USAID's Annual Bid Process

Although our first assignment abroad will be directed, I thought some of you may find it interesting to learn about the annual USAID bidding process. This is the process we will be going through after our first assignment abroad . . . quite a process . . .

How the bidding process works is a list will come out around August which contains all the open positions for the following year. The only people allowed to place bids on assignments during this first release of positions ("Priority Consideration Bidders List") is reserved for "Priority Consideration Bidders" whom are people finishing a tour in a "Critical Priority Country" (aka. CPC). These are countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan where there is substantial danger or hardship. After people leaving CPCs get to bid on the first release of positions, they will receive their assignments and then the "Major Listing" will be released. This is the updated list with positions that went to CPC bidders removed. Now everyone else gets to place their bids on positions and be assigned. There is the exception for people who want to only go to a CPC, then they can bid on the "Priority Consideration Bidders List" on just the CPC countries and get their assignment earlier. After the Major Listing, there are sometimes people who place their bids and for one reason or another, do not receive an assignment. There will then be an updated list which will come out with remaining positions and potentially any newly available positions in which they can then place bids again. Bidding Process When bidding for assignments, the list of positions will contain the position name, the position backstop (functional area), the FS grade level, a paragraph description of the position's responsibilities, and a contact person for the position. Bidders must review the list for positions they are interested in and should then begin doing their research on that position and the Mission. Research should include things such as how the management is and who other colleagues will be at the Mission, who the Mission Director is, how morale is at the Mission, the type of work, etc. People with children must also consider things such as quality of schooling and things like that. Often the best insight can be through contacts one knows at the Mission or people who have worked there before. After researching, the next step is express interest to the contact person listed for that position. This includes sending information about yourself such as your resume and references (typically must be USAID references). This will let the Mission know that you are considering the post and get your name out there. Additionally, if you contacted others currently working at that Mission, they may be able to do some additional vouching for your capabilities and character. Following all this, the Mission will often contact your references and may schedule phone interviews with short-listed candidates. Whew, definitely like applying for a job again! Toward the time when you must input your bid selections into the USAID internal bidding system, candidates generally will have discussed with the Missions individuals they are most interested in and have an understanding of what rank the bidder will put the Mission and what rank the Mission will put the candidate. The selections will then all go to Washington where HR, the person's function backstop representative, and the Mission will review the selections and make all the assignments.

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy 2014!

Once again, this year, our family is continuing its tradition of using our CHRISTmas card resources to give to children and women that don't have clean water, a chance to be educated, an experience of real love and most importantly the opportunity to know Christ Jesus. We hope our friends and family will understand and maybe even take a moment to explore Amazima Ministries (www.amazima.org) and discover ways to help make a difference.

We are posting our greeting along with a prayer for you this Christmas and ALWAYS that you may experience the eternal blessings of Christ's birth and an ongoing personal relationship with Him, our Savior and King!

We appreciate and love each of you - Merry CHRISTmas from the Robinson Family! http://blog.amazima.org/

Grandma Rose and Papaw Mike Visit!

Grandma and Papaw visited us in D.C. for graduation and we went into D.C. for one afternoon and went to the Smithsonian Nature and Science Museum . . .lots of fun!

Two Cute Boys Turn Superheros

We had another fun, traditional Halloween with the boys going door to door for about a half hour or so and filling their pumpkin buckets almost to the top! It was a fun night for all!

Happy Graduation DLI 2013!

It’ s been a while since I posted, but life has surely changed since I began working again and commuting almost an hour in each direction (surprise I know), but I wanted to be sure to share with everyone the DLI graduation that happened on Friday, October 24th . . . the event kicked off with the Agency Administrator welcoming the new class of DLI graduates to the agency and sharing a video about the mission of USAID and its celebration as an agency for 50 years. The video is such a great reminder of why I want to be a part of USAID and I’m so proud to be joining in helping with the mission of this agency. The video can be viewed here . . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRgzpnFE_R4



After the video, my colleagues and I each received our diploma, a hand shake and a picture with the administrator and the ceremony concluded. I was very gracious that my Mom and Step-Father attended, as well as Rob and our two boys. The boys were so excited to be going to D.C. and hanging in one of the “big” buildings where mom works and to see her graduate! And their behavior could not have been any better. Several of my colleagues commented as such, which was so great to hear and made us very proud parents! We’re all in this together, so it felt like we were off to a great start, together as a family! So, here we go . . . into the world of the unknown. .. ok well for now, that’s just the world of learning financial management for the agency until posted abroad (earliest possible date to know where is expected to be March, but I’ve also been told we could be in D.C. for up to 2 years, so we’ll be getting somewhat comfortable), but it’s still a world of unknown and continual learning . . . exactly where I like to be! Congratulations to all the graduates of DLI 2013!

