GENERAL INFORMATION

USAID DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING) AND DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANT’S BANK ACCOUNTS.

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72061525R10003
2. ISSUANCE DATE: October 18, 2024
3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: November 03, 2024 (4:30 PM East Africa Time).
4. POINT OF CONTACT: USAID Kenya and East Africa Human Resources, e-mail at [email protected]
5. POSITION TITLE: USAID Project Management Specialist (Nutrition)
6. MARKET VALUE: Ksh. 5,565,120.00 to Ksh. 9,460,674.00 KSH per year (including 13th month bonus), equivalent to FSN-11 grade level in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID/Kenya and East Africa. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.
7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years estimated to start o/a May 11, 2025. The services provided under this contract are expected to be of a continuing nature that will be executed by USAID through a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of funds, the continued need for services and successful performance.
8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Nairobi, Kenya; with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties.
9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: Open to qualified Cooperating Country National (CCN) (an individual who is a cooperating country citizen or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country). Employees presently on probation are ineligible to apply.
10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Security certification issued by the US Embassy RSO.

STATEMENT OF DUTIES:
1. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract
The AID Project Management Specialist is the nutrition subject matter Specialist for the USAID KEA Health office. The Nutrition Specialist position is implemented within all the USAID KEA Development Objectives (Chronic Vulnerability, Wellbeing, Social systems and Regional impact) as reflected in the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS). USAID/KEA’s regional program is responsible for providing assistance and technical support to Regional Intergovernmental Organizations and implements health programs across the East Africa region consistent with its Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS). The HPN’s portfolio contributes to the RDCS goal “Enhance East African-Led Sustainable Economic Growth and Resilience” by contributing to the RDCS Development Objective (DO) 2 “Improved management of risks that transcend borders” and (DO) 3 “East African institutions leadership and learning strengthened”

The incumbent will play an advisory role for nutrition matters within the health office and across the USAID KEA Mission, inclusive of the region. They will also provide technical guidance and support for the design, implementation and evaluation of effective programs and interventions related to Nutrition, health, economic growth and emergency support. The Specialist works very closely with the Office of Economic Growth and Integration (OEGI) under the Feed the Future Presidential initiative, Food for Peace (FFP), and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The incumbent collaborates and coordinates with other Health sector components (HIV/AIDS, Maternal, newborn and child health, Reproductive Health, Malaria, Health systems) and other relevant sectors that impact on nutritional status of vulnerable populations e.g. Agriculture, Education, Water and Sanitation, Social protection among others. The Specialist will also represent USAID, and its activities and programs, to senior GoK counterparts at Regional, National and County levels, to other donor agencies, and to NGO counterparts as well as the private sector.

2. Statement of Duties to be Performed.

Technical And Strategic Leadership - 50%
• The Specialist is the subject matter specialist and is responsible for advising the Section Chief and Family Health Team Leader and others on county, national and regional matters of importance to the overall nutrition program. The Specialist must remain current on economic, political, and social trends in the Host Government and region, and analyze those trends in relation to their impact on USAID Nutrition programs.
• As part of the PEPFAR Interagency Technical Team (ITT), streamline integration of nutrition into HIV/AIDS programs, including in nutrition commodities planning and management.
• The specialist will advance multisectoral programming within the Mission through design, implementation and coordination of nutrition activities to maximize on synergies in OEGI, FFP and OFDA activities.
• Provide technical support to OEGI in portfolio reviews, country support team, Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG), USAID Agri nutrition Working Group, Drought task force as needed by the Mission and the Drought and Food Security Activities (DFSA) in Northern Kenya.
• Working with A/CORs, the incumbent will provide technical support through work plan and report reviews and field work, to bilateral partners implementing nutrition activities across the Mission offices (Health, OEGI and Emergency).
• As the subject matter expert in HPN, represent HPN in local and international events and conferences.
• Strengthen national coordination and ownership of nutrition activities within NASCOP, Division of Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture’s Agri-nutrition unit, the private sector and USG RMNCAH and PEPFAR partners. Participate and provide technical expertise in the various National Nutrition technical working groups (NICC, MIYCN, Capacity etc.) and coordination structures across sectors e.g. the Ministry of Agriculture led Linkages TWG, and Ad hoc committees formed under GOK leadership in times of shocks. The incumbent will represent USAID in the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) donor network as required.
• Continually engage with MOA in its efforts to integrate Nutrition into production, income value chains and women empowerment initiatives. Participate in Mission strategies and activities e.g. CDCS development, Annual Program Statement (APS) and other national and county-based engagements.
• The Specialist also plays a role in advocacy to influence budgetary allocations for nutrition at both levels of government, including efforts through the national treasury on implementing the Cost of Hunger in Africa- Kenya findings and recommendations.
• The Specialist will also support annual or long-term budgeting for HPN programs and allocation of funds between programs/regions, implementing partners and the regional program.

