SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Senior South Asia Urban Development Advisor, USAID/New Delhi
- Notice Date
- 4/24/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Agency for International Development, Overseas Missions, India USAID-New Delhi, Dept. of State, Washington, DC, 20521-9000
- ZIP Code
- 20521-9000
- Solicitation Number
- 386-03-013
- Archive Date
- 6/14/2003
- Point of Contact
- Jerry Kryschtal, Contracting Officer, Phone 91-11-419-8796, Fax 91-11-419-8390 or 8612, - Naveen Srivastava, Acquisition & Assistance Specialist, Phone 91-11-419-8547, Fax 91-11-419-8390,
- E-Mail Address
-
jkryschtal@usaid.gov, nsrivastava@usaid.gov
- Description
- ISSUANCE DATE: 04-24-2003 CLOSING DATE: 05-30-2003 Ladies/Gentlemen: SUBJECT:US Personal Services Contract - Sr. South Asian Urban Development Advisor, USAID/New Delhi The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking applications of qualified individuals from US citizens interested in providing Personal Services Contract (PSC) services as described in the attached solicitation. Submittals shall be in accordance with the attached information at the place and time specified. Any questions on this solicitation may be directed to: Jerry Kryschtal Or Naveen K. Srivastava Regional Contracting Office US Agency for International Development 9000 New Delhi Place, Washington DC - 20521-9000 TELEPHONE NUMBER: +91-11-2419-8796/ 2419-8547 FAX NUMBER: +91-11-24198390 E-MAIL ADDRESS: nsrivastava@usaid.gov or indiarfp@usaid.gov Applicants should retain for their records copies of all enclosures which accompany their applications. All applications and the required documents should be submitted to: Regional Contracting Office US Agency for International Development US Embassy, West Building Shantipath, Chanakyapuri New Delhi - 110021. INDIA. Sincerely, J. J. Kryschtal Regional Contracting Officer SOLICITATION NUMBER: 386-03-013 ISSUANCE DATE: 04-24-2003 CLOSING DATE/TIME: 05-30-2003 AT 1600 hrs, New Delhi Time. POSITION TITLE: Sr. South Asian Urban Development Advisor MARKET VALUE: GS-14 equivalent ($72,381 - $94,098) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: o/a September 1, 2003 through August 30, 2005. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: USAID New Delhi, India. SECURITY ACCESS: Secret AREA OF CONSIDERATION: U.S. Citizens POSITION DESCRIPTION Senior South Asia Urban Development Adviser Statement of Work A. Introduction and Background The purpose of the Senior South Asia Urban Development Adviser (SUDA) position is to advise and assist USAID missions and their counterparts in South Asia better address the region?s urbanization and strengthen local governments? urban management capacity. Urbanization is a phenomenon that is part and parcel of economic development. The migration of labor, capital, and wage goods from rural to urban settings, from the agricultural sector to services and manufacturing, constitute the great ?structural transformation? that is economic development. This phenomenon is inescapable and of overwhelming importance in determining how societies are governed, use natural resources, and provide essential services such as health, housing, and education. Over the last few decades, most countries in Asia have been undergoing structural changes that heighten the criticality of urban areas and urbanizing regions. National economies are transforming or are largely transformed from the agriculturally based and rural to the predominately industrial and service-based that is coincidental with urbanization. National legislation and legal codes for decentralization in many countries are altering the fundamental structure and process of governance nationally to focus on local government units and governance through broadened civic participation. In order to realize the economic potential of urbanization, much depends on policy and governance at the central government and local government levels. In most countries of South Asia, local governments are inadequately empowered, financed, informed, and staffed to deal with the problems and the opportunities of cities and their extended urban regions. Ultimately, if left unaddressed, this will subvert the promise of economic development. Ill-prepared to absorb and support rapid growth, South Asia?s cities and peri-urban areas, while absorbing some populations from rural poverty, are also creating extensive new populations living in urban poverty. World Bank cross-country research on poverty has shown that as countries urbanize, urban poverty rises relative to the national mean and the poor urbanize more rapidly than other income groups. Overly rapid urbanization has overwhelmed South Asian economies? capacities to generate new jobs in the formal sector or provide basic health and environmental services. While cities create the space for increased economic and political participation, judicious public and private actions can expedite that participation and direct it towards more positive outcomes. Virtually all urban areas in South Asia are subject to accelerated population growth and even in the best of instances, preparations for rapid immigration and urban assimilation have been insufficient. This is most obvious in the region?s capitals, megacities, and secondary cities where the lack of water supply and waste management services and overwhelmed health and basic education facilities are sustaining neither the requisite levels of private investment or human capital development. This quiet crisis is exacerbated by the fact that at a time of increasing population, growing pluralism, and increased intensity of demand from all sectors of society, local urban political and