VERY Proud Member of the Development Leadership (DLI) Class of 2013

For the past three weeks I've been attending orientation for USAID. It has been such an enticing introduction to the agency and all the wonderful things it is doing for so many around the world. I don't think I've ever been more proud to be a part of something in my life! Speaking of proud, my classmates are some of the sharpest, most interesting and uniquely special individuals I've ever met in my life. I feel truly blessed to be among them and learn so much from them each day. Yes, I often have to pinch myself to make sure this is real (often it's as I salute Arlington Cemetery and pass the Pentagon on my morning commute because I never in my life expected to be working here in D.C. and it's so surreal), but it is and I am so thankful and beyond proud to call myself a member of the DLI Class of 2013 and can't wait to get started helping this astounding agency of the U.S. government in its mission of sustainable development throughout the world.

Get a load of our class profile . . .

11 women, 28 men

21 languages spoken

69 different countries previously served

3 JDs, 3 PHds, 3 CPAs, 2 Fulbright Scholars, 1 Italian Policeman, a bronze star medal recipient, an award winning salsa dancer, a reporter and more.

4 from Private Sector, 12 Peace Corp Volunteers/Staff, 4 Independent Consultants, 12 USAID contractors, 9 Other Federal Government, 2 University Professors and 2 Military

Above all, this group of individuals is genuine, authentic and willing to sacrifice their own safety and comforts to help others in sustaining life's basic needs. There are no egos, all of these folks are truly not in this career for themselves, but to help others - again I have to pinch myself it seems so unreal! These character traits encompass some truly special people that I am honored to have met and look forward to working with them in such an impactful mission!

"It's not about you." Rick Warren, A Purpose Driven Life

Becoming Housing Experts

It recently occurred to me, that like it or not, we really are becoming real estate "experts" and with the new job, that experience will only broaden as we live in various homes, in differing climates and locations. Looking back, we've already made our debut as domestic nomads, living now in our 7th home in 7 years!

To break it down even more, we covered 4 different states in those 7 years - 1 home in California, 4 in Arizona, 1 in Colorado and now 1 in Virginia. The houses have varied in other ways - some located not far from the ocean, others in the dessert, the last at an altitude of 6,300 feet and now in what used to ultimately be swamp land. The houses have also varied in looks, styles and ages. We had 2 brand new homes (1 that we built and picked out every last item), 2 semi-new (5-10 years old), 1 from the 90s another from the 70s and now this one from the 60s. We’ve had 3 two story homes, 3 ranches and 1 tri-level along the way.

We’ve learned so much through all the homes and have learned to love each and every one of them, concluding all houses have their positives and negatives. For example, as much as I completely love the wide openness of our last home in Colorado (and the one we built in AZ), I have to admit that I have actually liked having closed in rooms again . . . to put it as simply as I can . . .it's kind of nice to not be a part of everyone else’s business (i.e. tv shows, video games, lunch, snack, etc.) all the time. By having the rooms more closed in and a little less openness, it actually allows (in my view) a little more privacy for us all. Also, somewhere along the line the building codes allowed for less and less water pressure in showers. Now we always "fixed" this in our newer homes after inspection, but there's just nothing like this old plumbing that barrels out water like no other and it very quickly gets hot (this was another thing that got pushed away in the recent years, most likely to save energy and make for a greener planet or something) . . . awwww makes for a nice and relaxing shower. . . the kind that I remember having as a kid (by the way I was not quite a kid yet in the 60s, but this was the plumbing I grew up with and it's been very much missed!).


So, with all this said, I had the idea that I'll post a little about each of our homes as we go through this journey of addresses unknown and maybe we can all learn a thing or two for future home purchases, as these addresses actually do become known. And maybe if you ever have a question about a thatched roof in the middle of Africa (or maybe you’d like one in middle America) one day or how a swamp cooler works on a patio in the hot desert, we would be more than happy to give our two cents worth because with all this moving and now taking our domestic nomadic nature global, we might pick up a thing or two that could be useful someday!

This is the lovely home we’re renting in Northern Virginia (OK I removed the pic for social media safety- sorry). We love it!
Besides the relaxing showers and privacy, the home is set back from the street, allowing our boys to play on the long driveway, riding on their bikes, scooters, etc. without us having to worry much about cars and traffic. Also, the house it set up under some amazingly beautiful, mature trees, not far (in Kentucky I think we would say a “stone’s throw away”) from a really nice nature trail. And speaking of nature, it’s rare to go even a day without seeing deer in our yard. Last Sunday we awoke to a family of 5 grazing in our next door neighbor’s front yard.