Peace Corps seeks a qualified individual to serve as Peace Corps Africa Region Intercultural Competence, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Specialist (ICDEIA Specialist). The anticipated location of this position is the Peace Corps/Togo office in Lome, Togo; however, the final location may be determined based on the successful applicant. If not located in Togo, the applicant must reside and work within one of Peace Corps’ Africa posts. The anticipated start date would be the fall or winter of 2022 (negotiable), once all pre-award requirements have been met.

The ICDEIA Specialist is a paid personal services contractor (PSC) who will support the needs of all Posts in the AF Region working in close collaboration with the Africa Region programming and training unit (PTU), overseas post staff across posts and units, ICDEIA specialists in the Office for Overseas Programming and Training Support (OPATS) and other offices in Washington DC and throughout the agency. Duties include but are not limited to: working across regions and teams to support Africa Region Staff to continue to build their capacity to support, coach, guide, and train Volunteers using an intercultural competence, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility lens; supporting posts to integrate ICDEIA into post operations; facilitating an Africa Region ICDEIA community of practice (COP) as well as provide specific support to posts on dimensions of diversity (i.e. race, disability, LGBTQ); and being a resource on both intercultural competence, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility training issues and consulting on specific issues. On occasion, the specialist may also provide training, coaching, and/or support directly to Volunteers.

The ICDEIA Specialist reports to, and is supervised by, the AF Region Chief of Programming and Training.  The duties will be carried out in consultation with the Chief of Programming and Training, as well as Country Directors (CDs), Directors of Programming and Training (DPTs), Program Managers (PMs), Training Managers (TMs), and other AF Region HQ and Region-based Staff as necessary. 

As necessary, the specialist will travel to different countries in the Africa Region to support new deputy directors of programming and training (DDPTs); act as DDPT; and/or provide specific ICDEIA-related technical, operational, and/or training support to posts. This position may travel up to 70% of the time.

See attached Statement of Work for complete description of responsibilities.

With the applications received in response to this advertisement, Peace Corps may, at its discretion, fill one or more ICDEIA Specialist PSC position(s) at either Peace Corps/Togo (Lome), another location in Africa where Peace Corps operates (based on the successful candidate), or another Peace Corps overseas office location which may materialize within six (6) months following the closing date of this advertisement, or may decide not to fill any such PSC positions.  All PSC positions are subject to the availability of funds and continued need.

Working Conditions:

The anticipated personal services contract(s) will be for a one-year period with up to three (3) or four (4) option years, exercisable based on satisfactory performance, availability of funds, and continued need.  The work schedule will be on a full-time basis (260 work days authorized per contract year, a minimum of 40 hours of work per week), with after-hours, weekend, holiday, and on-call responsibilities.  The ICDEIA Specialist may be required to hold a duty phone and/or to respond to off-hour calls or attend off-hour meetings (i.e. nights, weekends, and holidays) related to their position. The ICDEIA Specialist is ineligible for additional pay or leave for work performed off-hours or for hours spent working beyond their minimum work schedule. The work schedule will require flexibility and frequent travel to countries within the sub-region.    This is neither a remote position nor will telework be permitted beyond that permitted by the applicable Peace Corps policies/procedures regarding PSC telework.

The selected applicant(s) must follow all health and safety guidelines (including COVID-19 protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, submitting to temperature or other health checks/screenings and/or testing, following quarantine requirements, and following vaccination mandates, etc.) as specified by the position by the Peace Corps.

Compensation and Benefits:

Daily pre-tax compensation will be negotiated within the appropriate range for the position at the discretion of the Peace Corps Contracting Officer.  Items of consideration may include salary history and experience.  Benefits will be offered for this position in accordance with guidance provided by Peace Corps' Sub-Office of Acquisition and Contract Management.  Compensation and benefits will differ for citizens or permanent residents of the host country (i.e. Togo) versus citizens and permanent residents of countries other than the host country.

Benefits for citizens and permanent residents of countries other than the host country may include the following, depending on citizenship/permanent residency and contract type:

• Medical emergency evacuation insurance or United States Embassy health unit access
• Shipment of household affects (i.e. relocation expenses)
• Airfare to and from country for ICDEIA Specialist and authorized dependents
• Vacation leave
• Sick leave
• Home leave
• Housing or Lodging/Utilities (may be provided under a Travel Authorization (TA) with reduced meals and incidental expenses payments if the lodging includes a kitchen)
• Education allowance (US Citizens only)

Required Qualifications:

• No known impediments to obtaining and maintaining a background security certificate. 
• No known impediments to obtaining and maintaining a medical evaluation and clearance for overseas assignments worldwide.  For US Citizens, no known impediments to obtaining and maintaining a Worldwide Medical clearance.
• No known impediments to obtaining and maintaining an active registration in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov).
• For non-US citizen applicants, no known impediments to obtaining and maintaining a US visa.
• University degree from a recognized university.
• Has received formal training in the area of intercultural competence, diversity of the United States of America, and/or inclusion.
• Professional written and oral proficiency and comprehension in English.
• Minimum ten years living and working in transitioning or developing international countries while working for Peace Corps or in an international institution comparable to Peace Corps. Experience gained must include experience advising, managing, coaching, mentoring, and supervising of staff and/or leading teams, people, and/or programs.
• Minimum of five years of each of the following types of experience:
  1. Supervisory experience as a first-level manager or higher (e.g. Deputy Director of Programming and Training, Training Manager, Regional Manager, or Program Manager)
  2. Supporting and coaching United States citizen volunteers who identify with different dimensions of diversity (i.e. race, disability, LGBTQ) during volunteer service abroad;
  3. Developing and leading training on ICDEIA-related  topics for multicultural staff, volunteers, interns, or students including follow-on support and consulting on ICDEIA issues in an intercultural setting
  4. Designing, managing, and evaluating projects and/or programs.

• Experience conducting needs assessments and developing and executing strategic plans/projects;
• Advanced proficiency in all MS Office Suite tools including: Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Word; and digital communication tools such as Zoom, WebEx, and/or Teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel to countries within the sub region frequently for durations of up to two weeks.
• Willingness and ability to maintain a flexible work schedule, which includes working a minimum of 40 hours per week, with after-hours, weekend, holiday, and on-call responsibilities.

Application Process and Requirements:
Interested applicants should submit the following materials together via e-mail to the Point of Contact and Secondary Point of Contact listed.  Please include "1145PC22R0010" in the e-mail subject line. 

• Completed and signed Application Form (a blank Application Form is an attachment to this solicitation) and the attachments indicated therein

Peace Corps does not accept responsibility for technical issues or glitches that cause application materials to be received past this cutoff date.  Peace Corps reserves the right to delay the application review and/or evaluation process, should it be in their interests to do so.

Only the paper application materials of those candidates that have been found to be technically qualified upon initial application review (i.e. submitted a complete application package and determined to have met all of the required qualifications stated above) will move further along in the evaluation process.  Additional steps in the evaluation process will be as described below.

All candidates found to be technically qualified upon initial application review will have the paper application materials they submitted reviewed further in accordance with the following evaluation criteria:

• Years of experience and/or levels of skills in the areas listed in the required qualifications section that go beyond the minimum requirements.
• Education beyond a University degree (e.g. Master’s degree or higher).
• Professional written and oral proficiency and comprehension in French.
• Professional written and oral proficiency and comprehension in Portuguese.
• Ability to develop on-line resources/courses and/or work in a learning management system or set-up and/or utilizing digital platforms for sharing.

The most highly ranked candidate(s) following the paper application review process described above will be invited to complete one or more interview(s), which will cover, at a minimum:

• The applicant’s training, skills, and/or experience in the areas specified in the Statement of Work.
• The applicant’s accuracy and/or style when responding to scenarios and/or problem statements.
• The applicant’s English proficiency (and French and/or Portuguese proficiency, if applicable) and professional comportment during the interview. 

At the discretion of the Peace Corps, the most highly ranked candidate(s) may also be asked to complete a technical exercise related to the skills and/or experience in the areas specified in the Statement of Work.

Please also note that the following may also be evaluated by Peace Corps:

• Past performance in similar positions (both formal and informal information regarding past performance may be sought by Peace Corps and considered).  Past performance information may be obtained on both hard skills (i.e. technical experience and expertise, quality and timeliness of work product produced, etc.) and soft skills (i.e. professional judgment, professional demeanor, leadership abilities, ability to work as a member of a team, etc.). 
• Country or Region-specific experience related to the possible countries of assignment.
• Skill in language(s) related to the language(s) utilized in countries of possible assignment.

The highest ranked candidate(s) following the interview(s) will have their references checked and/or past performance reviewed.  Based on the outcome of those additional application reviews, interview(s), and/or reference checks, applicant(s) may be tentatively chosen to fill open ICDEIA Specialist PSC position(s) for Peace Corps.

Please note that:

• Peace Corps reserves the right to not evaluate the application of or to withhold an offer of a personal services contract to an individual that has a history of poor past performance or conduct as a Peace Corps Trainee, Volunteer, or staff member (USDH, PSC, or FSN).
• Peace Corps reserves the right to withhold an offer of a personal services contract to an individual that is a relative or household member of a current Peace Corps staff member.
• Individuals who have current or prior connections with intelligence activities or agencies through employment, related work, or even family relations may be ineligible for a personal services contract.
• The selected individual will be required to follow any workplace health and/or safety rules indicated for their position – including complying with any medical and/or training requirements specified for their position in accordance with public health and/or occupational health or safety policies.  This may require the individual to submit to a medical evaluation/examination, submit proof of required vaccinations, or submit other medical information to the Peace Corps or another US Government Agency both prior to contract award and/or during the period of performance of the contract.

Peace Corps will not discriminate against an applicant because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older, except when the applicant is a citizen or permanent resident of the host country and is beyond the mandatory retirement age in that country), disability, or genetic information.

Files attached to this solicitation include the following:

1.  ICDEIA Specialist Statement of Work

2.  ICDEIA Specialist Application Form