administrative institutions do not have the capacity to respond commensurately. The demands for essential services, often organized and articulated by political parties or civil society organizations, are growing far faster than the ability of local governments to respond adequately. There is clearly a need to strengthen the response capacity of local governments: ? Almost all of South Asia?s urban local government need clearer delineation of their authorities, with constitutional or legal mandates that better define their decentralized functional and financial authorities and authorities. ? They need increased revenues, either self-generated or from revenue-sharing from national and sub-national governments. ? They need skills and systems that allow them to work more efficiently and transparently when managing urban government financial flows and assets. ? They need skills and systems that enable them to work more inclusively with constituents to plan and prioritize investments and to design and monitor investments and government services. ? They need to develop more ?bankable,? credit-worthy projects and learn to work more effectively with the private sector, in order to attract needed private investment and mobilize more resources. USAID has used global, regional, and bilateral programs to assist its counterparts improve urban management and services in South Asia. The Office of Urban Programs, in USAID/Washington headquarters, provides program support and contractual services to support the USAID global strategy to address urbanization, ?Making Cities Work.? Until October, 2002, the USAID/Washington Office of Urban Programs operated a Regional Urban Development Office for South Asia (RUDO/SA) based in New Delhi, India, that provided program and technical support USAID Missions and private and nongovernmental regional partners in the areas of urban infrastructure finance, public-private partnerships, and urban governance. In FY2002, RUDO/SA initiated and managed two regional contracts that are scheduled to continue until September 30, 2004: the ?Regional Urban Environmental Policy and Management Support Program? (RUEPOMAN) and the ?Good Urban Governance in South Asia? (GUGSA) Program. Since October, 2002, those regional program responsibilities have been assumed by the new Office of Economic Growth within USAID/India. To varying extents, the USAID missions in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan) have in the past or currently are assisting their counterparts improve urban management and services. USAID/India has committed the most resources to urban management, with a bilateral program, the ?Financial Institutions Reform and Expansion, Debt Market Component? (FIRE-D) Project and other planned activities as part of its five year country program strategy, 2003-2007. B. Statement of Duties The Contractor will be assigned to USAID/India where s/he is expected to devote 50% of his/her technical assistance services. The Contractor will also provide services to USAID/Sri Lanka, USAID/Nepal, USAID/Bangladesh, and other ANE client missions that request his/her assistance, in coordination with EGAT and the India Mission. The Contractor will propose annual workplans to USAID/India, inputting specific plans for USAID Missions in South Asia, EGAT, and ANE offices. The workplans will also constitute the basis for evaluating performance. B.1 During the contract period, the Contractor will provide technical assistance to client missions and/or regional partners by: conducting interpretive analyses of information regarding urbanization, decentralization, and municipal finance systems; facilitating dialogue on approaches to urban development and municipal finance policy problems and opportunities; assisting in the design and implementation of USAID bilateral and regional urban and municipal development programs; developing strategies and identifying mechanisms for securing financial resources for municipalities; promoting the advancement of national policy reforms that increase the alternatives for local government financing of infrastructure and related service investments from both public and private sources; organizing national and regional workshops on urban and municipal development themes and issues; building partnerships with and generating the support of influential private sector financial and commercial institutions, national government institutions, national and regional municipal associations, and other international donor organizations working in and influencing South Asia's urban and municipal development; representing urban and municipal development issues at international fora on behalf of USAID; facilitating partnership-building among ANE and US private sectors, local governments, NGOs, donors, and others on urban and municipal development issues; where client missions do not have relevant resident project managers: managing and monitoring short-term assistance provided by USAID project consultants; working with USAID Strategic Objective teams to prepare and review program documents (i.e. country financial framework assessments, RFAs, RFPs, or task orders; new program descriptions, concept papers, documents related to the financial structuring of programs, debt service analysis, institutional analyses of municipalities, private sector institutions, and other key organizations that will participate in USAID sponsored municipal financing program activities); advising client missions in negotiating with counterparts; maintaining contact with all counterpart organizations on program direction and progress, technical and operational problems and the resolution of policy and procedural, and programmatic