q ISSUANCE DATE: April 4, 2016

CLOSING DATE: April 27, 2016 at 17:00 Hours Accra Local Time SUBJECT: SOLICITATION NUMBER SOL-624-16-000010 FOR A U.S. CITIZEN OR A THIRD COUNTRY NATIONAL PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTOR FOR SENIOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE TEAM LEAD Ladies and Gentlemen: The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking applications of qualified U.S Citizen or Third Country Nationals (TCN) interested in providing Personal Services Contract services as described in the attached solicitation. In order to be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the minimum qualifications listed in the solicitation at the time of submission and must submit all required documentations. The Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead position will be located in USAID Cote d’Ivoire Health Office. Interested candidates meeting the requirements of the solicitation must submit all the following required materials for consideration (see details on section 8):

• Cover Letter; • Curriculum Vitae or resume; • Signed Form AID 302-3 (available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms/); • Supplemental document addressing the evaluation factors; and • List of three to five professional references.

All application packages are to be submitted via email to: accrapsc@usaid.gov Please cite the solicitation number and position title within the subject line of your email application. Any attachments provided via email must be in a format compatible with Microsoft Word 2003/2010 or PDF and not zipped. Note that attachments to email must not exceed 3 MB. Any questions concerning this solicitation may be directed to Mildred Agbo via email at magbo@usaid.gov no later than April 13, 2016; no questions will be entertained after this date.

U.S. Agency for International Development No. 24 Fourth Circular Rd. P. O. Box 1630, Accra-Ghana

Tel: 233-302-741-200 Fax: 233-302-741-365 www.usaid.gov/west-africa-regional

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SOLICITATION NUMBER: SOL-624-16-000010 ISSUANCE DATE: April 4, 2016 CLOSING DATE: April 27, 2016 17:00 Hours Accra Local Time POSITION TITLE: Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead

MARKET VALUE OF POSITION: GS-14 ($87,263 - $113,444) Final compensation will

be negotiated within the listed market value based upon the candidate’s past salary, work history and educational background. Salaries over and above the top of the GS14 pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Open to U.S. Citizens (including Legal Permanent

Residents) and Third Country Nationals.

Third Country Nationals means an individual (i) who is neither a citizen nor a permanent legal resident alien of the United States nor of the country to which assigned for duty, and (ii) who is eligible for return to his/her home country or country of recruitment at U.S. Government expense.

PERIOD OF PERFORANCE: Two (2) years with option to extend for one or two

years. Extensions will be contingent on satisfactory performance, continued need for the services and availability of funds.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Cote d’Ivoire SECURITY AND MEDICAL CLEARANCES: Selected applicant must obtain Secret Clearance

(USPSC)/Facility Access (Permanent Resident)/ Employment Authorization (TCN) and necessary Medical Clearance within a reasonable period of time. USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidate. If such clearances are not obtained within a reasonable time or negative suitability issues are involved, any offer made may be rescinded.

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1. INTRODUCTION The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks to employ a Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead (Senior ID Team Lead) who will have primary responsibility for ensuring well-coordinated and effective delivery of technical and programmatic support across the Agency’s Global Health Security and Development (GHSD) portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire. The portfolio includes priority USG programing for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) preparedness, the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, and USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program to pre-empt or combat, at their source, newly emerging diseases of animal origin that could threaten human health. Neglected tropical disease programming and any future programmatic efforts related to infectious disease outbreaks (malaria, for example), will be coordinated by the Senior ID Team Lead. The Senior ID Team Lead will be responsible for overseeing a multi-sectoral, complex portfolio, providing leadership and technical support to the full range of GHSD investments as they relate to the development context of Cote d’Ivoire. The Senior ID Team Lead will serve as a high-level technical advisor to the Health Office Director. The Senior ID Team Lead will be responsible for working closely with Washington-based AORs to ensure coordination across all assets within the Health Office Infectious Disease portfolio and to ensure that program activities are well coordinated with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire priorities, other USG GHSA programs, and other donor-funded health and development investments. The Senior ID Team Lead will provide on-site functional supervision of one technical FSN staff also working full-time on emerging disease threats and related programming. The Senior ID Team Lead will serve as a senior member of the USAID/ Côte d’Ivoire Health Team and coordinate across the teams to ensure integrated programming.

