RFP-IRQ-CO-26-002- Solar Panel Curriculum Update Consultancy

Terms of Reference (ToR)

1. 
   Who is the Danish Refugee Council?
   

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO with a specific expertise in forced displacement. It was founded in 1956 and today it is operating in 40 countries around the world, where it protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities.

DRC has been active across Iraq since 2003 and plays a crucial role in addressing the complex humanitarian needs of displaced populations and conflict-affected communities. Operating in collaboration with local partners and authorities and adopting humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding (HDP) approaches, DRC focuses on providing a wide range of services to enhance the resilience and well-being of vulnerable individuals.

DRC’s work in Iraq has been focused on implementing multi-sectoral programming through an area-based approaches, integrating protection, economic recovery, humanitarian disarmament and peacebuilding programming as well as advocacy. By implementing context-specific solutions, DRC contributes to the stability and recovery of communities in Iraq, striving to create a more sustainable and inclusive future for those affected by displacement and conflict.

1. 
   Purpose of the consultancy
   

The purpose of this consultancy is to work with DRC in supporting ministry of labor and social affairs (MoLSA) in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to modernize their vocational training program to enhance employment opportunities to youth and job seekers. The consultant (consultancy team) will 1) Review the existing solar panel curriculum of MoLSA. 2) in collaboration with DRC and MoLSA Directorate of vocational training in KRI, form a curriculum development technical committee from MoLSA technical trainers representing each governorate. 3) Lead organizing the technical committee meeting reviewing the existing curriculum and identifying the gaps and areas to be updated. 4) collect the inputs from the technical committee members about areas of gaps and improvement and lead combinging them and reflecting them on the curriculum content. 5) ensure effectively updating the existing curriculum as per the competency-based standards (CBT). DRC is looking for a consultancy firm with a technical specialist and a lead consultant to ensure the updated training curriculum matches with the labor market needs,

1. 
   Background
   

Vocational training centres under DoLSA play an important role in supporting youths and job seekers and equip them with the market driven and competency-based skills to prepare them for employment and the labor market. However, due to changes in the labor market, industry demands, and technological development, there may be a need for updated or new vocational training curricula that better align with current workforce needs In order to deliver relevant and effective vocational training to youth and job seekers in general, there is a need to update the solar panel competency-based curriculum that matches with the market changes and development of technologies. Through this consultancy work, DRC is going to support MoLSA to modernize their vocational training program to enhance employment opportunities to youth job seekers including women and people living with disabilities from different population categories of IDPs, refugees and vulnerable host communities.

1. 
   Specific objective of the consultancy
   

The objective of the consultancy is to:

• Conduct a desk review of the existing solar panel curriculum to identify gaps and areas of improvement according to the labor market demand, skills gaps and context evolution. This review process might take different stages and will involve MoLSA Directorate of vocational training center technical trainers.
• Establish and lead a technical committee with relevant stakeholders to collect needed information and support the curriculum update process.
• Update the existing solar panel curriculum as per the competency-based standards (CBT) including facilitator guide, handouts and needed tools.
• Ensure the updated curriculum is available in both English and Kurdish (Badini and Sorani) languages and handed to DRC.

1. 
   Scope of work and methodology
   

The consultant will be responsible for:

Conduct a curriculum review process: conducting desk review of the existing curriculum and comparing with the CBT standards to identify the gaps and areas of improvement.

Lead formation the technical committee: in collaboration with DRC and directorate of labor and social affairs, lead forming the technical committee for review process, data and input collection from the technical committee and updating the solar panel curriculum.

Update curricula content, ensure it meets competency-based education standards: the consultant will be responsible in updating a well-structured competency-based curriculum that clearly defines the learning outcomes in terms of skills, knowledge and measurable and practical objective is stated within the curriculum, as well as a flexible curriculum allowing in house updates based on market changes. The consultant will ensure receiving feedback from the technical committee and refine the curriculum accordingly.

Prepare the final version of the training package: in collaboration with the technical committee, the consultant will receive feedback from them, refine and finalize the training curriculum. The final product must include the trainer guide, detailed lesson plan, competency-based training manual, assessments, tools and handouts.

Submit a final consultancy report: at the end, the consultant will submit a detailed comprehensive report to DRC stating the entire process, key findings, curriculum update progress and recommendations for future updates.

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables:

Phase

Expected deliverables

Indicative description tasks

Maximum expected timeframe

(Calendar days)

Phase 1:

Preparation

1.1: Inception Report

(in English)

Prepare an Inception Report to set out a detailed approach and methodology for the review process, forming committee, and collaboration with DoLSA in KRI.

3 days

Phase 2:

Working on deliverables

2.1: Desk Review

Collaborate with MoLSA directorates of vocational trainings (DVTs) to receive and access the existing solar panel curriculum package and desk review the curriculum as well as other existing internal newly developed curriculum to ensure well understood of the needs and areas of improvement.

3 days

2.2: Technical committee

In collaboration with DoLSA, establish the technical committee for material update from MoLSA technical trainers representing DVTs in Erbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Halabja governorates in KRI.

10 days

2.3: Curriculum review and draft content updates

Organize the technical committee meetings, review the material with the committee to identify gaps, receive inputs from the technical committee to update the content, lead adding the content updates, document the meeting minutes, draft and finalize the solar panel vocational training curriculum, trainers’ guide and handouts in both English and Kurdish (Sorani and Badini) languages.

15 days

2.4: Submission of training package

Submit the final training package including the trainer guide, tools, handouts and the final curriculum product to DRC in both English and Kurdish (Sorani and Badini) languages.

10 days

2.5: Final report

Submission of the final consultancy report including processes, progresses, methodologies used, key findings and recommendations.

4 days

The total expected duration to complete the assignment is 45 calendar days from approximately beginning of August 2026. The consultant will submit a detailed work plan including a timeline and performance indicators for the achievement of the various tasks involved in the consultancy and the delivery of the expected outputs, as well as a price proposal that is inclusive of all costs in IQD.

The payment will be made in one instalment upon the completion of all deliverables in satisfactory acceptance.

The consultancy is expected to be a company with the appropriate experience to deliver the objectives, and the team composition should include professionals with different expertise at least as of below:

1. A Lead consultant: overall lead of the coordination ensuring the scope of work is met and is the main focal point of contact with DRC with experience in needs assessment and vocational training curriculum development.
2. A Curriculum development specialist: responsible in drafting and updating competency based vocational training curriculum that matches the labor market demands. The specialist will work closely with the lead consultant, the technical committee, ministry of labor and DRC economic recovery technical coordinator to ensure the updated training curriculum content is practical and market based. The specialist must have a strong understanding of competency-based learning approaches, experience in working on solar panel curriculum, have expertise and experience in developing vocational training programs, ability to assess the labor market and its trends, understand of technological developments that affect the job market and understand employers demand to ensure the training program will match with the current and future job market requirements. The curriculum development specialist must have proven experience in designing training modules, lesson plans, trainer guide and assessment tools.

Technical requirements:

• Ability to travel and work inside Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
• The lead consultants/team members should have minimum master’s degree in development or humanitarian studies, political science, business management, economics, or other relevant fields.
• Proven experience in conducting similar work/consultancies of developing vocational training curriculum for vocational training centres including government VTCs.
• Proven understanding of labor market trends and vocational training principles.
• Proven experience in conducting needs assessment, labor market studies and/or skill gap analyses.

Desirable:

• Good understanding of humanitarian programs to support refugees, IDPs and host community populations with inclusion consideration.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity.
• Advanced skills in research design and methods, including data collection and analysis.

Language requirements:

• Written and spoken fluency in Kurdish and English.

The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:

• Economic Recovery Technical Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council, Iraq Office.

• This consultancy should be carried out in Kurdistan region of Iraq; the consultancy company should be based in Iraq or any other country with being registered in KRI with the presence of the minimum local team in KRI (lead consultant and the specialist).
• The consultancy firm will provide their own computer and mobile telephone.
• DRC covers the cost of the technical meetings in terms of transportation, venue cost, refreshment and accommodation for the DoLSA staff only.
• The technical committee meeting will take place in one of the governorates in KRI (Erbil, Duhok or Sulaymaniyah)

This consultancy company and their team are responsible to cover all the related costs to travel to the field, accommodation and they will be responsible of the administrative process of their travels.

How to apply

Interested bidder to send email to procurement.co.iraq@drc.ngo to get the full package.

Bids can be submitted by email to the following dedicated, controlled, & secure email address:

tender.irq.co@drc.ngo

When Bids are emailed, the following conditions shall be complied with:

• The RFP number shall be inserted in the Subject Heading of the email.
• Separate emails shall be used for the ‘Financial Bid’ and ‘Technical Bid’, and the Subject Heading of the email shall indicate which type of the email contains.
  • The financial bid shall only contain the financial bid form, Annex A
  • The technical bid shall contain all other documents required by the tender but excluding all pricing information.
  
  
• Bid documents required, shall be included as an attachment to the email in PDF, JPEG, TIF format, or the same type of files provided as a ZIP file. Documents in MS Word or excel formats, will result in the bid being disqualified.
• