Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DME) Advisor

1.    Form SF-171 (Completed and signed)
2.    Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your offer your resume must include:
a.    Paid a 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 any overseas 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.    Names and contact information (phone and email) of your current and/or previous supervisor(s). 
d.    Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments. 
e.    U.S. Citizenship
Note: Resume must contain explicit information to make a valid determination that the candidate meets the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information needs to be clearly identified in the resume. Failure to provide explicit information to determine qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration. 
3.    Evaluation Factor document specifically addressing:  Each of the Evaluation Factors shown in the solicitation below. Responses must be limited to 500 words per Evaluation Factor. Any additional words above the limit will neither be read nor scored. 
Note: The Evaluation Factors are worth 70 out of 100 points. Offerors are required to address each of the Evaluation Factors in a separate document describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have receive that are relevant to each Factor.  
4.    Professional References:  Three (3) names and contact information (phone and email) of current and/or previous supervisors to serve as professional references.  

Additional documents submitted will not be accepted. Incomplete or late offers will not be considered. Complete applications must be emailed to: 

U.S. Department of State, ATT: INL/SAO/IM PSC Team, [email protected] 

Sincerely,

Jamillah Timmons
Contracting Officer, U.S. Department of State

SUBJECT
A solicitation for a Personal Services Contractor (PSC), Department of State (DOS), Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

The United States Government (USG), represented by the DOS, seeks applications from US citizens interested in providing PSC services as described in this solicitation. 

PRE-AWARD ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF PSC (JUN 2011)
This solicitation may result in the award of one or more personal services contracts as defined in FAR 2.101.  Prior to contract award, all offerors or quotes must advise the cognizant Contracting Officer if they have a personal conflict of interest, such as a financial conflict, that would prevent them from either meeting the requirements of the clause entitled, “Post-Award Ethical Responsibilities of Personal Services Contractors,” or otherwise objectively performing their contractual duties upon contract award.  

HOW TO APPLY
Offerors proposal shall be in accordance with the requirements stated in this solicitation at the place and time specified.  A proposal will be determined non-responsive and ineligible for consideration unless all required documents and information are included in the submission.  Offerors shall ensure their resume demonstrates their possession of the minimum qualifications outlined in this Solicitation, as well as their ability to fulfill all required duties.  The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred by the offeror during the solicitation process.    

NOTE REGARDING GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS FOR THIS SOLICITATION 

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

Proposals must include the following and not exceed twenty (20) pages (additional pages will not be accepted or reviewed): 
1.    Form SF-171 (Completed and signed)
2.    Resume  
3.    Evaluation Factor Responses
4.    Three (3) names and contact information (phone and email) of current and/or previous supervisors to serve as professional references.  

Note: Your resume should contain explicit information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information should be clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide explicit information to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration. Additional documents submitted beyond the requirements will not be accepted or reviewed. 

*** ONE PDF ATTACHMENT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

VETERAN’S PREFERENCE
Veteran’s preference is not applicable to this position therefore do not submit DD-214.

ALL QUALIFIED APPLICANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, COLOR, SEX, CREED, NATIONAL ORIGIN, LAWFUL POLITICAL AFFILIATION, NONDISQUALIFYING DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AFFILIATION WITH AN EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION, OR OTHER NON-MERIT FACTOR.

Equal employment opportunity policy - The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

Submit proposal via e-mail to the attention of:
INL/SAO/IM PSC Team
E-mail: [email protected] 

Direct questions regarding this solicitation to:
INL/SAO/IM PSC Team
E-mail: [email protected] 

INL will not accept proposals beyond the closing time/date; unless it can be determined DOS mishandled the proposal.  

GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT 
Mission of the U.S. Department of State: The U.S. Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy and the Secretary of State is the President’s principal foreign policy advisor. The Department of State’s mission is to advance U.S. national security interests, fight terrorism, protect U.S. interests abroad, and implement foreign policy initiatives that build a freer, prosperous, and secure world. 