Placement of the Senior ID Team Lead in Cote d’Ivoire will fill a critical role for USAID to meet the expectations of the White House and Congress for rapid, effective, and coordinated implementation of GHSA Action Packages. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Defense (DOD) will be programming significant amounts of their own funds for GHSA activities in Côte d’Ivoire necessitating effective USG coordination. The Senior ID Team Lead will work closely with other USG partners, particularly CDC and DOD offices working at the national level, which also provide support for GHSA implementation, thus presenting a "whole of government" approach.

2. BACKGROUND In today’s globalized world, the speed with which newly emergent diseases can surface and spread, as illustrated by the H1N1 2009 pandemic virus and the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, raises serious public health, economic, security and development concerns. It also underscores the need for the global community to act pre-emptively and systematically to improve individual countries’ abilities to earlier identify and quickly mitigate health threats arising within their borders. Most importantly, the threat posed by new infectious diseases arising from animal reservoirs (zoonotic diseases) argues for a rethinking of standard strategies for the prevention, detection and response of diseases and their progenitors to reflect a more inclusive and strategic partnership across the public health, animal health and environmental sectors if we are to be able to address emergent disease threats before they pose an overwhelming global threat.

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The majority of all new, emerging and re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the twenty-first century have originated from animals. Many of these infectious diseases are of serious concern to human and animal health, and they are emerging in places where humans, wildlife, and domestic animals are increasingly in contact. Recent efforts, in part supported under USAID’s Global Health Security and Development (GHSD) portfolio, has advanced our understanding of disease spillover, amplification, and spread by highlighting the strong correlation between “high risk” geographic areas, animal hosts, microbial agents, and people. This collective body of work, in turn, has led to the recognition that risk-based intervention strategies enable targeting disease detection to those places, populations, times or situations where risk of viral spillover, amplification, and spread is greatest and the likelihood of detecting these events is highest.

The effective response to the challenges caused by emerging, multifaceted health threats requires a multi-disciplinary approach. The EVD epidemic, MERS, and a recent reintroduction of AI in poultry in Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire are jarring examples of the need for greater capability in all countries and across multiple sectors to rapidly detect and respond to new or re-emerging public health threats. In November 2014 USAID/GHSD launched the second five-year phase of the EPT portfolio (EPT-2). As with its predecessors AI and EPT-1, EPT-2 is focused on mitigating the impact of novel “high-consequence pathogens” arising from animals through a suite of One Health investments with the goal of enabling: early detection of new disease threats; effective control of new threats through enhanced “national-level” preparedness; and a reduction in the risk of disease emergence by minimizing those practices and behaviors that trigger the “spillover, amplification, and spread” of new viruses. At the core of EPT-2 are seven new areas of strategic focus:

1. Developing longitudinal data sets for understanding the biological drivers of viral evolution, spillover, amplification, and spread

2. Understanding the human behaviors and practices that underlie the risk of “evolution, spillover, amplification and spread” of new viral threats

3. Promoting policies and practices that reduce the risk of virus evolution, spillover, amplification, and spread, specifically targeting four areas of risk identified under EPT-1; The Extractive Industry, Urban/peri-urban markets, Livestock “value chains” in Asia, and Africa Livestock Futures

4. Supporting national One Health platforms 5. Investing in the One Health workforce 6. Strengthening national preparedness to respond to events of public health significance 7. Strengthening global networks for real-time bio-surveillance

3. OBJECTIVE The objective of this position is to provide the USAID/Côte d’Ivoire H e a l t h Office with backstopping, coordination and programmatic support to assist in successful implementation, monitoring of, and reporting on the USAID emerging and infectious disease portfolio in Cote d’Ivoire. Successful completion of this objective will require working with a wide array of US Government partners, ministries, economic entities, international organizations, non-

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governmental organizations (NGOs), and other implementing partners. Of special consideration is a focus on rapid, effective, and coordinated oversight of the GHSA action packages.

The Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead, working under the supervision of the USAID Health Office Director, will provide technical expertise to USAID to manage, coordinate, and monitor activities associated with the infectious disease outbreaks as these relate to human and animal health and the environment. The Senior ID Team Lead will liaise with the Agency’s W a s h i n g t o n - b a s e d GHSD Unit. S/he will ensure that the Mission’s planning, response, and reporting on GHSA and EPT are carried out in accordance with Agency, State Department, and Congressional directives. S/he will have oversight for the Neglected Tropical Disease programming and any future malaria or other infectious disease programs in country. S/he will have responsibility for coordination with the other USAID Health Office Teams (HSS, SI, and Community Health) as well as with the broader USAID Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa Regional multi sectoral development programming implemented in Côte d’Ivoire.

4. MAJOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Serve as Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead to provide coordination across all assets and

activities related to infectious disease control and Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) Programs in Côte d’Ivoire.

a. Primary responsibility for strategic planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of programs related to infectious disease control and emerging pandemic threats in Côte d’Ivoire.

b. Engage with EPT implementing partners in country to keep informed on all program activities and to ensure good coordination with the national government, the USAID Côte d’Ivoire Health Office, and other partners.

c. With support from USAID Washington, coordinate EPT, Ebola preparedness, and other infectious disease program planning and monitoring activities for Côte d’Ivoire.

d. Develop and maintain relationships with relevant ministries (Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, Ministry of Wildlife, and others as appropriate) to ensure that USAID G H S A a n d i n f e c t i o u s d i s e a s e programs are well-coordinated with country priorities.

2. Ensure integration of emerging disease activities (Ebola preparedness programs, EPT programs, NTD programs) with the broader USAID health portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire.

a. Build relationships across the other USAID Health Teams (Community Health, SI, HSS) and identify areas of convergence (e.g., common objectives, similar streams of work, and key opportunities for linkages). With the broader non-health USAID team and West Africa Regional Teams, look across the USAID development portfolio (e.g., economic growth and trade, environmental conservation, food security, education, governance, agriculture, health) for leveraging opportunities.

b. Ensure regular communications with USAID West Africa legal and environmental teams during the roll-out of new infectious and emerging disease programmatic efforts in Côte d’Ivoire.

3. Ensure coordination of infectious disease and EPT activities with USG GHSA activities and other health and development investments in Côte d’Ivoire. Because of the responsibilities spanning t h e U S G ( USAID, CDC, and DOD) it is important to forge a special partnership among the agencies.

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a. Establish frequent, regular meetings with CDC and DOD in country. b. Participate in the U.S. Embassy Global Health Working Group and ad hoc meetings

with CDC and DOD leadership and staff within Côte d’Ivoire to discuss activities in order to identify areas of collaboration and avoid duplication of USG activities.

c. Provide a bridge between other USG activities and the broader USAID bilateral and regionally-funded sectoral work in Cote d’Ivoire as these relate to the USAID’s infectious disease programs.

d. Build on broader USG contributions in country by expanding or supporting epidemiologic and lab capacity, increasing monitoring and interventions at the animal-human interface and developing or enhancing pathogen discovery to maximize USG investments on detecting and controlling emerging infectious disease threats in Côte d’Ivoire.

e. During disease outbreak situations in which USAID’s programs are asked to participate, ensure that USAID assets, including the EPT program, are tightly coordinated in supporting the national government.

4. Coordination of EPT partners and other key stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire a. Establish and maintain contacts among partners in Côte d’Ivoire whose activities are

related to EPT activities. Such partners include: USG agencies, National governments and their relevant ministries, private sector, international and local NGOs, multi-lateral organizations, etc.

b. Use this network to facilitate the EPT implementing partners in successful completion of work plan activities

c. Engage and participate in Partner/Donor coordination and collaboration mechanisms. 5. Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation

a. Report on EPT, Ebola Preparedness, and other activities as assigned to USAID Global Health Security and Development Unit (Specifically the Agreement Officer Technical Representatives for all central projects); this includes monthly reporting as mandated by Congress.

b. Regularly visit projects and provide site visit reports and technical recommendations to provide necessary oversight and improve quality of project interventions.

c. Provide regular communications and serve as a liaison to the Global Health Bureau on the EPT and Ebola Preparedness activities and other infectious disease threats as relevant.

6. Supervise a staff of at least one technical FSN Position. a. Provide day-to-day management and coordination of work assignments. b. Prepare annual evaluation materials (with signatory approval from the Health Office

Director or Deputy) and provide regular meetings and feedback. c. Provide overall technical oversight for the task areas assigned to staff, such as

Neglected Tropical Disease programming.

