agency leads and, as needed and delegated, represent USAID and PEPFAR interagency partners to senior national and subnational Government of Ukraine counterparts, UN Agencies, Global Fund, World Bank, development partners, and Civil Society Organizations on commodity procurement and supply chain issues. As technical leader, he/she will also be expected to provide expert procurement and supply chain advice to the health reform effort and work with all relevant national stakeholders and USG partners to take a public health approach to reduce corruption in the pharmaceutical procurement sector. Additionally, the Advisor will provide coaching and mentorship to OH staff, as required, on areas related to their area of expertise.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
A. TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AND MONITORING FOR USG-PROCURED HIV-RELATED PRODUCTS
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor will be responsible for reviewing product selection, procurement, quantification, inventory management, recording and reporting, and consumption of all USG-procured HIV-related commodities. The objective is to ensure the timely delivery and receipt of all USG-procured HIV-related commodities to appropriate delivery sites and patients. Another objective is to ensure that these products are at appropriate supply levels and status (i.e. with no undersupplies/oversupplies or stockouts) with no product wastage and complementing supplies procured by the Government of Ukraine and the Global Fund. This objective will be achieved by (1) monitoring and reviewing government HIV commodity supply and consumption reports and documenting suboptimal stock levels and status and (2) undertaking regular field visits, reviewing logistics registers, taking physical inventories, and reviewing prescription forms.
Specific duties include:
1. Liaise with the Ukrainian Center for Public Health (CPH), review procurement, distribution, and stock records and review CPH commodity requests for inclusion in Country Operational Plans.
2. Coordinate procurement of USAID commodities, including forecasting, providing price quotations and monitoring the ordering, shipment, receipt, customs clearance, and delivery of USG-procured HIV products to facilities and implementing partners.
3. Conduct site visits to review logistics registers and consumption reports and take physical inventories.
4. Review Global Fund and Global Fund Principal Recipient HIV commodity procurements, distributions, and consumption reports to ensure complementarity between various-sourced and distributed products.
5. As requested or needed, provide feedback information to USG field team and OGAC and to USAID during Quarterly Portfolio Reviews, PEPFAR POART calls, and other data calls as necessary.
6. Provide relevant procurement and supply chain information and draft relevant sections in the COP, including leading on all supply chain and commodity tools.
7. Work with the USG-supported projects on issues of common concern (for example, rapid test kit and ARV utilization).
8. Work with CDC's laboratory specialist and other USG implementing partners on common commodity issues.
9. Lead the drafting of procurement and supply chain programmatic and technical sections of briefing papers, cables, presentations, reports, and other relevant documents.
10. Make formal presentations on programmatic and technical aspects of procurement and supply chain issues.
11. Provide technical leadership to build the capacity of government and appropriate non-governmental organization counterparts on specific technical procurement and supply chain issues.
12. Draft procurement and supply chain technical sections of relevant documents.
B. TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AND MONITORING FOR GOU PROCUREMENT REFORM
The USG is assisting the GOU to reform its drug procurement processes, including support for entities responsible for medical procurement and supply chain. The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor will advise the GOU on the establishment and function of the Central Procurement Agency and ensure that adequate processes are in place to prevent corruption schemes. He/she will also monitor stocks of government-procured drugs and commodities, including TB drugs and vaccines. The Advisor will also provide technical leadership to the GOU to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to support regional procurement of essential drugs and equipment for medical facilities.
C. MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
The Senior Commodities and Supply Chain Advisor is the PEPFAR-Ukraine and USAID-Ukraine lead for health sector procurement and supply chain issues. S/he provides technical leadership for other USG agencies (for example, OGAC, USAID/Washington, and the Foreign Commercial Service), Ministry of Health, Ukrainian Center for Public Health (CPH), selected Oblast Health Administrations, UN Agencies, Global Fund, World Bank, USG-supported Implementing Partners, Civil Society Organizations, and other development partners. S/he develops strategic partnerships with these other parties to initiate coordinated approaches and to harmonize and strengthen national and subnational purchases and supply chains. Specific duties include:
1. As needed and delegated by interagency field team, represent PEPFAR-Ukraine and USAID-Ukraine as a technical expert on procurement reform and supply chain issues with inter alia the organizations and agencies listed above.
2. Liaise with the MOH, CPH, the Global Fund, and other international donors to ensure an uninterrupted supply of commodities to the country.
3. Liaise with government and civil society bodies to track the appropriate registration and licensing of essential products.
4. In collaboration with interagency team leads, communicate with the Embassy Front Office and the Foreign Commercial Service about patent protection and drug importation and registration issues.
SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Health Office Director of the USAID Regional Mission for Ukraine and Belarus, or her/his designee.
10. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: U.S. Citizens only
11. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.
Routine office work with occasional field visits to project sites or partner office locations throughout Ukraine.
12. POINT OF CONTACT: All questions and offers must be submitted by email to KyivVacancies@usaid.gov
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
Education: A Master's Degree in Logistics, Pharmacy, Business or a related technical area is required.
Prior Work Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in procurement and/or supply chain management and logistics in the pharmaceutical sector.
Only offerors clearly meeting the above minimum qualifications will be considered for further evaluation.
Security and Medical clearances: The ability to obtain the required security and medical clearances in a reasonable timeframe is considered a minimum qualification. See Section V.
III 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 tests, interviews, and reference checks to determine the most qualified/highest-ranked offerors. Reference checks may be conducted with the highest-ranked offerors. Reference checks may be conducted with individuals not provided by 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 offerors at the conclusion of evaluations.
Education (10 Points):
A Master's Degree or higher in Logistics, Pharmacy, Business or related technical area is required.
