Support Relief Group (SRG) Generalist GS-13

Position description

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 720BHA24R00001

ISSUANCE DATE: January 15, 2024

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: January 14, 2025, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time

SUBJECT: Solicitation for U.S. Personal Service Contractor (USPSC) –
SRG Generalist – Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)

Dear Prospective Offerors:
The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) is seeking offers from qualified persons to provide personal services under contract as described
in this solicitation.

Offers must be in accordance with Attachment 1 of this solicitation. Incomplete or unsigned offers will
not be considered. Offerors should retain copies of all offer materials for their records.
USAID will evaluate all offerors based on stated evaluation criteria. USAID encourages all individuals,
including those from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, to respond to the solicitation.

This solicitation in no way obligates USAID to award a PSC contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any
cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the offer.

Any questions must be directed in writing to the Point of Contact specified in Attachment 1.

Sincerely,

Juan E. Proano
Senior Contracting and Agreement Officer
Office of Acquisition & Assistance
(M/OAA/BHA-CPS/PSC)

ATTACHMENT 1

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 720BHA24R00001

2. ISSUANCE DATE: January 15, 2024

3. CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: January 14, 2025, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time

This solicitation is open and continuous until January 14, 2025. The following are the closing dates for
each review period:

Round 1 – March 12, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Round 2 – September 12, 2024, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Round 3 – January 14, 2025, 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time

Offerors not selected during a previous review period must reapply in order to be considered for
positions available in subsequent review periods. A review period may be canceled at the Contracting
Officer’s discretion.

4. POINT OF CONTACT: FARO Recruitment Team, [email protected]

5. POSITION TITLE: Support Relief Group (SRG) Generalist

6. MARKET VALUE: $88,520 – $115,079 equivalent to GS-13
Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value and will include Locality Pay for
domestic U.S. Personal Service Contractors (USPSCs) based on the location of the Official USAID
Worksite, or the approved alternative worksite if approved for remote work. USPSCs performing
overseas are not entitled to Locality Pay.
Salaries over and above the top of the pay range will not be entertained or negotiated.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: USAID/Worldwide – Relocation expenses will not be reimbursed for U.S.- based positions.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years, tentatively 145 day estimated start date from closing

STATEMENT OF LIMITATIONS ON PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:
The purpose of this contract is to establish an employee/employer relationship with the contractor to
perform services on a temporary, on-call, basis as part of the SRG. BHA intends to contract for these
services for a maximum of 250 days per calendar year. Activation days vary but will not exceed 250
days during each contract year.

The level of effort anticipated under this contract will be provided within the terms of this contract at
times mutually agreed to by BHA and the contractor. Upon identification of a temporary need within
the scope of work, BHA will contact the contractor and provide the following information:

1. Date contractor is needed to report to BHA or assignment in the field
2. Duration of Assignment
3. Place of Performance

The contractor will notify BHA within 24 hours of availability. At the time the contractor accepts the
assignment, he/she is expected to commit for the duration of the assignment. While the contractor
will be required to commit to a certain time period, it is understood that the exigencies of a disaster
may require the assignment to be extended (not to exceed 250 days). The contractor shall notify BHA
at the time of commitment if their existing schedule would preclude an extension. Notification of
schedule conflicts shall not necessarily disqualify the contractor from the assignment but will simply
assist BHA in recruiting a replacement. Subsequently, if the contractor agrees to an extension of the
duration of a particular assignment, thereafter, the contractor will be required to give BHA 10 days’
notice for release from the assignment.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: U.S. Citizens Only

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Secret

If there is a change in circumstances requiring access to National Security information classified at the
Top-Secret level, the offeror may be asked to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented
Information level clearance as provided by USAID.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