differences; and supporting client missions in carrying out donor coordination functions in the urban and municipal development sector. B.2 The Contractor will provide program design and management assistance, as needed, to client missions by: (a) identifying research needs; (b) identifying urban and municipal development opportunities in mission strategies and activities; (c) Cooperating with EGAT on studies of regional and country needs; (d) addressing resource and policy constraints in urban and municipal development policy and strategy development; (e) analyzing the financial feasibility of programs; (f) developing strategic frameworks for program design; and (g) assisting in preparing other related program documentation such as program agreements, program implementation letters, action memoranda, procurement documents, program evaluations, financial management analyses, periodic program progress reports, and processing individual travel requests as well as participant training requests. B.3 The Contractor will provide assistance to regional and national municipal and city managers associations by: promoting policy and/or regulatory changes to permit municipalities to access an expanded array of financing mechanisms for long term financing of their infrastructure and services; and organizing national or regional workshops, assisting municipal and city managers associations to lobby for policy changes with national legislatures, financial institutions, and central, state/provincial, and local governments; coordinating ANE regional training and seminars on urban and municipal development issues and providing input or participating in global training and seminars; providing assistance to pilot municipalities to improve the financial management of their existing financial revenues and expenditures; using innovative methods with municipal resources to leverage outside financing when feasible and advisable; sharing "lessons learned" with other municipalities, municipal associations, and USAID missions. B.4 The Contractor will assist EGAT and the ANE Bureau by participating, either as a virtual team member or in person, with the review of urban and municipal development components to ANE Mission strategies and Annual Reports. B.5 At EGAT/UP direction, the Contractor will provide support to missions in the ANE region that are not contributors to the contract. This may include assessing and researching needs, initial scoping of strategy/activity design, etc.; B.6 Maintain a wide range of contacts throughout the urban and municipal development policy community to keep USAID mission management informed in relevant technical fields and on relevant political/economic issues in order to meet USAID's urban and municipal development program objectives which are related to: formulating national and municipal finance policies; mobilizing additional resources for municipal finance; increasing private sector participation; and supporting the design and implementation of municipal decentralization laws and policies that devolve management and financial authorities to urban local governments. B.7 Perform other related duties and undertake additional tasks as may be required by client missions and EGAT. C. Supervisory and Evaluation Arrangements The USAID/India Office Director for Economic Growth will provide overall supervision of the Contractor, and will coordinate the Contractor's work and travel plans. Annual formal workplans will be developed and approved by all funding units with each funding unit responsible for supervising the Contractor's work on their portion of the workplan. Supervision and contribution to the workplan will reflect the degree of funding contribution of USAID/India and other funding units. The USAID/India Office Director for Economic Growth will prepare an annual evaluation based on 360 degree feedback, including that of EGAT and all client missions. Standards for performance evaluation shall include timely and effective completion of tasks, high quality and acceptance of written products, effective interpersonal communication and management skills, creativity, full participation in teams, and effectiveness in accomplishing the scope of work. Performance benchmarks will be established through the preparation of annual work objectives and requirements. A review and update of these objectives will be carried out annual and during mid-cycle reviews with the USAID/India Office Director for Economic Growth. This performance evaluation will include a review of both what the position should be accomplishing as well as the performance of the Contractor. D. Reporting Requirements The Contractor shall prepare and submit to USAID/India, with copies to EGAT and other client missions, the following reports: Quarterly Reports - report on activities, status and accomplishments against the Contractor's workplan, including variance analysis, and the allocation of time and travel and other expenses; Trip Reports - brief trip reports to be filed with the respective client missions, with a copy to USAID/India and EGAT; Annual Progress Reports - at least annually with the annual reporting process, the Contractor will submit reports of South Asia urban and municipal development activities to the relevant ANE technical offices, EGAT, and the USAID/India Office Director for Economic Growth. Special Reports - special reports or reporting cables as requested on occasional basis, pertaining to the Contractor's area of expertise for EGAT, ANE, and interested missions. QUALIFICATIONS Required Qualifications This is a senior level position. The successful candidate is expected to have the following qualifications: (a) General: Must be a