Project Management- 25%
• The Project Management Specialist (Nutrition) will serve as A/COR, activity manager, alternate A/COR or activity management team member (AMT) for bilateral, regional and centrally funded activities.
• The Specialist will be responsible for design, management, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of HPN integrated program/project/portfolio including multi sectoral nutrition programs with OEGI (Agri nutrition) and FFP.
• The Specialist is responsible for monitoring activities and providing technical and management oversight to Implementing Partners (IPs), working closely with the Contracts Office to ensure contractual compliance by I.Ps.
• The Nutrition Specialist will as A/COR and as part of a program management team, lead in review of work plans and I.P reports, financial monitoring including support to audit processes and site visits. Critical monitoring of partner performance against set targets and coverage expectations.
• The specialist will be responsible for planning and executing HPN, Mission, Washington and high-level site visits as required.
• Provides technical leadership and programmatic support for nutrition and ensures appropriate integration with other health programs in the regional portfolio
• Ensures USG efforts in the East and Horn of Africa for nutrition areas are complementary to the efforts of other donors and those of other regional non-governmental organizations (NGO) and public sector regional organizations. Actively identify and develop opportunities for improved coordination with other major donors in the region to leverage greater results in nutrition.
• Represents USAID at Regional meetings with implementing partners, donors, governments, USG agencies and international and local partners and effectively conveys USAID’s position in a variety of technical meetings.

Performance Monitoring – 25%
• The Project Management Specialist (Nutrition) works closely with the SI team and ensures that performance - monitoring systems are in place, and that periodic, reliable measures and indicators of portfolio impact are established.
• Collects and monitors performance data on an ongoing basis and prepares reports of program/project progress for use within the Team, the Mission, the Region, and for USAID/Washington.
• Assesses progress in achieving outputs and results/impacts for HPN activities and evaluates and assesses activities as needed.
• Continually strives to enhance the achievement of results by periodically reviewing the development context, results indicators, and activity implementation progress, identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions as part of continuous learning and adaptation (CLA).
• The Specialist provides technical support to implementing partners in health and Agri-nutrition to help reflect nutrition data effectively including development of more effective tools to capture data and lobby for inclusion of critical nutrition indicators into the Health management information system. They also will support health I. Ps to report nutrition data through the GFSS FTFMS system.
• The Specialist is responsible for monitoring and reporting on developments in the Nutrition sector, especially those that impact the ability to successfully implement the USAID Multisectoral strategy as it relates to Kenya. Based on an in-depth understanding of USAID policy and program objectives and priorities, the Specialist prepares technical and policy analyses, evaluates sectoral issues, and provides input to Mission activities outside of the health portfolio, but particularly with respect to the assigned sector. Summarizes information and conclusions in written and oral form for presentation to senior USG, and other decision makers, and for incorporation into other USAID Mission activity documents e.g. gender strategy, youth, education among others.
• Prepares documents for Mission reporting, administration, and planning, including the Operational plan, Country Operational Plan, Technical Notifications, and Semi-Annual Portfolio Implementation reviews. Prepares written reports that reflect a sound understanding of assigned areas of responsibility, and that clearly document that a wide variety of sources and points of view have been consulted in undertaking analyses, and in drawing conclusions. Prepares oral and written briefings and talking points for the Section Chief and others upon request.

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

Prior Work Experience

Five years experience in the international health field sub- Saharan Africa with progressively increasing responsibility for activity management and design. At least two years of experience in development work, or related fields, with a donor agency, host-country organizations, or private-sector institution which included project design, performance monitoring, and/or the analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data, is required.