Prior Work Experience (30 Points):
Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in procurement and supply chain management and/or logistics in the pharmaceutical sector. Experience working with national governmental health procurement entities (it may be ministries of health) and the Global Fund is desired. Experience working with USG HIV programs, including with USAID, PEPFAR, and/or Global Fund standards, strategies, and regulations is also preferred. Experience in Post-Soviet countries is preferred.
Knowledge (20 Points):
Expert professional knowledge of health commodity security and procurement and supply chain principles, concepts, and practices is essential. The Specialist should have practical knowledge on all aspects of the logistics cycle including product selection, quantification and procurement, inventory management, monitoring and reporting, and organization, staffing, and budgeting. S/he should also understand how to advise government counterparts on procurement and supply chain policies, technical guidelines, and regulatory requirements. Knowledge of logistics software, such as Quantimed or e-TB Manager, is also desirable.
Skills and Abilities (40 points):
Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential. S/he should be familiar with common office software, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills, in order to effectively function on a team and with USG and Government of Ukraine professional colleagues is essential. Ability to develop and present formal technical presentations, facilitate meetings, and write clear and precise reports with actionable items clearly described is highly desirable. Ukrainian and/or Russian language proficiency is highly desired.
Total Points: 100 pts
IV. APPLYING
1. Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit all the following documents and information in English in order to be considered for the position:
a. Completed and signed form AID 309-2,"Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts," available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-309-2. Only include base salary information in box 4 of sections B and C. Do not include bonuses, differentials, cost of living allowances, or other types of compensation. During negotiations, salary history may be verified through pay slips, earnings and leave statements, or other appropriate documentation.
b. 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 of this solicitation;
c. A resume or curriculum vitae (CV) of not more than 3 pages which, at a minimum, describes education, experience and career achievements relevant to the evaluation and selection factors in section III of this solicitation;
d. Names of three professional references, including at least one current/former supervisor, that have knowledge of the offeror's ability to perform the duties set forth in the solicitation. This information may be included in the cover letter or resume/CV.
Late, incomplete, and/or un-signed offers will not be considered
2. Offers containing all required documents must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted electronically to the email Point of Contact in Section I, item 12.
3. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors should prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission.
V. PRE-AWARD DOCUMENTATION / LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSC HIRES
Once the Contracting Officer (CO) informs the successful Offeror about being selected for a contract award, the CO will provide the successful Offeror instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms, needed to obtain medical and security clearances.
1. Medical History and Examination Form/ Medical Clearance Update (DS-6561/DS-3057)
2. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions for National Security (SF-86), or
3. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85)
4. Finger Print Card (SF-87)
Timely completion and submission of the required documents are needed to obtain the necessary Security and Medical Clearances. 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 offer letter and begin negotiations with the next most qualified/highest ranked offeror. Selected offerors who are unable to obtain required Security and Medical Clearances in a reasonable timeframe are considered un-qualified for this position.
Within 2 weeks after written notice from the CO that all required clearances have been received, or unless another date is specified by the CO in writing, the selected offeror shall proceed to Kiev, Ukraine to perform the services specified in section I, item 9.
VI. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES
As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, an Off-shore hire USPSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:
1. BENEFITS:
Employer's FICA Contribution
Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance
Pay Comparability Adjustment
Annual Increase (pending a satisfactory performance evaluation)
Eligibility for Worker's Compensation
Annual and Sick Leave
2. ALLOWANCES (If Applicable)*:
Temporary Quarters Subsistence Allowance (Section 120)
Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)
Post Allowance (Section 220)
Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)
Education Allowance (Section 270)
Educational Travel (Section 280)
Post Differential (Section 500)
Payments During Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600)
*Dept. of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR) (Government Civilians Foreign Areas)
As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a Resident Hire USPSC is normally authorized the following benefits:
BENEFITS:
Employer's FICA Contribution
Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance
Pay Comparability Adjustment
Annual Increase (pending a satisfactory performance evaluation)
Eligibility for Worker's Compensation
Annual and Sick Leave
In accordance with AIDAR, Appendix D, 1 (Class Deviation M/OAA-DEV-AIDAR-17-02c):
(b) Definitions:
(5) Resident Hire U.S. Personal Services Contractor means a U.S. citizen or resident alien who, at the time of hire as a PSC, resides in the cooperating country -
(i) for reasons other than employment that provides for repatriation to the U.S., including-
(A) with a U.S. government agency;
(B) under any U.S. government-financed contract or agreement; or
(C) under any other contract or employment arrangement.
(ii) as a spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen with employment that provides for repatriation to the U.S., including -
(A) with a U.S. government agency;
(B) under any U.S. government-financed contract or agreement; or
(C) under any other contract or employment arrangement.
VII. TAXES
USPSCs are required to pay Federal income taxes, FICA, Medicare and applicable State Income taxes.
VIII. USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs
USAID regulations and policies governing USPSC awards are available at these sources:
1. USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), Appendix D, "Direct USAID Contracts with a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Resident Alien 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.
Line Item Table
ITEM NO
(A) SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION)
(B) QUANTITY
(C) UNIT
(D) UNIT PRICE
(E) AMOUNT
(F)
0001 Compensation
Award Type: Labor Hour
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
0002 Fringe Benefits/Other Direct Costs (ODCs)
Award Type: Cost
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
1001 Option Period (OP) 1 - Compensation
Award Type: Labor Hour
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
1002 OP 1 - ODCs
Award Type: Cost
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
2001 OP 2 - Compensation
Award Type: Labor Hour
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
2002 OP 2 - ODCs
Award Type: Cost
Product Service Code: R497
Accounting Info: 1 year LOT
3. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins (AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available are 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
Nathan Drury, Contracting Officer, Email ndrury@usaid.gov
