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I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. SOLICITATION NO.: 72048622R10005

2. ISSUANCE DATE: February 8, 2022

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: March 9, 2022/11:59PM Bangkok, Thailand local time

4. POINT OF CONTACT: Kevarin Phirakansakun/ RDMA Human Resources Assistant

5. POSITION TITLE: PRO Development Assistance Specialist

6. MARKET VALUE: THB 1,340,075 – 2,345,127 per annum equivalent to FSN-11 in accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID/RDMA. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Five (5) years initial contract. 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 continued need of the position and availability of funds.

8. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The United States Agency for International Development/Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA), Bangkok, Thailand with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Duties.

9. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: This position is opened to Cooperating Country National (CCN). Thai citizen or other country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent Thai residence is eligible to apply. Please note that USAID is not able to sponsor offerors for a Thai residency permit.

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: The successful offeror shall be required to obtain a Security Certification for Employment from Regional Security Office.

11. STATEMENT OF DUTIES 

11.1. General Statement of Purpose of the Contract
The Development Assistance Specialist is a member of the Program Office (PRO) in the USAID/RDMA. The incumbent supports RDMA’s regional programs across Asia and the Pacific, and country-specific programs in China and Thailand. The incumbent will be responsible for priority USAID Program Office functions, with a focus on internal and external program coordination; program, project and activity design and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL); budget planning and reporting; development communications; and serving as RDMA’s lead point of contact for coordination with the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), acting as the main communication link between USAID and the Royal Thai Government at the highest levels.

11.2   Statement of Duties to be Performed

A. PROGRAM COORDINATION (50%)

• Serves as a PRO liaison with RDMA technical offices, providing support on the full range of program office functions, such as program design and learning, budget, policy alignment, and overall coordination with PRO and the wider mission.
• Ensures the alignment of RDMA activities with the USAID Automated Directives System (ADS), USAID/RDMA’s Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS), and Agency goals.
• Assists with responding to requests for programmatic data from Congress, USAID/Washington, D.C., client missions, and host country governments. Coordinates closely with all members of PRO to gather data, solicit input from technical offices, conduct quality control, and assist with submission to the requesting entity.
• Works collaboratively with other RDMA support offices, such as the Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance (ROAA) and the Regional Office of Financial Management (ROFM), to ensure overall integrity of PRO support to technical offices and adherence to Agency processes and policies.
• Advises technical offices with coordination of activity implementation with other bilateral missions, including seeking mission concurrences and serving as a mission POC for mission concurrence requests sent to RDMA.
• Supports project and activity design teams, advises and guides design processes, reviews and manages approval processes, and ensures that Agency policies, directions, and processes are followed throughout the program cycle.
• Reviews and analyzes procurement-related documents (for example Action Memos, Scopes of Work, and Program Descriptions) and assists technical teams with meeting all USAID requirements prior to the obligation/commitment of funds.
• Assists with providing support to other bilateral “client” missions in the region on topics ranging from the USAID program cycle, planning and reporting, portfolio implantation, budget and pipeline reviews, procurement planning, cross-cutting issues, project/activity design, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Develops tools and systems to resolve operational issues and to improve process flow of PRO activities.
• Exercises discretion, tact, and diplomacy, especially when dealing with politically sensitive topics such as USAID budget and project/activity information, status or identification of implementing partners, or operational issues in the field.

B. BUDGET PLANNING AND REPORTING (25%)

• Assists technical teams with completing fiscal year obligations and documenting fulfillment of all pre-obligation requirements, such as country and statutory checklists, gender and inclusive development, and environmental compliance. Assists with tracking the progress of obligations and reporting the status to the PRO Development Assistance Specialist (Budget).
• Assists with the drafting and completion of annual reports and notifications to Washington, D.C., such as the Mission Resource Request; Bureau Resource Request; Congressional Budget Justification; Operational Plan; Performance, Plan, and Report; and Congressional Notifications.
• Assists with responding to requests for budget data from Congress, USAID/Washington, D.C., client missions, and host country governments. Coordinates closely with all members of PRO to gather data, solicit input from technical offices, conduct quality control, and assist with submission to the requesting entity.
• Collaborates with the PRO Development Assistance Specialist (Budget) in providing budget-related support to RDMA technical offices and client missions on program budget planning, analysis, monitoring, and reporting. Advises on Agency requirements and procedures, including tracking funds allowed to the Mission from Washington, D.C. and Field Support mechanisms.