Mission of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL): The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is part of the Under Secretariat for Arms Control and International Security (T) within the Department of State (DOS).  INL’s mission is to minimize the impact of international crime and illegal drugs on the United States and its citizens by providing effective foreign assistance and fostering global cooperation.  

The purpose of this Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DME) Advisor Personal Services Contract (PSC) is to provide strategic guidance, management, and technical support to ensure the successful planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of INL Mexico projects and measure them against overarching INL goals. This role will integrate design and evaluation expertise with project management skills to enhance project effectiveness, efficiency, and impact. The DME Advisor will report to the US Direct Hire Foreign Service Officer Communications, Outreach, Results, and Evaluation (CORE) Chief and work closely with project teams, stakeholders, and partners to ensure the successful delivery of project objectives. The DME Advisor will oversee and mentor the design, monitoring, and evaluation specialists, and lead the design and implementation of policies, processes, and guidance on project and program DME such that INL Mexico foreign assistance projects and programs are maximally effective and meet INL DME requirements.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direct supervision of the Mexico City-based Communications, Outreach, Results, and Evaluation (CORE) Chief or his/her designee, the DME Advisor will perform the following duties:

1.    Provide direction and oversight of DME staff consisting of up to 5 locally employed (LE) staff and serve as the direct superior of the one LE staff M&E supervisor.
2.    Lead the development of evaluations, indicators, surveys, and learning practices for INL Mexico projects, programs and goals.
3.    Ensure robust project management practices throughout the project lifecycle, including development of detailed M&E work plans, establishment of data quality protocols, coordination of evaluation activities with project implementation timelines, systematic documentation of lessons learned, and regular reporting on M&E findings to inform program adjustments
4.    Design and update policies, processes, and systems for effective project and program review, specifically: establishing review schedules and cycles (quarterly, annual, etc.); developing standard operating procedures for conducting reviews; creating reporting formats; implementing corrective action tracking systems; and defining roles and responsibilities for project reviews.
5.    Collaborate with INL Mexico staff and leadership to gain support for DME processes.
6.    Designs user-friendly reporting systems that transform complex project data into clear visual dashboards and reports. The goal is to automate data flows so all levels of INL can monitor project progress quickly. While primarily using State Department-approved tools, the incumbent leads the process to gain approval for new technology that improves reporting efficiency.
7.    Support project proposal development, including needs assessments, theory of change, and logical frameworks.
8.    Ensure alignment of project goals with organizational and Department priorities.
9.    Assist implementing partners in reporting valid and useful information in INL’s systems of record.
10.     Analyze project data and recommend performance improvements through quality assessments, trend analysis, benchmarking, and lessons learned. Translate findings into actionable recommendations and facilitate data-driven discussions with INL leadership.
11.     Develop relationships with Government of Mexico (GOM) officials working with INL on projects, and provide technical assistance to improve their reporting of data and programmatic results.  Examples include the Mexican Secretariat of Security, Federal Attorney General’s Office, and Mexican military branches working on projects with INL.
12.     Prepare and present reports on indicator performance and findings to key stakeholders such as the White House, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Congress, the National and Homeland Security Councils, and INL leadership in Mexico and Washington.
13.     Serve as a liaison to DME teams in other INL overseas sections and in Washington.
14.     Serve as Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) on DME-related contracts (i.e. field research, project-level studies).
15.     Coordinate site visits for data quality assessments of implementing partners/organizations.
16.     Serve as a key interlocutor between the DME team and INL Program teams, ensuring adherence to DME requirements.
17.     When required, perform the role of Duty Officer.
18.     Perform other duties as requested and assigned that are directly related to this Statement of Work.

TRAINING & DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES
1.    Completes the mandatory Foreign Affairs Counter-Threat (FACT) Course (CT650) prior to deployment to Post.  
2.    Completes the Introduction to Working in an Embassy (PN113) distance-learning (DL) course through the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) within the first six (6) months of arriving at Post.
3.    Works with the INL Program Office/Post to determine a timeline for completing the INL Staff Orientation and Readiness Training (SOAR).
4.    Consultations with the INL Program Office may be required.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE & TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
The place of performance for this position is the US Embassy Mexico City, Mexico. Travel up to 25 percent of the time to Regional Security Office (RSO) authorized locations in Mexico, the United States, and occasionally the region will be required.      

RELATIONSHIPS
The DME Advisor will serve under the day-to-day direction of the  Communications, Outreach, Results, and Evaluation (CORE) Chief in INL Mexico.  This position provides oversight of the DME team, currently comprised of five LE staff. 

The Contract Administrator shall be the INL Contracting Officer in Washington.  In no instance shall the CORE Chief or any other individual be authorized to alter or modify the terms and conditions of the contract or waive the Government's requirements, price, delivery, or other terms and conditions.  The Contracting Officer must authorize such changes in writing.

The CORE Chief will provide yearly performance reviews to the INL/SAO/IM Contracting Officer in Washington, D.C. to contribute to the incumbent’s official yearly review.

COMPLEXITY
This position involves managing and providing DME technical expertise for a wide portfolio of programs and projects in INL-Mexico simultaneously.  The ability to perform complex analysis, explain DME concepts clearly and concisely, meet short deadlines, coordinate between many stakeholders, and multi-task successfully is essential.   

Duties are significantly varied and require many different unrelated processes and methods that are applied to a broad range of problems/situations that require a substantial depth of analysis.  Decisions that must be made involve major areas of uncertainty in approach, methodology, interpretation and evaluating processes.  There are continuing changes in programming, DME requirements, partner capacity for DME, and political circumstances enabling or restricting programming and DME efforts.  The work requires developing new techniques and establishing criteria.  Incumbents typically identify and develop ways to resolve problems or cope with issues which directly affect the ongoing relationships with partners and the ability to gather and use meaningful results data.

SCOPE & EFFECTIVENESS
The PSC performs broad range of tasks and assignment related to the DME of INL’s programs and projects. Assignments for these tasks may often be self-generated and in response to broader DME needs, requirements, and efforts in INL-Mexico.  Knowledge and professional experience supporting DME in international development contexts, coupled with subject matter familiarity with INL’s key focus areas, is necessary to support the results-based management of INL Mexico’s programming. An effective PSC will also contribute to INL Mexico's and INL’s bureau-wide culture changes and adoption of measures to use evidence and data to inform policy and programming. 

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
The period of performance for this contract is twelve (12) months from the date of award with four (4) optional one-year extensions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
1.    U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain Department of State Secret level security clearance, medical clearance, and ethics clearance (if applicable). (Security clearance upgrade to Top Secret level may be required.)
2.    Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and a minimum of five (5) years of experience in: design, monitoring, and evaluation of foreign assistance or similar programs; project management; and identifying business needs and solutions to improve DME implementation."; or,
a.     A Master’s degree from an accredited institution and a minimum of three (3) years of experience in: design, monitoring, and evaluation of foreign assistance or similar programs; project management; and identifying business needs and solutions to improve DME implementation.".
3.    A minimum of two (2) years of experience in a supervisory role, leading and managing a team.
4.    Demonstrated ability to organize, manage, and present complex information in a clear and understandable way.
5.    Demonstrated knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methodologies, frameworks, and best practices. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA 
(Used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified offerors in comparison to other offerors.) Offerors should cite specific, illustrative examples for each factor. Responses must be limited to 500 words per factor. Any additional words above the limit will neither be read nor scored. 
 
Factor 1:    Expertise in Design, Monitoring and Evaluation     (20 points) 
Demonstrated expertise in designing, monitoring, and evaluating complex programs. Familiarity with results-based management approaches and knowledge of two or more monitoring, evaluation, and learning methodologies. Ability to articulate root causes, theories of change, intended results, and indicators. Experience using monitoring and evaluation findings to adjust project course. Experience with foreign assistance projects is preferred. 