GENERAL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OF THE CONTRACT

The Office of Field and Response Operations (FARO) is a diverse, mission-driven team of experts leading
the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) operational readiness and excelling in the delivery of
humanitarian assistance to the world’s most vulnerable populations. Together, we create a safe
environment where we inspire and enable our staff to achieve their full potential.
SRG is a program developed by BHA to satisfy its growing need for surge capacity. The SRG program brings on board candidates who work full-time for discrete periods of time, but on an intermittent basis for no more than 2007 hours (approximately 250 days) per calendar year. SRG can be deployed within hours to backfill Washington positions, be assigned to field offices for staff enhancement, to serve on response
teams at both headquarters and in the field, and to assess critical situations as warranted. SRG staff can
be used for activities as short as one day or for up to several months at a time. It takes talented people
with unique experiences to provide the best humanitarian aid possible. We are committed to having a
workforce that reflects the global communities we serve. We strive to create an inclusive workplace,
where everyone brings their authentic selves to work.
The SRG program is managed by the Surge Staffing Team (SST) in BHA’s Response Resources Division
(R2D). This team maintains a database for all contracted SRG personnel, providing information to the rest
of BHA on their availability, skills, and previous experiences. SST assists the teams within BHA in choosing the best qualified SRG for any specific task and provides administrative and personnel support to all SRG.
Each SRG incumbent will provide enhancement to the BHA team according to their skills and they will be
considered part of BHA/Washington resources that can be deployed worldwide.

STATEMENT OF DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED

● Provide backfill to BHA headquarters or field staff or staff vacancies.
● Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of BHA’s program strategy, implementation,
complete program cycle, and management of awards.
● Support team efforts to develop appropriate programmatic strategies for disaster responses and
disaster risk reduction efforts.
● Support the development of crisis, scenario, and contingency disaster response plans.
● Provide technical advice (food security, protection, gender, health, nutrition, monitoring and
evaluation, data, shelter and settlements, disaster risk reduction, livelihoods, wildfire, supply
chain, safety and security, etc.) for humanitarian or Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience
interventions supported by BHA.
● Contribute to technical thought within BHA, and help to develop and represent policy and
technical positions to advance BHA’s technical-related work.
● Interact with non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, other donor agencies, the
international humanitarian community, the United Nations, technical clusters, and other USAID
staff working in the various technical sectors and attend meetings and other events and forums.
● Assist headquarters-based Agreement Officer’s Representatives (AORs) in managing
humanitarian awards by providing field-based insights, knowledge, and perspectives.
● Assist technical assessments on the ground, recommend appropriate relief, and facilitate and
coordinate U.S. Government (USG) emergency response activities.
● Support humanitarian logistics and coordinate delivery of relief supplies provided by BHA.
● Represent BHA in meetings with individual partners discussing programmatic and technical
priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges.
● Represent BHA, and USAID humanitarian equities to members of the US Armed forces, other
foreign militaries, and international Civil-Military entities.
● Engage in appropriate training as a participant or as a subject matter expert.
● Coordinate with other units within BHA and USAID, as well as other USG organizations to fulfill
the response strategy.
● Communicate with participating USG agencies and external organizations to coordinate response
activities, in close coordination with the response leadership.
● May serve on temporary details within the Bureau to meet operational needs during staff
shortages. Duties performed while in detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and
responsibilities and will be directly related to the statement of duties provided.
● May be requested to be on-call/sign up for and serve on Washington-based Response
Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to Disaster Assistance Response
Teams (DARTs) deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary.
● May serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an
extended period of time. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits, there
may be some additional physical exertion including long periods of standing, walking over rough
terrain, or carrying of moderately heavy items (less than 50 pounds). Work is primarily performed
in an office setting. During deployment on DARTs (if required), and during site visits, the work may
additionally involve special safety and/or security precautions, wearing of protective equipment,
and exposure to severe weather conditions.

● Become certified and serve as an AOR/Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), as assigned.
The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the
agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for
approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, monthly status reports),
travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for
drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in the Contract
Performance Assessment Review System (CPARS). They prepare and review contract/assistance
modifications documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure
performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the FAR, and
USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements in the COR designation letter
and the AOR designation letter.