United States citizen. Must possess or be able to qualify for a U.S. Government ?Secret? security clearance due to the sensitivity of the policy development, analysis, and reporting aspects of the position and the required level and nature of interaction planned with senior U.S. Government officials and host country counterparts. Must be able to obtain a medical clearance for assignment in India. Must be able to travel frequently in South Asia. (b) Education: A master?s degree or higher in urban planning, public administration, economics, finance, political science, or business administration is highly preferred. (c) Technical Knowledge: The successful candidate must possess knowledge of current technical concepts and best practices in the fields of municipal finance, urban governance, and infrastructure project finance. S/he will possess the ability to identify, promote, and apply new cutting-edge concepts, that are change-management and reform-oriented. (d) Prior Work Experience: The successful candidate will have a proven track record managing urban and municipal development programs, projects, and activities in developing countries. S/he must have at least ten years experience in urban and municipal development activities that demonstrates programmatic accomplishments and development results. International development experience is required; preference will be given to candidates with experience in South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka). Preference will also be given to candidates with some knowledge of and experience with USAID procedures and systems for strategic planning, results frameworks, activity design, and program monitoring and evaluation. (e) Language and Communication Skills: The successful candidate will be fluent in English. S/he will have proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly, and concisely, both in oral and written presentations. The ability to make persuasive and logical oral presentations to senior USG and host country officials, other donor organizations, the NGO community is required. (f) Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Outstanding leadership, communications, and interpersonal skills are required. The successful candidate will have proven ability to interact effectively with a broad range of program partners, host country officials, local community leaders, and NGO counterparts. S/he must have proven ability to work effectively in a team environment to achieve consensus on policies, strategies, program approaches, and administrative matters. (g) Supervisory Skills: The incumbent of this position will not be supervising directly client mission staff, but must be able to effectively supervise the work of consultants providing short-term technical assistance. (h) Computer Skills: Excellent skills using popular computer software (Microsoft Work, Excel, and Powerpoint, for example) are required to effectively perform this scope of work. SELECTION CRITERIA Selection Criteria Candidates will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Technical Knowledge: 25 points Professional Experience: 25 points Academic Qualifications: 20 points Managerial Experience and Skills: 15 points Language and Communication Skills: 15 points Total points: 100 points APPLYING: Application Documentation Required: Qualified individuals are requested to submit: (a) A curriculum vitae that demonstrates the candidate?s qualifications meet the contract requirements, including the names and contact information for three professional references; (b) A completed and signed SF-171 or OF-612; (available at the USAID website, http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms or internet http://fillform.gsa.gov, or at Federal offices); (c) A relevant writing sample of not more than 10 pages; (d) A written and signed statement certifying the date and length of time for which the candidate is available for the position; (e) A letter of application highlighting the candidate?s reasons for applying for the position, including the candidate?s key qualifications for the position. Applications must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter. The highest ranking applicants may be selected for an interview. Applicants must confirm that they are willing to accept a salary at the GS-14 level. LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSCS Forms outlined below can found at http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/psc_solicit/ 1. Standard Form 171 or Optional Form 612. 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). ** * Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians Foreign Areas). ** 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. CONTRACT INFORMATION BULLETINS (CIBS) PERTAINING TO PSCS CIBs contain changes to USAID policy and General Provisions in USAID regulations and contracts. Please refer to this website http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/psc_solicit/ to determine which CIBS apply to this contract. 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 Resident Hire employee may only be eligible for those benefits listed under item A below.) BENEFITS: Employee's FICA Contribution 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 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 Income taxes.
- Place of Performance
- Address: US Agency for International Development, Office of Economic Growth, US Embassy, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021. India
- Zip Code: 110021
- Country: India
- Zip Code: 110021
- Record
- SN00310793-W 20030426/030424213031 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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