Apply: USAID Senior Acquisition and Assistance Specialist at the U.S. Embassy

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria comprises the Embassy in Abuja, FCT, and the Consulate General in Lagos. U.S. Consulate General Lagos is the Mission’s representative to the Nigerian people in the southern region.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: USAID Senior Acquisition and Assistance Specialist (Current Mission Employees only) (72062022R10004)

Announcement Number: Abuja-2021-140
Location: Abuja
Promotion Potential: LE-12
Series / Grade: LE – 4005 12
Hiring Agency: Embassy Abuja
Work Schedule: Full-time – Work Schedule is 40hrs per week
Telework Eligible: No

Overview

• Hiring Path: Open to the public
• Who May Apply / Clarification From the Agency:
  • For definitions use URL www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/glossary
  • Current Mission Nigeria Employees Only.
• Security Clearance Required: Public Trust – Background Investigation
• Appointment Type: Permanent
• Appointment Type Details: Five (5) years renewable, estimated to start on or after December 2021
• Supervisory Position: Yes
• Relocation Expenses Reimbursed: No
• Travel Required: Not Required.

• The Specialist provides technical assistance necessary to execute a full range of procurement actions in the (USAID / Nigeria) Office of Acquisition and Assistance.
• The support includes but is not limited to complex multi-million-dollar grants and cooperative agreements, contracts, task orders, delivery orders, purchase orders, modifications to these instruments and other miscellaneous administrative actions.

Duties

Conducts Procurement Action Planning Work (10%):

• Applies highly specialized contracting skills and knowledge involving the development of comprehensive planning strategies and appropriate long-range plans for new or complex actions many of which are structured with a prime contractor/recipient having two or more subcontractors/sub-grantees and requiring substantial contract administration.
• Advises the technical staff/Activity Managers in the preparation of required descriptions of the proposed activity including statements of work, specifications, program descriptions, program announcements, budget, evaluation criteria, etc.
• Provides backstopping services to technical personnel by advising on the resolution of special procurement problems associated with waiver requests, expediting of deliveries, apparent overlapping of responsibilities and resolution of claims.
• Represents the OAA/Nigeria as a full team member of one or more technical office teams. • Coordinates proposal/application review panels and advises technical staff on procurement issues. Serves on project review committees.
• Advises the technical staff in the preparation of procurement planning documents.
• Provides counselling and training to new project/technical staff on USAID regulations and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) requirements.

Performs Mentoring Responsibilities (20%):

•  Provides mentoring and training of one Cooperating Country National Personal Service Contractor (CCNPSC) Acquisition and Assistance Specialist.
• Provides on-the-job training to less senior OAA/Nigeria staff and interns and assists the supervisory Contracting Officer in selecting appropriate developmental assignments for them; and reviews the work of the CCNPSC.
• Organizes the preparation of annual work objectives with the Contracting Officer; follows up on the progress of the less senior OAA employees; recommends training courses for the OAA staff for FAC-C compliance, etc.

Analyzes Sources for Services Procured and Prepares Solicitations (20%):
Pre-award Expertise and Services:

• Develops new or innovative acquisition plans, source selection plans, and contract/grants terms and conditions that serve as models for future procurements.
• Prepares and issues solicitations for the United States and Third Country National Personal services contracts (USPSCs/TCNPSCs), as well as contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
• Advises the technical staff of the selection of appropriate acquisition and assistance mechanisms to accomplish agency or mission programmatic objectives, and makes the choice of instruments recommendations to the Contracting Officer.
• Reviews Modified Acquisition and Assistance Documents (MAARDS) requesting acquisition or assistance requests for complex services or programs.

Negotiates Procurement Services (25%):
Pre-award Expertise and Services:

• Evaluate proposals and applications for responsiveness to the solicitations and document the relative strengths and deficiencies of each proposal.
• Obtains reports and references, ensuring that offerors’/applicants’ past performance has been relevant and of high quality.
• Plans the negotiation strategy, coordinates, and leads the negotiations which are conducted with contractors/grantees to develop the award price and terms.
• Performs in-depth cost analysis of offers/applications.
• Guides the technical team in the best practices of “best value” selection, and performance-based technical approaches.

Performs Post-Award Duties and Responsibilities including Conducting Research, Analysis, and Interpretation (25%):

• Organizes and conducts post-award conferences including orientation meetings with the selected contractor and all cognizant Mission support offices, beneficiaries, and relevant implementing employees to ensure that mobilization efforts will be conducted efficiently and that all terms and conditions of procurement instruments are clear and well-understood by all parties.
• Responsible for contract administration sufficient to ensure that the terms and conditions of the award are met and that the contractor meets delivery schedules and/or performance milestones in a timely manner to achieve Mission objectives.
• Conducts award administration tasks including site visits, incorporation of change orders, drafting correspondence, initiating contractor performance evaluations, monitoring of reporting requirements, advising Contracting/Agreement Officer’s technical representatives (CORs/AORs) and contractors on their administrative responsibilities, etc.
• Represents the OAA at performance-related Team meetings held by the Mission. Assists the technical and project teams to develop appropriate indicators for work plans and contract documents.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

• Physical Demands: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.
• Education Requirements: Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Political Science, International Relations, Social Sciences, or related field is required. Specialized training in USG acquisition is desired.

Evaluations:

• Applicants who clearly meet the minimum Education, Experience and basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on the scoring of the Evaluation Factors listed below. The highest-ranking applicants may be selected for an interview:
  • Knowledge: 25 points
  • Skills and abilities: 10 points
  • Communication & Language skills: 5 points
  • Interview Performance (Written/Oral): 60 points
  • Total Possible Points: 100 points

Qualifications

Prior Work Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible, professional acquisition and assistance experience is required. At least 5 years of them must be in a procurement capacity with USG.

Job Knowledge:

• In-depth knowledge of USG acquisition and assistance procedures and detailed understanding of Federal Acquisition Regulations, practices and procedures and Mission’s strategic plan; and highly detailed understanding of Analyzing and organizing large amounts of detailed information such as cost issues/factors and contract types, as relates to requirements; Knowledge of the organizations interested in and capable of performing USG contracts, grants and cooperative agreements; Knowledge of local procurement laws/policies; etc. is required.

Skills and Abilities:

• The ability to work with minimal supervision is required. One-year mentoring experience; Highly detailed understanding/application of negotiation techniques and cost and price analysis; High-level analytical skills and sound judgment to select appropriate A&A is required

Language Proficiency:

• Level 4 (advanced professional proficiency) English both oral and written, is required.

USAID is an Equal Opportunity Employer

• All qualified candidates will be considered regardless of age, race, colour, sex, creed, national origin, lawful political affiliation, non-disqualifying handicap, marital status, sexual orientation, affiliation with an employee organization, or other non-merit factors. Management may consider the following when determining successful candidacy: nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status.

Marketing Statement:

• USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID fosters transformational development around the world. Our work supports economic growth and trade; agriculture and the environment; education and training; democracy and governance; global health; global partnerships and humanitarian assistance. We operate in the following regions of the world: Afghanistan and Pakistan, Africa (all of Africa), Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East. For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov

Taxes:

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

Salary: NGN17,733,456 – NGN26,496,574 Annually.

Benefits and Other Info

Benefits:

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

• Health Insurance
• Annual Salary Increase (if applicable)
• Annual and Sick leave
• Annual Bonus

Allowances (as applicable):

• Transportation Allowance
• Meal Allowance
• Miscellaneous Allowance
• Housing Allowance.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Deadline:  5th January 2022