Cost and Pricing Consultant

TERMS OF REFERENCE

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

COST AND PRICING CONSULTANT

1. BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION:

PADF seeks a Cost and Pricing Consultant to provide support for organizational business development processes and in particular the assembly of proposal budget documentation. This consultant role will work closely with proposal teams on a series of proposals and applications and will focus on securing grant and cooperative agreement funding from USG agencies including USAID, State Department, Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture.

2. OBJECTIVE:

The Cost and Pricing Consultant will work with the PADF New Business Team (BD), Thematic (technical) teams, and country teams in the development of compliant cost volumes for PADF new business proposals; strategize with business development on budget design and layout, align the proposed project budgets with overall technical approaches (in collaboration with programs and country teams); ensure subrecipient budget inputs are secured in required format; and there might be a need to provide training to PADF staff (field and HQ) on best practices in budgeting and cost proposal preparation. This role will support multiple capture processes simultaneously and will be asked to regularly lead the assembly of cost volumes for live proposal application processes. The Cost and Pricing Consultant will have strong understanding of USG regulations, including relevant OMB circulars and USAID ADS series. Experience in USG assistance mechanisms is required, while federal government acquisition and contracting experience with a background in designing, assembling, collaborating on, and establishing proposal budgets at a high level is strongly preferred.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONSULTANT:

1. Reviews and analyzes RFAs, RFPs and other USG bid documents.
2. Supports the development of a pricing strategy for competitive bids.
3. Leads or supports all components of proposal cost volumes, including the development of detailed budget spreadsheets, budget narratives, and all cost proposal annexes.
4. Engages with members of the BD unit, Programs and country teams to ensure that proposal budgets are responsive to technical requirements, compliant with donor regulations, and consistent with PADF internal policies and procedures.
5. Coordinates with additional PADF units including Finance, Grants and Contracts and Human Resources to ensure accuracy of cost estimates.
6. Strategizes with BD team and executive office on cost share strategy, if required.
7. Supports negotiations with partners on proposal-specific budget guidance and ensures partner sub budgets are compliant with PADF and donor requirements.
8. Participates in final cost reviews, including White Glove for final error checking and narrative responsiveness.
9. Identifies or develops tools and templates to facilitate accurate, compliant budgeting processes across the business development lifecycle, from capture stage to full proposal development.
10. Possible training(s) of Programs staff, country teams, and other PADF stakeholders on best practices in cost preparation to achieve uniform level of institutional knowledge.

4. REPORTING PROFILE AND LOCATION(S) OF ASSIGNMENT

This position reports to the Senior Director of Business Development. It may be based in our Headquarters Office in Washington, D.C. or remote.

5. CANDIDATE PROFILE:

Required Qualifications:

• Seven (7) years of relevant business development experience, focused on USAID and other USG agencies.
• Demonstrated cost and pricing experience required, including budgeting for local labor regulations and local compensation plans and developing multipliers and indirect rates for partners without official NICRA.
• University degree.
• Native-level English (written and spoken).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience within the Latin America and Caribbean region.
• Fluency (written/spoken) in Spanish, French and/or Portuguese.
• New business experience with non-USG donors (World Bank, UN System, European Union).
• Experience with USG acquisition instruments (CPFF Contracts, IDIQs)

Competencies:

• Attention to Detail
• Analytical Thinking
• Organization skills
• Strong understanding of USG business processes

6. CONTRACTUAL MECHANISM: COST REIMBURSABLE

Include the following information regarding your rate with your application:

• Overall rate or rate per an hour / day / week / month. Please provide an explanation for this amount.

7.PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS TO INCLUDE:

1. Please attach Curriculum Vitae (CV) to demonstrate how you meet the TOR requirements.
2. Please include descriptions of similar projects or assignments and at least three client references.
3. Your preferred daily rate and justification for the rate. Include the information requested under section 6, Contractual Mechanism.

8. TERM OF THE CONTRACT:

Estimated start date of contract: October 1, 2024. The contract will have approximately a 120 day duration. And will include 24 days of LOE.

9. SUBMISSION DETAILS:

1. Applications must be received no later than September 13, 2024. All application materials are to be submitted to [email protected] and [email protected], following the guidelines listed in these Terms of Reference.
2. Validity of bid: 120 days from the submission deadline.
3. Amendments: At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, PADF may, for any reason, modify the Terms of Reference document by an amendment which will be posted to the PADF website and/or communicated via email.
4. Clarifications: Questions may be submitted to [email protected] and [email protected]. The subject of the email must contain the TOR number and title of the TOR.

10. TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Resulting Award

This TOR does not obligate PADF to execute a contract, nor does it commit PADF to pay any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the proposals. Furthermore, PADF reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of PADF. PADF will, in its sole discretion, select the winning proposal and is not obligated to share individual evaluation results.

Confidentiality

All proprietary information provided by the bidder shall be treated as confidential and will not be shared with potential or actual applicants during the solicitation process. This includes but is not limited to price quotations, cost proposals and technical proposals. PADF’s evaluation results are confidential.