Factor 2:    Expertise in Project Management                      (20 points)
Demonstrated experience with diverse project types and different phases of the project lifecycle. Proven ability to develop comprehensive project proposals, including logical frameworks and theories of change. Proficiency in identifying potential project risks and developing mitigation strategies.

Factor 3:     Expertise in Business Analytics, Data Analytics, and Information 
Management Systems                         (15 points) 
Demonstrated expertise in analyzing and interpreting data to optimize DME processes and inform decisions on project success and corrective actions. Ability to research complex issues and communicate findings clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, integrating evidence into recommendations. 

Factor 4:    Collaboration and Leadership                 (15 points) 
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and resolve challenging situations among different offices, agencies, and stakeholders. Supervisory experience managing personnel at different levels, preferably in a multicultural environment. Experience coordinating teams across multiple projects with competing priorities and deadlines. Professional-level Spanish proficiency preferred. " 

BASIS OF RATING: Offerors who clearly meet the Education/Experience Requirements will be further evaluated based on scoring of the Evaluation Factor responses. Offerors are required to address each of the Evaluation Factors in a separate document describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education and/or awards they have received that are relevant to each factor. Failure to specifically address the Evaluation Factors may result in your not receiving credit for all of your pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards. 
 
The Offeror Rating System is as Follows:  
 
Evaluation Factors have been assigned the following points:  
Factor #1 – 20
Factor #2 – 20
Factor #3 – 15 
Factor #4 – 15

Total Possible – 70 Points  
 
Interview Performance – 30 points  
 
Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks – Pass/Fail (no points assigned) 
Past performance evaluation of applicant’s ability to perform under the contract.  In conducting the evaluation, the U.S. government reserves the right to utilize all evaluation information available at the time of evaluation, whether provided by the applicant or obtained from other sources.  
 
Total Possible Points: 100 

The most qualified candidates may be interviewed, required to provide a writing sample, and demonstrate an ability to operate commonly used office applications. INL will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. In addition, applications (written materials and interviews) will be evaluated based on content as well as on the applicant's writing, presentation, and communication skills. In the event that an applicant has fully demonstrated his/her qualifications and there are no other competitive applicants, INL reserves the right to forego the interview process. Professional references will be evaluated for applicants being considered for selection.

COMPENSATION (BASE PAY)
This position has been designated at the FS-02 equivalent level ($102,409 - $150,391 per annum). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value based upon qualifications, previous relevant experience and work history, salary and educational background. Salaries, including any recruitment supplemental pay that exceeds the listed pay range, will not be entertained or negotiated.

For award, INL will negotiate for this contract based on the market value as outlined above and overall experience relevant to the solicitation requirements.  

BENEFITS & ALLOWANCES
AS A MATTER OF POLICY, INL NORMALLY AUTHORIZES THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES 

BENEFITS - IF APPLICABLE
•    Employee's FICA/Medicare Contribution
•    Contribution toward Health and Life Insurance 
•    Pay Comparability Adjustment 
•    Annual Increase 
•    Eligibility for Worker's Compensation 
•    Annual, Sick and Home Leave 
•    401K Plan 
•    MEDVAC (provided by DOS Med)

ALLOWANCES IN ACCORDANCE WITH DEPARTMENT OF STATE STANDARDIZED REGULATIONS (DSSR) - IF APPLICABLE 
•    Temporary Quarters Subsistence Allowance (TQSA) or Per Diem upon arrival at Post
•    Housing Allowance
•    Post Allowance
•    Supplemental Post Allowance 
•    Maintenance Allowance (SMA)
•    Education Allowance
•    Educational Travel (full-time United States based secondary) 
•    Post Hardship Differential
•    Danger Pay
•    Shipment of HHE, UAB, POV and Consumables