Project Management Specialist

Job Description

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 72068521R10002
ISSUANCE DATE: November 13, 2020
CLOSING DATE: December 3, 2020

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) accounts for 40 percent of the Health Office’s portfolio (approximately $24 million annually). With a national scope, implemented through USAID’s bilateral partners and a range of innovative government-to-government (G2G) agreements, the PMI program has a considerable and growing workload, particularly as its G2G programs have expanded to be larger than many traditional bilateral mechanisms. The jobholder will provide important managerial coverage for these growing and innovative activities; s/he will be expected to devote up to 20 percent to the National Malaria Control Program, to help support implementation. This position is for a Cooperating Country National Personal Service Contract (CCNPSC) professional to support the Mission’s programs under PMI. The jobholder assists the USAID and Center for Disease Control (CDC) President’s Malaria Initiative Resident Advisors as well as the PMI Technical Specialist in all aspects of management of PMI activities. The jobholder will be part of the Mission’s Health Team and assist in overseeing the planning, management and monitoring of multiple projects and activities in the malaria control project within the USAID’s Mission in the Senegal program portfolio.

The job may be expected to perform work-related travel.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The jobholder will increase the malaria team’s capacity to implement its ambitious and growing program. The job holder will assist the existing PMI staff in maintaining relationships with partners (other donors, implementing partners, and the Government of Senegal (GOS)) and ensuring smooth planning, implementation, and documentation of the activities and agreements in the malaria portfolio. Specific additional responsibilities include:

Provision of technical inputs and support (30%)

Job holder is part of and works in collaboration with the PMI team, responsible for all aspects of agency malaria program management: planning, organizing, coordinating, and monitoring for results. S/he serves as a permanent member of the USAID/Senegal Health Team. S/he shall consider the macro picture of the health portfolio while focusing on managing G2G-supported malaria activities, and other infectious diseases (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB)). The incumbent will also work with the entire health team to understand health portfolio dynamic and contribute to the overarching maternal and child mortality reduction goals.

In carrying out these responsibilities, job holder:

• Assist with planning Malaria Operation Plans (MOP) and ensure all technical resources andmaterials are shared with PMI partners in Senegal and PMI/Headquarters prior to the MOPplanning visit.
• Assists in the design, planning and implementation of malaria prevention and control activitiesconsistent with USAID’s strategy and with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and PMI. More specifically, the incumbent shall focus on managing the design or amendment ofImplementation Letter (IL) under G2G mechanism and ensure timeline for design or amendment isrespected.
• Provides support to PMI partners and managerial support as needed during the design andimplementation phases to ensure the quality of interventions and programmatic targets are met.

Management of Program Implementation (30%)

• The Job holder:
• Works with the PMI Team and the national malaria control program and other partners to ensurean effective monitoring and evaluation of PMI-supported activities.
• Serves as Agreement/Contract Officer’s Representative (A/COR), Activity Manager or G2G activitymanager for selected Mission contracts, grants, and G2G agreements funded by the PMI or otherUSAID programs; regularly monitors and evaluates program performance and ensures thatappropriate program documentation is provided.
• Follows-up on malaria commodities procurement actions and ensure coordination with the Health Office Health System/Supply Chain Specialist, the Technical Assistance provider and the NationalMalaria Control Program point of contact. More specifically, the job holder ensure commoditiesordered meet requirements of quantity and are delivered to the NMCP on a timely manner.

Administrative Management (30%)

• Incumbent is responsible for tracking PMI finances, providing oversight and monitoring the budgets allocated to implementing/cooperative agreement partners within the PMI portfolio. This includes reviewing incremental funding amounts and budget requests for appropriateness, monitoring use of funds for adherence to proposed activities; quarterly pipeline reviews/budget status reports, following up on irregular findings, providing advice for realignments of budgets, accruals.
• Under the G2G mechanism, jobholder tracks milestones as they are submitted by the NMCP to ensure timeliness of submission, maintains files and records and follows-up on milestone payment after approval, in consultation with appropriate Office of Financial Management (OFM) staff. Working closely with the G2G and PMI teams, job holder is responsible for data integrity and security of information specific to malaria. S/he ensures that files including reports, meeting summaries and minutes, copies of all milestones are filed electronically and in G2G paper archives.
• The incumbent will support data compilation and production of periodic reports, including the PMI Quarterly Report, the Country Results Review (CRR), the PMI Annual Report and USAID Mission’s annual Performance Plan and Report (PPR), as well as ad hoc briefing summaries on status and progress.

Other technical responsibilities (10%)

The job holder is expected to spend part of his/her time monitoring infectious disease activities (HIV, TB) when appropriate, in collaboration with other technical interventions in the health portfolio.