7. Perform any other relevant duties as required.

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5. SUPERVISION The Senior Infectious Disease Team Lead will be supervised by and report to the Health Office Director or his or her delegate within the USAID Côte d’Ivoire Country Office.

6. REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree (or higher) in public health, public policy, veterinary medicine, epidemiology or related discipline.

Minimum of seven years of public health or related experience in developing countries with

at least three years of experience working with international animal and public health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Minimum of five years of demonstrated, successful experience coordinating complex

programs with multiple partners (especially those involving two or more US Government agencies) in resource-poor settings.

Minimum one year experience managing staff.

Minimum of five years of management experience related to programs in developing countries that involve significant partnership and collaboration across multiple ministries to include Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture.

Demonstrated ability to understand the strategic purpose and goals of multiple

organizations from different sectors (e.g. public health, animal health, environment), identify and solve problems, and coordinate and support activities that lead to mutual success across the different sectors Demonstrated ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment Demonstrated ability to communicate highly technical information related to human

health, animal health, and environment to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.

Experience with monitoring and evaluation methodologies including frameworks, data quality assurance, analysis reporting and best practices in data dissemination in international/resource poor settings.

• Knowledge of USAID policies, procedures, and reporting requirements is desirable.

• Excellent leadership, communications and interpersonal skills.

• High degree of judgment, maturity, ingenuity, and originality to interpret strategy and to

analyze, develop, and present work results.

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• Some degree of in-country travel required.

• Fluency in English required. Basic proficiency in French (II Spoken and Written) required.

US Citizenship or US Permanent Residency required.

7. EVALUATION SELECTION CRITERIA Candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on the following selection criteria:

1. Education (10 points): An advanced degree (master’s or higher) in a relevant professional discipline, such as public heath, veterinary medicine, public policy, epidemiology, or a related subject.

2. Relevant Experience (40 points):

• Quality and relevancy of experience working in public health or related experience in

developing countries including experience working with international animal and public health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

• Quality and relevancy of demonstrated, successful experience coordinating complex programs with multiple partners (especially those involving two or more US Government agencies) in resource-poor settings.

• Demonstrated experience managing staff. • Quality and relevancy of management experience related to programs in developing

countries that involve significant partnership and collaboration across multiple ministries to include Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture

3. Communication and Interpersonal Skills (40 points):

• Demonstrated ability to understand the strategic purpose and goals of multiple organizations

from different sectors (e.g. public health, animal health, and environment), identify and solve problems, and coordinate and support activities that lead to mutual success across the different sectors.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment and communicate highly technical information related to human health, animal health, and environment to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.

• Quality and relevancy of experience with monitoring and evaluation methodologies including frameworks, data quality assurance, analysis reporting and best practices in data dissemination in international/resource poor settings.

• Demonstrated French Language skills at a basic level II for speaking and writing. Fluency in English (Level IV) required.

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4. Professional Judgment (10 points) Demonstrated high degree of judgment, maturity, ingenuity, and originality to interpret strategy, to analyze, develop, and present work results and to monitor and evaluate implementation of programs. Successful track record of working as a member of a team within complex organizational structures.

8. BASIS OF RATING APPLICATIONS

Selection Factors: Applicants must possess the minimum qualifications for the position (see criteria above: Education, Technical Knowledge, Work Experience, Communication and Other Skills). Additional factors to be taken into consideration include:

Applicant is a U.S. Citizen, permanent U.S. resident, or Third-Country National.

Completed and hand-signed form AID 302-3 is submitted by application deadline.

(Note: All applicants must submit complete dates [months/years] and hours per week for all positions listed on the AID 302-3 to allow for adequate evaluation of their related and direct experience. Experience that cannot be quantified will not count towards meeting the experience requirements.).

Cover letter and supporting documentation specifically addressing the minimum

requirements for the position. Applicants must explain in their cover letter how they meet the requirements of the position. If excellent writing skills are required, applicants should submit a writing sample of a work document or publication, written by the applicant, covering a technical area relevant for the position applied for (include writing sample as an attachment to cover letter).

All applications will be evaluated and scored based on the required qualifications and

documentation submitted with the application. Those applicants who are short-listed (determined to be competitively ranked) may also be evaluated on interview performance and satisfactory professional reference checks. Failure to address the selection criteria may result in your not receiving credit for all of your pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards. USAID may contact the applicant’s professional references and verify academic credentials. Applicants may also be evaluated based on the performance in an interview.