Supervisory Relationship
Supervised by the Nutrition and Child Health Team Leader, including work distribution, performance evaluation, and career development. Monitoring and day-to-day management of assigned activities will be undertaken with minimal supervision and support. The supervisor makes assignments in terms of overall objectives and resources available. Completed work is reviewed in terms of achievement of program/ project/ activity goals, effectiveness in meeting goals and objectives, and integration with other initiatives in the HPN Office and Mission portfolio. Some technical direction may come from other professionals in the Office; in general, however, the Specialist will be expected to exercise considerable autonomy and best judgment in discharging the duties of the assignment.

Supervisory Controls
Supervision of other Mission staff is not contemplated.

Physical Demands

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

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.

Offerors who meet the minimum qualifications listed above will be evaluated and ranked according to the following job-related criteria. Top-ranking candidates will be invited for a skills test and an oral interview.

• Job Knowledge (60 Points)

Must have a thorough understanding and knowledge of the health sector and related issues and programs in sub Saharan Africa. Must understand the nature and the goals of the major program to which the employee is assigned. Must have a comprehensive knowledge, or the potential to acquire such knowledge, of USG programming policies, regulations, procedures, and practices which bear on program/project management. Work requires a comprehensive knowledge of GOK policies and procedures relevant to the health programs.

• Skills and abilities (40 Points)

Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively in a team-based environment, both inside and outside of USAID/Kenya, in order to plan, implement, monitor, and advocate for programs. HPN has a strong team management approach, and the Specialist will be working collaboratively in teams composed of staff from, throughout the Mission and with external partners and agencies.

Total possible points:  100

SUBMITTING AN OFFER

Step 1: Register in MyJobsInKenya at www.myjobsinkenya.com

Step 2: Complete the job application at www.myjobsinkenya.com

Step 3: Internal Offerors/Current USG Employees: Attach an updated curriculum vitae/resume (no more than five pages), a copy of your most recent Performance Evaluation Report, and copies of all relevant certificates. Scan and attach all the documents and upload them to MyJobsInKenya.

                        OR

External Offerors/Not Current USG Employees: Attach an updated curriculum vitae/resume (no more than five pages) and copies of all relevant certificates. Scan and attach all the documents and upload them to MyJobsInKenya.

Note to Applicants:

1. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted through myjobsinkenya.com.
2. Submissions will only be accepted through myjobsinkenya.com. Late and incomplete applications (those that do not contain the applicant’s most current and up to date detailed CV and relevant education certificates) will not be considered for the position.
3. All Applicants must provide at least three professional references, who are not family members or relatives, with working telephone and e-mail contacts. The references must be able to provide substantive information about your past performance and abilities. USAID reserves the right to contact your previous employers for relevant information concerning your performance and may consider such information in its evaluation of the application.

LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS PRIOR TO AWARD 

The CO will provide instructions about how to complete and submit any required forms after an offeror is selected for the contract award.

BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

Benefits and allowances are offered in accordance with the Local Compensation Plan (LCP).

TAXES

CCNPSCs are required to pay PAYE and statutory deductions. All applicable taxes will be deducted from the stated gross market rate.

USAID REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND CONTRACT CLAUSES PERTAINING TO PSCs 

USAID regulations and policies governing CCN PSC awards are available at these sources:

1. USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), Appendix J, “Direct USAID Contracts With a Cooperating Country National and with a Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad,” including contract clause “General Provisions,” available at https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar
2. Contract Cover Page form AID 309-1 available at https://www.usaid.gov/forms. Pricing by line item is to be determined upon contract award as described below:

LINE ITEMS

ITEM NO (A) - 0001
SUPPLIES/SERVICES (DESCRIPTION) (B) - Base Contract FSN - 09 Compensation, Fringe Benefits and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)
- Award Type: Cost
- Product Service Code: [ R497]
- Accounting Info: [insert one or more citation(s) from Phoenix/GLAAS]
QUANTITY (C) - 1
UNIT (D) - LOT
UNIT PRICE (E) - $ TBD
AMOUNT (F) - $_TBD at Award after negotiations with Contractor_

3. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directives/Contract Information Bulletins (AAPDs/CIBs) for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals available 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/resources_standards-of-conduct.
   
   
5. PSC Ombudsman
   The PSC Ombudsman serves as a resource for any Personal Services Contractor who has entered into a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and is available to provide clarity on their specific contract with the agency. Please visit our page for additional information: https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/personal-service-contracts-ombudsman. The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: [email protected].
6. FAR Provisions Incorporated by Reference

52.204-27 - PROHIBITION ON A BYTEDANCE COVERED APPLICATION - JUN 2023