Project Management Specialist (Family Planning & Reproductive Health) - Health, Population & Nutrition Office at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity, demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Management Specialist (Family Planning & Reproductive Health) - Health, Population & Nutrition Office

Solicitation No.: 72064122R100001
Location: Accra, Ghana with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties

Period of Performance

• The period of performance is five (5) years, estimated to start o/a June, 2022. The services provided under this contract are expected to be of
• continuing nature executed by USAID through a series of sequential contracts, subject to availability of funds, satisfactory job performance and need for continued services.

Eligible Offerors

• All interested candidates eligible to work in Ghana. Cooperating Country National (CCN) is defined as an individual who is a cooperating country citizen, or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country.

Statement of Duties
General Statement of Purpose of the Contract:

• The USAID Project Management Specialist – Family Planning and Reproductive Health (FP/RH) ensures the quality of USAID/Ghana’s investments in FP/RH investments managed by the Health, Population and Nutrition Office (HPNO).
• The Specialist provides substantive advice and support in the formulation and administration of the overall USAID development program in Ghana, particularly conception, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of FP/RH programming.
• Supervised by the Family Health Team Lead, the Specialist develops multi-year strategy for USAID’s FP/RH investments, working closely with other technical staff (e.g. specialists in malaria, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene etc.) to ensure program alignment with Agency and global priorities, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals, the Family Planning 2020 partnership, and the USAID Acting on the Call to Prevent Child and Maternal Deaths strategy.
• He or she leads strategy related to adolescent and youth health and represents
• USAID in substantive and often sensitive negotiations with senior officials at the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service (GHS), the National Population Council, and other bilateral and multilateral partners to align USAID investments with country priorities.
• The Specialist manages a portfolio of agency investments in FP/RH interventions.

Statement of Duties to be Performed
Technical Leadership 40%:

• Provides technical guidance and strategic direction to USAID’s efforts to improve the quality of FP/RH including antenatal and postnatal care; all methods of family planning; FP/RH counselling; adolescent health and pregnancy; contraceptive supply and logistics; health communication; policy and planning; and monitoring and evaluation.
• Works across portfolios to integrate FP/RH programming into nutrition, food security, livelihoods, HIV/AIDS, health systems strengthening and other Mission priority areas;
• Works across USAID/Ghana technical teams, including Education; Democracy, Rights, and Governance; Education; and Economic Growth, to identify potential areas of synergy, collaboration, and/or integration of activities and strategies, in line with USAID/Ghana’s CDCS.
• Coordinates USAID programming with that of relevant government entities, including but not limited to the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, the National Development Planning Commission, National Health Insurance Agency and National Population Council.
• Promotes stakeholder coordination with host-country government, civil society, and private sector and ensures that USAID investments remain appropriate and strategic within the country’s development context.
• Represents and makes presentations on behalf of the Agency at working and high-level meetings; and advises Agency leadership up to the level of the Mission Director and US Ambassador on the implications of political and social developments within FP/RH and related health sectors.
• Implements a FP/RH learning agenda and fosters a learning environment within the Mission and amongst country stakeholders by developing scopes of work for and overseeing the implementation of program learning exercises (e.g. baseline surveys, implementation research); presenting program analyses and technical advances/innovations (e.g. through brown bags, blog posts); and contributing original data or analyses into country evidence forums.
• Leads and prepares VIP visits and responds to FP/RH taskers, as requested.

Program Development 20%:

• Ensures the technical quality of USAID investments by developing new and continuously improving the quality of existing programs.
• Participates in and leads the development of new activities, including designing development hypotheses and results frameworks for new programs, recommending appropriate procurement instruments, and proposing review criteria for and participating in the review of technical proposals.
• Drafts program descriptions and scopes of work, as well as prepares independent government cost estimates and supplemental analyses (e.g. gender, climate change adaptation, etc.) for new programs, as required by USAID program design policy
• Contributes to strategic planning across the Mission by preparing concept papers and other narrative for Mission strategic processes such as portfolio reviews, annual operational plans, and country strategies
• In collaboration with the Development Outreach and Communications team, develops talking points, program briefs, and other materials to effectively communicate USAID program success, challenges, lessons-learned, and priorities. The Specialist collaborates with USAID/Washington to provide country context and experience to global USAID health strategy.

Performance Management 40%:

• Certified and designated as a Contractor/Agreement Officer’s Representative, the Specialist manages a diverse portfolio that may include $5-10 million a year in contracts and grants to government and non-government entities to implement FP/RH programming.
• Monitors recipients’ progress in achieving program objectives and verifying that the recipients’ activities conform to the award terms and conditions, including regular meetings and site visits.
• Monitors and ensures the quality of performance data; arranges for and oversees the conduct of validity checks or verification reviews of data collection systems and information provided by partners, in accordance with USAID policy
• Monitors the financial status of the award and documents accrued expenditures on a quarterly basis; monitors achievement of recipient cost sharing requirements; reviews performance and financial reports for adequacy and responsiveness; and establishes and maintains award files, in accordance with USAID policy
• Guides and mentors grant recipients, as needed, to ensure that programmatic results adequately align with USAID and host-country strategic priorities.
• Works with the Agreement/Contact Officer to troubleshoot and address implementation challenges and revise implementation plans, as necessary in consideration of changing circumstances.
• Issues technical directions or guidance when managing contracts, in accordance with the terms of the contract; reviews the contractor's request for payments and provides or denies administrative approval. When managing awards to government entities, the Specialist navigates complex and often sensitive situations.

N.B: 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.

Supervisory Relationship:

• Position is supervised by the Family Health Team Lead.

Supervisory Controls:

• The job holder has limited authority over staff and no formal supervisory responsibilities.

Physical Demands

• The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

Minimum Qualifications Required for this Position

• Education: A Master’s Degree or the host-country equivalent in the Health Sciences or Development is required.
• Prior Work Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible, professional experience designing, managing and evaluating public health programs, with at least five years of this experience with FP/RH programs.
• Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) English language proficiency (speaking and writing) is required. (Language proficiency may be tested.)

Prior Work Experience (30 points):

• A minimum of five years of progressively
• Responsible, professional experience designing, managing and evaluating FP/RH
• programs,. Experience working on health-related donor programs and activities in
• Ghana is required.

Job Knowledge (30 points):

• Professional knowledge in family planning and reproductive health principles, policies and programmatic practices in Ghana and other low-resource settings.
• Comprehensive understanding of public health disciplines, particularly social and behavioral sciences and health policy.
• Familiarity with host-country FP/RH donors, civil society actors, and government entities.
• Extensive knowledge of host country FP/RH and related policies, strategies, and priorities.
• A good understanding of the economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics of Ghana and their impact on FP/RH.

Skills and Abilities (40 points):

• Interpret multifaceted data sets and public policies to inform programming decisions; Write clear, persuasive, strategic and grammatically correct narrative for a variety of documents, including memoranda, reports, program documentation, and briefing papers;
• Effective project management including fiscal management, budgeting, and data use for decision-making;
• Negotiation and consensus-building;
• Oral communication, tact, and diplomacy that cultivates effective working relationships with national and international working partners, including the
• Government of Ghana, other donors, and implementing partners;
• Work effectively in a team environment; Effective use of the Internet to find information and ability to use word processing and spreadsheets applications.

Total Possible Score: 100 points

• After the closing date for receipt of applications, all applications will initially be screened for conformity with minimum requirements and a shortlist of applicants developed.
• Applications from candidates which do not meet the required selection criteria will not be scored.
• A committee will be convened to review the shortlisted applications and evaluate them in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
• No response will be sent to unsuccessful applicants.
• USAID reserves the right to interview only the highest-ranked applicants in person, virtually
• OR not to interview any candidate.
• The Agency retains the right to cancel or amend the solicitation and associated actions at any stage of the recruitment process.
• Reference checks will be conducted by Human Resources only for the successful candidate.
• If a candidate does not wish USAID to contact a current employer for a reference check, this should be stated in the application letter.

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.
• The evaluation and selection criteria of the selected candidate will be based on a review of his/her qualifications, work experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, and level of language required.
• The applicants who obtain the highest score based on the criteria defined will be interviewed and may also be required to pass a written test (depending on the TEC Chairperson’s decision).
• The security clearance and medical clearance is required for the top-ranking candidate, after conducting and receiving the positive reference checks

Market Value
GHC 161,200.00 - GHC 249,856.00 equivalent to FSN-11 In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID / Ghana. Final compensation will be negotiated within the market value.

Benefits and Allowances
As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a PSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances:

Benefits:

• Health Insurance
• Annual Salary Increase (if applicable)
• Annual and Sick leave
• Annual Bonus
• Salary Advance (0% interest)
• Social Security Contributions
• Local and American Holidays

In accordance with Mission policy and local labor laws:

• ALLOWANCES (as applicable):
  • Meal Allowance
  • Miscellaneous Allowance
• In accordance with Mission policy and local labor laws.

Taxes

• The Mission emphasizes to its employees the fact that they are obliged to observe Ghanaian Laws, including those concerning income and related tax obligations. Payment of such taxes is a matter between the individual employee and the Ghanaian Government. In the absence of a specific international agreement, the U.S. Government will not withhold local taxes from an employee’s salary. In accordance with Mission policy and local labor laws.

Application Closing Date
1st March, 2022 at 11:59 pm (Accra time)

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates for this position MUST submit the following, or the application will not be considered:

• Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit the offer form AID 309-2 (Offeror information for personal services contracts with individuals) which is available on the internet.
• Offeror must also submit a signed cover letter and a resume.
• Minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) professional references with telephone and e-mail contacts, who are not family members or relatives. The applicant's references must be able to provide substantive information about his/her past performance and abilities. At least one reference provided should be a current or former supervisor.
• A supplemental document with written responses to the Evaluation Factors listed under Section III.
• Relevant educational certificate (s) and work permit or residency permit.
• 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.
• N.B: To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Offerors must prominently reference the position title and solicitation number in the subject line of their email.
• Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents in order to be considered for the position.

Submit Applications package to: [email protected]

Click here to download the Position Descriptions (PDF)

List of required forms prior to award
The CO will provide instructions about how to complete and submit the following forms after an offeror is selected for the contract award:

• Medical History and Examination Form (Department of State Forms)
• Security Clearance
• Finger Print Card (FD-258)

USAID Regulations, Policies and Contract clauses pertaining to PSCs
USAID regulations and policies governing CCNPSC awards are available at these sources:

• 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/sites/default/files/documents/1868/aidar_0.pdf
• 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:

• 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
• 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/OGE%20Regulations

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-contractsombudsman.
• The PSC Ombudsman may be contacted via: [email protected]