Applicants who do not meet all of the selection criteria or do not provide the required documentation are considered NOT qualified for the position.

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9. MEDICAL AND SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS The applicant selected to fill this position must be able to obtain a security clearance/employment authorization which involves applicant's comprehensive background investigation performed by a U.S. Government Agency. The applicant selected to fill the position must also receive medical clearance to work worldwide. Details of how to obtain such clearance will be provided after selection and acceptance of the job offer. The final selected candidates must obtain security and medical clearances within a reasonable period of time (USAID will provide details regarding these clearances to the selected candidates). A substantial delay in obtaining either required clearance will make the applicant ineligible for selection. 10. INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS

Submission of a resume alone IS NOT a complete application. This position requires the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described in this section. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your not being considered for employment. Interested individuals meeting the Minimum Qualifications above are required to submit the following: • Signed Form AID 302-3, Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts (available at

http://www.usaid.gov/forms/) All applicants must submit complete dates (months/years) and hours per week for all positions listed on the form AID 302-3 to allow for adequate evaluation of your related and direct experiences. Applicants should note that the salary history for the purposes of the AID 302-3 is the base salary paid, excluding benefits and allowances such as housing, travel, educational support, etc.

• Cover letter and a current resume/curriculum vita (CV). The CV/resume must contain sufficient relevant information to evaluate the application in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. Broad general statements that are vague or lacking specificity will not be considered as effectively addressing particular selection criteria. Complete dates (month/year) are also required on CV.

• Applicants must provide a minimum of three and a maximum of five references within the last

five years from the applicant’s professional life namely individuals who are not family members or relatives. Three references must be from direct supervisors who can provide information regarding the applicant’s work knowledge and professional experience. Applicants must provide e-mail addresses and/or working telephone numbers for all references.

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• Applicants also must address the above Section 4: Selection Criteria, in a summary statement to be included in the application. This summary statement, limited to two pages, must describe specifically and accurately what experience, training, education, and/or awards the applicant has received that are relevant to each selection factor above. The summary statement must include the name of the applicant and the announcement number at the top of each page.

11. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSCS:

Forms outlined below can found at: http://www.usaid.gov/forms/ 1. Application for Federal Employment (AID 302-3); 2. Contractor Physical Examination (AID Form 1420-62). * 3. Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions (for National Security) (SF-86), or * 4. Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF-85). * 5. Finger Print Card (FD-258). * * Forms 2 through 5 shall be completed only upon the advice of the Contracting Officer that an applicant is the successful candidate for the job.

1. CONTRACT INFORMATION BULLETIN (CIBs) AND ACQUISITION AND ASSISTANCE POLICY DIRECTIVES (AAPDs) PERTAINING TO PSCs

CIBs AND AAPDSs contain information or changes pertaining to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulation and procedures concerning acquisition and assistance including Personal Service Contracts and can be found at: http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/aapds-cibs. AIDAR Appendix D and J apply to USPSC and TCNPSC respectively and can be found at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf.

2. BENEFITS/ALLOWANCES As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances: (NOTE: An individual defined as a USPSC employee may only be eligible for those benefits listed below.) TCNPSC MAY be eligible for benefits in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J, sec. 4(c)(2)(ii)(B). BENEFITS: Employee's FICA and Medicare Contribution (USPSCs only) Contribution toward Health & Life Insurance Pay Comparability Adjustment Eligibility for Worker's Compensation Annual & Sick Leave Access to Embassy medical facilities, commissary and pouch mail service (USPSCs only)

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*Note: If a US citizen, the Contractor’s salary will be subject to employee’s FICA and Medicare contribution. ALLOWANCES (If Applicable): (1) Temporary Lodging Allowance (Section 120)* (2) Living Quarters Allowance (Section 130)* (3) Post Allowance (Section 220)* (4) Supplemental Post Allowance (Section 230)* (5) Post Differential (Chapter 500)* (6) Payments during Evacuation/Authorized Departure (Section 600)* and (7) Danger Pay (Section 650)* (8) Educational Allowance (Section 270)* (9) Separate Maintenance Allowance (Section 260)* (10) Educational Travel (Section 280)* * Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas). FEDERAL TAXES: USPSCs are not exempt from payment of Federal and State Income Taxes