PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTOR (PSC) VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

LOCAL

POSITION: Peace Corps Medical Officer

OPENING DATE: March 24, 2023 

CLOSING DATE: April 14, 2023, 5:00 PM GMT

WORK HOURS: Full Time – 40 Hours Minimum/Week

SALARY RANGE: 267,070 – 413,957 SLE plus benefits, negotiable based on salary history and experience

The United States Peace Corps is seeking a qualified Medical Doctor or Nurse Practitioner to serve as a personal services contractor (PSC) Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  The PCMO will provide health care to U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers in Sierra Leone and will work under the supervision of the Peace Corps Country Director in Sierra Leone and the Peace Corps Office of Medical Services in Washington, DC.

Duties include:

• Routine primary health care to Peace Corps Trainees and Volunteers including treatment of common illnesses and injuries in accordance with Peace Corps medical guidelines
• Individual short-term counseling on disease prevention, adjustment issues, stress management and cross-cultural problems
• Response to emergency medical situations
• Member of Senior Peace Corps staff in Sierra Leone
• Ability to conduct trainings on health related issues
• Site visits to Peace Corps Volunteers throughout Sierra Leone
• Administrative tasks of the medical office including budget management
• Inventory of medical supplies and equipment
• Alternate 24 hour on-call duty with the other PCMO

See attached Statement of Work for complete description of responsibilities.

This is a local advertisement.  Preference will be given to the candidates who have applied to this local advertisement who are citizens of Sierra Leone or who are permanent residents of Sierra Leone with proper and current authorization to work in Sierra Leone at the time of application.

Peace Corps may select one or more PCMO PSCs from the applications received in response to this advertisement, or may decide not to fill any PSC positions.  All PSC positions are subject to the availability of funds and continued need.

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 (a minimum working schedule of 40 hours per week), with after-hours, weekend, holiday, and on-call responsibilities.

Daily pre-tax compensation will be negotiated within the specified range for the position at the discretion of the Peace Corps Contracting Officer, taking into account items such as documentable salary history.  Benefits will be offered for this position in accordance with guidance provided by Peace Corps Headquarters.  Benefits will differ for citizens or permanent residents of Sierra Leone versus citizens and permanent residents of countries other than Sierra Leone.  It is not anticipated that relocation expenses or housing expenses will be paid for candidates who have applied under this local advertisement.

Minimum Qualifications and Requirements:

• Graduate of accredited school; Medical Doctors (MDs) must be a graduate of a school listed in this link, Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research, https://search.wdoms.org/
• Current license to practice
• Relevant clinical experience in primary care after medical school
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral /written English
• Experience in managing mental health issues including counseling of patients
• Experience in training design and presentation of health related material
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Outlook
• Program management, administrative experience
• Ability to work effectively as part of an intercultural team
• Hardworking, reliable and diligent with good inter-personal skills
• Willing to travel to sites in Sierra Leone
• Ability to work with minimal supervision
• Must be able to obtain an American visa

Application Process and Requirements:

By the closing date/time identified above, interested applicants for this position must submit the following items as attachments to an e-mail to:

SL-PCJobs@Peacecorps.gov

Attention: Peace Corps Director of Management and Operations (DMO)

Peace Corps does not accept responsibility for technical issues or glitches that cause application materials to be received past this closing date/time.

1. A completed PCMO Application form, a completed PCMO applicant skills survey, and a completed Privileging form.  The applicant must complete this request for privileges depending on their professional qualifications.

2. A cover letter

3. A resume or C.V. that includes:

• Professional positions held, identifying duties, responsibilities, dates of employment and reason for leaving
• Education and training, identifying universities attended, dates of attendance, degrees and diplomas.
• Professional licenses, certificates, registrations
• An accounting for periods of unemployment longer than three months

4. Three professional medical references, with at least two being from medical colleagues who have directly observed the applicant in a clinical setting.  The letters must be written within the last two years and include the date.  (One must also be from the current employer.)

5. Photocopies of:

Diploma from medical school.

Professional medical license. If the license does not have an expiration date, written confirmation must be submitted directly from the issuing authority.  Please note, if a license is not required, rather, the medical diploma is the license to practice, written confirmation, issued directly from the professional medical board, Ministry of Health or other appropriate regulatory authority establishing that the candidate is properly credentialed for medical practice, is required.

Professional certification if Nurse Practitioner

6. The applicant should also provide the answer to the following question in their application e-mail:

Have you ever served Peace Corps as a Trainee or Volunteer (including Response), or as a staff member (USDH, PSC, or FSN)?  If yes, identify the position location, position type, title, and starting and ending dates.

All documents must be in English.  Official translation is not required.

Only the paper application materials of those candidates that have submit a complete application package by the deadline and who have been found to have met all of the minimum qualifications and requirements stated above will move further along in the evaluation process.  Additional steps in the evaluation process may include:

• A further evaluation of the submitted application materials.
• Completion of a written exam.
• Completion of 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 professional comportment during the interview.
• A review of the candidate’s reference letters and/or other sources of past performance information, which may include information 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.).

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.
• 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 Sierra Leone and is beyond the mandatory retirement age there), disability, or genetic information.
• 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.
• The individual may be asked to complete one or more temporary duty assignments at other Peace Corps posts, transfer to another Peace Corps post, or to complete a detail with another USG Agency, a Peace Corps Headquarters office, or with a post other than the post of assignment.  As part of an approved detail, the individual may be requested to perform work that may be specifically in line with or may add to the duties stated in the contract.
• Contract award will be contingent on several items, to include:
  1. The applicant’s successful completion of a background security investigation and issuance of a security certificate.
  2. The applicant’s successful completion of a physical examination by a doctor and issuance of a medical certificate.