● Consistently model behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to building and maintaining a non-
hostile work environment free of discrimination, bias, unfairness, exclusion, offensive behaviors,

and harassment of any kind.
● Participate in diversity and harassment training opportunities, brown bag sessions or focus group
discussions, and workforce diversity initiatives/activities focused on helping to improve the
organizational culture.
● Demonstrate consistent accountability for adherence to and knowledge of laws, executive orders,
and USAID’s policies which prohibit Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and non-EEO
infringements as well as the Agency’s zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, including harassment,
exploitation, and abuse of any kind. Understand reporting criteria and report up in a timely
manner.
● Hold self and others accountable for adhering to a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any
form, bullying or any other prohibited behaviors and report objectionable conduct.
● The SRG Generalist does not have supervisory responsibilities; however, the PSC may serve in an
acting leadership role within the Bureau in order to meet short-term staffing needs, not to exceed
120 days in a 12-month contract year.
SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:
The USPSC will take direction from and report to the R2D Chief or their designee. When activated, the
USPSC will have a designated activation supervisor according to the Staffing Authorization.
SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
The supervisor sets overall objectives. USPSC and supervisor together develop deadlines, projects and
work to be done. The USPSC independently plans, designs, and carries out projects, studies, and
programs. Completed work is reviewed only from an overall standpoint in terms of feasibility,
compatibility with other work, or effectiveness in meeting requirements, or expected results. Technical
problems are generally resolved without reference to supervisors.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION – (Determines basic eligibility for the position.
Offerors who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for
the position.)
High School Diploma or equivalent and at least eleven (11) years of experience supporting, managing,
advising, or leading the operations, policy, technical strategies, or programming of a government agency,
intergovernmental organization, national or international NGO, or an international business. Relevant
experience and responsibilities must be related to international relations, human rights, international
economics, food assistance, public health, disaster management, emergency relief or humanitarian
assistance. Please note, experience can be derived from paid work, unpaid work (volunteering),
education, internships, or military. Experience must include three (3) years of experience in either
domestic or international disaster relief or humanitarian assistance efforts.
OR

Bachelor’s degree plus seven (7) years of experience supporting, managing, advising, or leading the
operations, policy, technical strategies, or programming of a government agency, intergovernmental
organization, national or international NGO, or an international business. Relevant experience and
responsibilities must be related to international relations, human rights, international economics, food
assistance, public health, disaster management, emergency relief or humanitarian assistance. Please note,
experience can be derived from paid work, unpaid work (volunteering), education, internships, or military.
Experience must include three (3) years of experience in either domestic or international disaster relief or
humanitarian assistance efforts.
OR

Master’s degree plus five (5) years of experience supporting, managing, advising, or leading the
operations, policy, technical strategies, or programming of a government agency, intergovernmental
organization, national or international NGO, or an international business. Relevant experience and
responsibilities must be related to international relations, human rights, international economics, food
assistance, public health, disaster management, emergency relief or humanitarian assistance. Please note,
experience can be derived from paid work, unpaid work (volunteering), education, internships, or military.
Experience must include three (3) years of experience in either domestic or international disaster relief or
humanitarian assistance efforts.

Application instructions

SUBMITTING AN OFFER

 Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2, “Offeror Information for Personal Services Contracts with Individuals,” available at http://www.usaid.gov/forms.

1. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section I.
2. Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.
3. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer, your resume must include:

(a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations, and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.

(b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.

(c) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards, or accomplishments. Failure to identify an academic discipline will result in disqualification.

(d) U.S. Citizenship

(e) Optional:  How did you hear about this opportunity? (SAM.gov, BHA Jobs, Career Fair, etc.).

Your resume must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation for which you are applying. This information must be clearly identified in your resume.  Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.

Additional documents submitted will not be accepted.

By submitting your offer materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the offer is true, correct, complete, and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on and attached to the offer to be investigated. False or fraudulent information on or attached to your offer may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position, or being terminated after award, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment.

To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your offer, and as the subject line in any email.

NOTE:  If the full security application package is not submitted within 30 days after the Office of Security determines eligibility, the offer may be rescinded. If a Secret security clearance is not obtained within nine months after offer acceptance, the offer may be rescinded. If Top Secret is required, and clearance is not obtained within nine months after award, USAID may terminate the contract at the convenience of the government. If Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access is not obtained within nine months after Top Secret clearance is granted, USAID may terminate the contract at the convenience of the government.

NOTE: If the full medical clearance package is not submitted within two months after offer acceptance, the offer may be rescinded. If a Department of State medical clearance is not obtained; the offer may be rescinded.

NOTE REGARDING GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS FOR THIS SOLICITATION:  This solicitation in no way obligates USAID to award a PSC contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the offer.