Subject:  Solicitation No. 674-10-0059 for Personal Services Contractor (USPSC), USAID/PEPFAR, Deputy Director in Lesotho

Issuance Date:  September 10, 2010
Closing Date:    October 8, 2010
Closing Time:    5PM Pretoria local time

USAID/RHAP/Pretoria expects to award a personal services contract for a U. S. citizen or third-country national for a two-year period beginning o/a September 2010. The Deputy Director, who will be based in Maseru, Lesotho, is recruited, hired, and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional HIV-AIDS Program (RHAP) for Southern Africa (which is based in Pretoria, South Africa) through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Supervision of this position is assigned to the USAID Director in Lesotho, and the incumbent will be a key player on the inter-Agency PEPFAR Lesotho team. Lesotho's HIV/AIDS response is led and coordinated by the National AIDS Commission (NAC), a semi-autonomous government body. Implementation of the national response lies primarily with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and a number of other government ministries which are responsible for various aspects of the response. Funding is provided both through the Government of Lesotho's (GOL) annual budget, and Global Fund resources. The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for 2006 -2011 lays out a framework for responding to the epidemic through work in four strategic areas: a) Prevention; b) Treatment, Care, and Support; c) Impact Mitigation; and d) Management, Coordination, and Support Mechanisms. In the past three years, the USAID PEPFAR program in Lesotho has grown significantly, from $12.7 million in FY 2007, to $29.6m in FY 2008, $26.7m in FY 2009, $38M for FY 2010 and $29M projected for FY 2011. The total USG PEPFAR program for Lesotho in FY 2010 is $42.7 million because of additional funds resulting from the Partnership Framework, explained below. Through PEPFAR's implementing partners, PEPFAR supports the national response to HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, and has increased its commitment through the Partnership Framework which was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the US Ambassador to Lesotho on August 9, 2009. The Partnership Framework emphasizes increasing Lesotho's ownership of the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A Partnership Framework Implementation Plan (PFIP) has been finalized and has a strong emphasis on health systems strengthening and increased prevention initiatives to slow the rapid progress of HIV and mitigate the impact of the disease on Basotho society.
Point of Contact:  Any questions concerning this Notice may be directed in writing to Raksha Maharaj at [email protected] and Edith Humphreys at [email protected] not later than October 8, 2010.

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