C. THAILAND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY (TICA) COORDINATION (25%)

• Serves as the principal contact with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA). Advises RDMA’s Mission Director and Program Office on relationship management with TICA. Leads the development of the relationship between the RDMA’s Mission Director and TICA’s Director General.
• Leads discussions and negotiations for trilateral cooperation between USAID and the Thai Government to leverage resources and increase the effectiveness and reach of USAID programs in Southeast Asia. Provides pertinent information, guidelines, advice and arrangements as necessary to RDMA senior management. 
• Facilitates and guides, in coordination with RDMA technical teams, the joint design of new activities under the Development Objective Agreement (DOAG).
• Monitors compliance with agreed commitments, drafting related letters for Mission Director’s signature.
• Leads recurring collaborating, learning, and adapting sessions between USAID and TICA to ensure effective program coordination and accountability for results.
• Ensures U.S. State Department colleagues at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok are informed of ongoing cooperation with TICA and the Royal Thai Government. Provides support to the State Department colleagues, as needed, in engagement with TICA on other U.S. Embassy programs. Advises and briefs senior U.S. Government (USG) official visitors and accompanies them in their various meetings with TICA senior officials.
• Leads discussions, negotiations and deliberations with TICA in matters that affect the status of USAID’s implementing partners and their dependents.
• Provides technical guidance to Administrative Assistants to ensure effective and efficient provision of liaison between USAID’s implementing partners and the Thai Government.

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.

11.3. Supervisory Relationship
The incumbent reports directly to the Deputy Office Director or his/her designee.

11.4. Supervisory Controls
Full supervision of other USAID staff is not contemplated.

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:  The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
1. Education: A Bachelor’s degree in international development, business/public administration, social science or other related field is required.
2. Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in international development or technical assistance to other countries, private sector, non-governmental/non-profit organization, embassy, donor, project management, project design, and/or monitoring, evaluation, and learning is required.
3. Language: Level IV – Fluent in speaking/reading/writing in Thai and English (a valid TOEIC score of 855 or USAID-administered English Level IV is required)

III. 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

Application Rating System
The application rating system factors are used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors. offerors must demonstrate the rating factors outlined below within their application and/or resume, as they are evaluated strictly by the information provided. The rating factors are as follows:

1. Experience (40 points):
Additional points will be given for relevant experience above the minimum requirement as listed in Section II above, which may include direct experience in project design and implementation, project management, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), public sector and development donor engagement, budget planning, and work for development agencies, international organizations, or the private sector.

2. Knowledge (30 points):
●Demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of the concepts, principles, techniques, and practices of development assistance and program monitoring and evaluation.
●Demonstrated a thorough knowledge of relevant Asia laws, regulations, and development challenges, priorities, and opportunities.
●Demonstrated an understanding of regulations, procedures and documentation governing program/project development, implementation and financing.
●Demonstrated knowledge of concepts, principles, techniques and practice of development assistance and program design, budgeting and budget cycle management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
●Demonstrated familiarity with Asia region’s political, economic, social and cultural context.

3. Skills and Abilities (30 points):
●Demonstrated an ability to cultivate relationships and work collegially and collaboratively in team settings towards a goal, including coordinating with counterparts of diverse backgrounds, experience, expertise, disciplines, or interests.
●Demonstrated an ability to learn unfamiliar topics through diverse means (one-on-one instruction, online or in-person training, self-directed learning, learning through observation, etc.) and to proactively seek learning opportunities as they arise or are needed for optimal job performance.
●Demonstrated strong organizational and analytical skills to quickly synthesize and organize information to inform and continually improve job performance.
● Demonstrated an ability to adapt to fast-paced work environments, including rearranging priorities, taking the initiative to volunteer for necessary tasks, and/or supporting others.
● Demonstrated an ability to write and edit high quality, professional products, especially the ability to convey technical information to general audiences.
● Demonstrated an ability to receive feedback and to adapt job performance.
● Demonstrated excellent computer skills, especially with Google applications (email, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets).

Total Application Rating: 100
Recruitment Test: 100
Interview Performance: 100
Total Possible Points: 300

SELECTION PROCESS: 

To be considered for candidacy, offerors must address each criterion in their application as to how they meet the minimum qualifications required for the position mentioned in Section II, Item 1-2. If the application submitted fails to demonstrate eligibility, the application will be marked unqualified. It is the responsibility of the offeror to provide all pertinent information.

Applications will be initially screened and scored in accordance with evaluation factors and points mentioned in Section III, item 1-3. Offerors in a competitive range will be given a recruitment test. Offerors with passing marks from the recruitment test and either 1) a valid TOEIC score or 2) USAID-administered English Level IV mentioned in Section II, item 3, will be invited for an interview. The recruitment test and the interview will be structured around the evaluation factors mentioned above. The successful offeror will be selected based on a review of his/her qualifications, work experience, knowledge, skills and abilities; a written test; an interview; and the results of reference checks. References may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an offeror.

Only offerors within a competitive range will be contacted. No response will be sent to unsuccessful offerors.

IV. TO APPLY
Please follow the check lists and submission guidelines, posted on the official website: https://th.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/jobs/usaid-job-vacancies/ carefully and submit complete application package before the deadline.

  Failure to follow the instructions will invalidate your application.