The United States Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam is seeking an eligible and qualified applicant for the Cooperating Country National Personal Services Contractor (CCNPSC) position of Project Management Specialist (War Legacy Reconciliation) in its U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
1. VACANCY ANNOUCEMENT NO.:USAID-2021-017
2. OPENING DATE: October 22, 2021
3. CLOSING DATE: November 21, 2021, 17:00 Hanoi time
4. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: All Interested candidates/All sources who are Cooperating Country National (CCN)
Cooperating country national (CCN) means an individual who is a cooperating country citizen, or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country.
5. POINT OF CONTACT:
Quyen Hoang, Supervisory Human Resources Specialist at [email protected] [1]; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000 ; ext. 2763 ; and Loan Nguyen, Human Resources and Travel Assistant at [email protected] [2]; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000; at ext. 2673.
6. POSITION TITLE: Project Management Specialist (War Legacy Reconciliation), 30000884
7. MARKET VALUE/BASE SALARY (per annum): US$ 24,500.00 – US$ 36,739.00 (FSN-10)
Supplemented by attractive allowances, cash and non-cash benefits and incentives according to U.S. Embassy Vietnam’s Local Compensation Plan (which will be $31,257 - $45,372 as detailed in section 15).
8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/Length of the contract/ WORK SCHEDULE: Definite term - five years / Monday through Friday (40 hours per week).
USAID expects the services under this contract to be continuing in nature for the contractor to perform under a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of fund.
9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:
USAID/Vietnam, 15th floor, Tung Shing Building, No. 2 Ngo Quyen street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam
10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Local Security Certification or Public Trust
11. BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE POSITION
The USAID Project Management Specialist (War Legacy Reconciliation) position is located within the Reconciliation and Inclusive Development Office (RIDO) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Vietnam in Hanoi. The job holder will assist the Office Director (OD) to manage the War Legacy Reconciliation earmark that helps contribute to Intermediate Result (IR) 3: “Vietnamese capacity to identify war dead increased” of the Special Objective: “Overcome war and Agent Orange” of the USAID/Vietnam Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). S/he ensures successful design, procurement, and program management of war legacy reconciliation activities and specifically the war dead program, consisting of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) analysis, archival data matching and related activities. S/he will also counsel Mission and U.S. Embassy staff on the political and technical aspects of these activities and the integration of these activities into Mission objectives and serve as a Contracting/Agreement Officer Representative (AOR) of this activity. S/he will serve as the Mission’s main point of contact (POC) on war legacy reconciliation activities with all related Government of Vietnam (GVN) counterparts including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health during project design, approval and implementation. S/he will also serve as the main War Legacy Reconciliation portfolio’s POC within USAID, with the U.S. Embassy and other USG agencies, other development partners and private sector. S/he will serve as alternate COR and/or AOR of other RIDO activities including Dioxin Remediation and Disability programming.
12. MINIMUM REQUIREMENT
Applicants must address each required qualification listed below with specific information supporting each item. Failure to do so may result in a determination that the applicant is not qualified.
Education: Possession of a Bachelor’s degree in biology, biotechnology, genetics, criminalistics or other sciences is required.
Prior Work Experience: Minimum of five (5) year progressively responsible professional experience in project management. Minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible professional experience in DNA analysis, biology, genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology, forensic, criminalistics or similar field and working with and/or for a foreign government, international NGO, donor agency, or international company. Previous experience should include having responsibility for exercising judgment and providing solid analysis leading to sound technical decision-making.
Language Proficiency: Must have:
- Level 4 (fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing English (this will be tested).
- Level 4 (fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing Vietnamese.
Job Knowledge: The job holder must have general knowledge of Vietnamese environmental, economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics, development priorities, and resource constraints and understanding of the organization and respective roles of the different levels of the GVN in order to enhance effective communication, and to develop consensus on USAID strategy and program/project/activity implementation. Must have strong knowledge of the project management including the project design, project risk assessment and management, providing technical decision/recommendations to solve the challenges and/or issues. Must have knowledge of biotechnology related to DNA analysis. Must have knowledge of or the capacity to quickly acquire knowledge of relevant U.S. Government and USAID specific environmental regulations, legislation, programming policies, project design methodology, procedures, and documentation related to international environmental programs and activities.
Skills and Abilities: The job holder must have ability to obtain technical information, evaluate and interpret factual data to prepare/present precise, accurate objective and user-friendly oral and written recommendations, reports and presentations that aim to inform decisions related to USAID/Vietnam war legacy reconciliation and/or social sector portfolio activities and apply this knowledge to complex problems in Vietnam. Must have strong analytical and conceptual skills to identify developing issues at the project and program levels and recommend corrective actions; this may require the collection and evaluation of relevant project data. Must have technical and project management skills to review and provide feedback on concept papers, proposals, program descriptions/scopes of work, performance reports, and other technical and programmatic documents. Must be able to establish and maintain productive relationships/contacts with a variety of mid-to-high level officials of internal and external contacts (from GVN, USG, other donor/development partners, private sector,…). Must have strong interpersonal and leadership skills, ability to work independently, under pressure and produce results quickly with only general supervisor guidance. Must be able to use effectively MS Office and Google Applications and learn the Agency specific software, databases related to the work. Must have self-motivation and strong work ethics and can travel internationally and domestically.
13. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA:
A Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) will be set up to manage the whole evaluation and selection processes. Applications will be initially screened for eligibility in accordance with the required qualifications mentioned above including education, prior work experiences and language. Eligible candidates will be given an English test. Those candidates who meet the English requirement (Level IV) will be invited for the subject matter expertise test (SME test) and the top performers from the SME test will be called for an interview. The SME test and the interview will be structured around the required job knowledge, skills and ability for the position. Professional reference checks will be conducted once the pool is narrowed down to the top candidate(s).
In summary, the steps in the Candidates rating system are as follows:
- Meet education/experience requirements: Pass/Fail
- Language requirements: Pass/Fail
- Subject Matter Expertise (SME) test: Top scoring candidates from SME test will be invited for interview
- Professional Reference Checks: Pass/Fail
At the final selection round, the TEC will consider the whole package to ensure the best matching profile (relevant experience working in Biotechnology related to DNA analysis, in/with donor or international development organizations, GVN official and development partners, facilitation of development programs with GVN entities, …).
14. HOW TO APPLY:
All candidates must be able to obtain and hold a Local security or Public trust clearance.
- Offerors/ Candidates are required to complete and submit a Universal Application for Employment (DS-174) which is available on the Website of the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam below, Curriculum Vitae and scanned copies of degrees to support the position’s educational requirement.
https://vn.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019-07-Updated-DS174.pdf [3] - Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section 3 and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section 5.
- To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Applicants must prominently reference the Job Announcement number in the submission.
NOTE:
Due to the high volume of applications received, we will only contact applicants who are qualified and will be invited for further testing and/or interview. Thank you for your understanding.
15. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a CCNPSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances in accordance with United States Mission Vietnam ‘s Local Compensation Plan and regulations:
1. BENEFITS:
- One-month basic salary Tet Bonus
- Contribution to mandatory insurances pursuant to GVN’s law/ regulations including social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance.
- Coverage of additional health insurance 90% for incumbent and each eligible family member
- Annual and sick leave according to local labor law
- Mission cash award (semi-annual/ annual) and On-the-Spot award for high performers
- Training opportunities abroad, in-country, on-the-job and online sources (USAID University and Foreign Services Institute).
2. ALLOWANCES (as applicable):
- Unique Condition Work allowance: 7% of Annual basic salary (upon annual review for the whole Mission).
- Miscellaneous Benefits Allowance: US$1,000 per annum for FSN-09 and below and US$3,000 per annum for FSN-10 and above.
16. ADDITIONAL SELECTION AND APPLICATION CRITERIA:
- The Contracting Officer will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, funds availability and residency status in determining successful candidacy.
- Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.
- Current employees identified as under the Merit-Based Compensation’s Performance Improvement Plan on their most recent Performance Evaluation Report are not eligible to apply.
- All candidates for employment with the US Mission must pass a background/security investigation and a medical certification. Any employment offer with the US Mission is contingent upon a candidate’s ability to secure the necessary certifications.
- All applicants must be a naturalized citizen of the host country or must have the required work permit or documentation that permits the applicant to work legally in the country in order to be eligible for consideration.
- Please clearly indicate in your application, the title of the position you are applying for. Any application that does not specify the position applied for will NOT be considered.
- Applications received after the closing date and time of the announcement will NOT be considered.
- The application must contain all information necessary to demonstrate that the candidate possesses the education, experience, skills and language abilities required for this position.
- Applicants who fail to meet requirements for the position will be disqualified.
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people regardless of to race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital or parental status, veteran status, membership in an employee organization, political affiliation, involvement in protected EEO activity, or other non-merit factor. The Mission also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.
The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation. Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.