The contractor is eligible for temporary duty (TDY) travel to the U.S., or to other Missions abroad, to participate in the Foreign Service National Fellowship Program, in accordance with USAID policy.

Supervision Received: The jobholder applies a technical body of knowledge to complex and sensitive programs in Senegal. Although the jobholder will report directly to the USAID PMI Resident Advisor, s/he is expected to work with minimal supervision and oversight from the Malaria Technical Specialist (who will provide substantial inputs to his/her performance evaluation) and take initiative to improve program management, planning, and results. The jobholder liaises daily with the other Health team members to ensure synergies and effective management of activities. The jobholder drafts correspondence and presentations as requested by the PMI Resident Malaria Advisors, the PMI FSN Advisor, Health Office Director, and other relevant staff related to USAID policy and implementation.

Supervision Exercised: There is no supervision role in this position.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Education: A graduate degree in Public health, Social Sciences, International Development, nursing or similar discipline, and training in infectious diseases is required.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum of Three (3) years of progressively responsible experience managing health programs. At least one (1) year of experience designing and managing public sector programs in the developing world, mainly in Sub Saharan Africa is required.

Post Entry Training: On-going training in Agency approaches to project design, implementation, and reporting. A/COTR training, technical update in malaria prevention techniques being used in Senegal, computer skills and other information technology training.

Language Proficiency: (List both English and host country language(s) proficiency requirements by level (II, III) and specialization (speak/read): Written and Spoken Level IV French and written and spoken Level IV English is required. This will be tested.

Job Knowledge: A thorough knowledge of the concepts, principles, techniques, and best practices of health systems, health policies, and in particular of high impact interventions in malaria, is required. A thorough understanding of Senegal’s national health policies and international priorities is necessary, as well as knowledge about Senegal’s development prospects, priorities, and resources in the health sector with particular emphasis on health issues affecting women and children and Senegal’s health system.

Skills and Abilities: Demonstrated managerial, administrative, analytical, and decision-making abilities. Ability to readily analyze, understand, and discuss new program design, management, and implementation approaches are essential to this position. Demonstrated ability to identify priority actions and generate and complete work plans within short time frames. Strong oral, written skills and interpersonal communication skills. Ability to rapidly create text, such as correspondences, timelines, spreadsheets, and other types of documents to meet specific program and reporting needs.

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. The FAR provisions referenced above are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

Selection Process

After the closing date for receipt of application, a Selection Committee will convene to review applications that meet the minimum requirements and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Incomplete applications from applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements will not be scored. As part of the selection process, only shortlisted applicants will be invited to participate in an oral interview. Required reference checks will be conducted only for shortlisted applicants who meet the specified requirements. The applicant’s references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her performance and abilities.

Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria to a maximum score of 100 points:

SUBMITTING AN OFFER

To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 4 and submitted electronically to: usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov with the Solicitation Number and Position Title in the application submission Subject Line .

Qualified applicants are required to submit:

• Cover letter and current résumé/curriculum vitae (CV). The CV/résumé must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria.
• Applicants are required to provide no less than five (5) references who are not family members or relatives. References should include Current or Former Supervisors who can provide information regarding applicant job knowledge and professional work experience. Applicants must provide accurate e-mail addresses for all references.
• Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts form AID 309-2 which can be found at http://www.usaid.gov/forms/. Offerors are required to complete and sign the form.
• Copies of relevant Academic Degrees
• Offers must be received by December 3, 2020 and submitted in usaiddakar-hr@usaid.gov.

To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors must prominently reference the Solicitation number in the offer submission and as the subject line in any cover letter. The highest-ranking applicants may be selected for an interview.

About the Organization

The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or striving to live in a free and democratic country. It is this caring that stands as a hallmark of the United States around the world -- and shows the world our true character as a nation. U.S. foreign assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. Spending less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget, USAID works around the world to achieve these goals. USAID's history goes back to the Marshall Plan reconstruction of Europe after World War Two and the Truman Administration's Point Four Program. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and created by executive order USAID. Since that time, USAID has been the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. Our Work supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting: * economic growth, agriculture and trade; * global health; and, * democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. USAID's Strategy in Senegal Senegal has progressed significantly in the past decade both politically and economically. This progress has led to the country achieving eligibility status for the Millennium Challenge Account, due primarily to its strong commitment to ruling justly, investing in people, and promoting economic freedom. A democratic, predominantly Muslim but secular country, Senegal is a moderating voice in the Islamic and African worlds. USAID assists Senegal to enhance the productivity of its people and, in so doing, create jobs for unemployed youth, improve access to education and health care and further institutionalize democracy.