Foreign Service Contracting Officer

Job Description

Duties

• Key member of USAID Mission’s in-country development team supporting and/or leading various elements of the USAID program cycle, including strategic planning, project design, activity design, and activity implementation. Assists with strategic planning and project design by analyzing resources needed to actively implement and manage technical assistance.
• Supports technical offices in understanding planning and design considerations. Supports the design of activities through which USAID projects are implemented. Analyzes activity requirements; recommends or requires, as appropriate, revisions to statements of work/activity requirement; and determines the appropriate type of acquisition or assistance instrument.
• Exercises warrant authority with independent judgment in selecting implementing partners and managing the processes leading to implementing partner selection. Develops and administers solicitations leading to contracts, grants, and other agreements with individuals, firms, and institutions to carry out USAID financed activities. Ensures integrity and fairness throughout USAID Acquisition & Assistance processes. Leads technical evaluation process of proposals/applications for USAID funded projects. Leads selection of implementing partners, award monitoring and maintenance.
• Performs cost and price analysis and leads negotiations to determine fairness and reasonableness of proposed price/costs and budgets. Prepares records documentation to explain rationale and methods used in arriving at final cost recommended for award.
• Monitors contractor performance for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, delivery schedules, payment provisions, contract data reporting requirements, and satisfactory progress toward achieving contracted-for results and deliverables. Engages with host country officials and implementing partners on a variety of implementation issues.
• Delegates authority for day to day implementation management to qualified agency sta and works through and with these officials in providing management oversight (monitoring) over implementing partner performance.
• Performs final closeout of assigned contracts/agreements; e.g., assures delivery, inspection and acceptance of contractual end items and that all administrative and reporting actions have been resolved before recommending final closeout of the contract. Continuously updates practices to incorporate changes in Agency policies, priorities, and initiatives.
• Develops self and other members of the Acquisition & Assistance workforce to assume increasing levels of responsibility and technical acumen within their respective roles.
• You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package. Your application may not receive full consideration if you do not follow the instructions as outlined. This is a Foreign Service announcement. Worldwide availability is a requirement of the position. Successful candidates must be available to work in any country in the world where USAID has a presence. Here is the link to the current list of countries.

Requirements Conditions of Employment

• United States Citizenship is required.
• Relevant education and experience, see Qualifications below.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security clearance.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service. If selected, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
• Worldwide Availability. Worldwide availability is a requirement of the position. While USAID uses a bidding system for assignments, Foreign Service Officers must be willing and available to accept assignments to any country where USAID operates.
• Language-If the applicant is invited to interview, they will also be provided an opportunity to be tested in a USAID tenuring language (as identified in ADS 438maa, USAID Tenuring Languages).
• Lang Con’t -If they have demonstrated in a pre-test that they may have tenure level proficiency in reading and speaking at the level required for that language. Descriptions of these levels can be found in 13 FAH-1 H-242 Rating Scales.
• Lang Con’t - Passing the language test at the tenure level will qualify the candidate for bonus points in the selection process. It will also meet the requirement for tenure if the applicant is selected and later onboards as a
• Lang Con’t - Foreign Service Officer. Proficiency in a USAID tenuring language is not required to apply for or be selected for the foreign service with USAID. It is required to achieve tenure.
• Lang Con’t-All career candidates have five years to achieve the requirements for tenure, which includes language proficiency. USAID will fund language training and testing for career candidates if they do not already have language proficiency.
• Lang Con’t - This training takes place after other required training and prior to departure to the first overseas post. Additional information may be found in ADS 438 Foreign Language Program.
• Age Requirement - Must be between 18 and 59 years old at the time of application and not yet age 60 on the day of appointment as a Foreign Service Officer.
• Age Con’t- Applicants who are Veterans must be between 18 and 64 years old at time of application and not yet age 65 on the day of appointment.
• Medical - Prior to being hired, a medical clearance is required for this position that would allow the applicant to serve at any USAID overseas post. If a medical clearance is not granted by the State Department Bureau of Medical Clearances,
• Medical con’t the applicant may seek a reasonable accommodation from USAID. If a reasonable accommodation cannot be reached, then a waiver may be requested.
• Medical con’t-Additional details can be found in ADS 414mab, Waiver Process for Medical Clearance Requirements for Initial Appointments, Tenure Review and Overseas Assignments in the Foreign Service.
• Drug Testing: These are Testing Designated Positions under the Agency’s approved Drug Free WorkPlace Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.
• Foreign Language Program
• Position may have promotion potential after assignment overseas.

Qualifications

The qualifications for this position include relevant graduate degree and relevant working experience overseas and or in a diverse environment as specified by:

Relevant overseas experience includes working and living outside the United States while supporting international development. Relevant diverse experience includes working and living in an economically disadvantaged community in the United States. Work must be directly related to the Foreign Service Officer’s position, in which a candidate experienced firsthand development challenges, learned foreign languages, encountered different cultures and practices, and/or coordinated and engaged with external partners and local counterparts.

(1) Graduate Degree

Relevant majors for graduate degrees are business administration, public administration, law, banking, international affairs and/or political science, operations research, procurement and contracting or finance with an emphasis on commerce, trade, or materials management.

*Transcript submitted MUST HAVE Included (i) the name of the applicant, (ii) the name of the graduate university, (iii) the date the degree was conferred/awarded, AND (iv) the type of degree awarded OR IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

(2) Working Experience

Relevant professional experience includes government, private sector, commercial contracting, or regulatory affairs, international development, international business, or finance with an emphasis on contract and/or grant management cost analysis and pricing, management consulting, or public and/or nonprofit administration.

(3) Overseas working experience AND/OR experience in a (U.S.) diverse environment

(3a) Relevant overseas and or experience working and living outside the United States while supporting international development.
The applicant will need to demonstrate that the overseas experience is relevant to the technical competencies for a Foreign Service Contracting Officer listed below.

DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2024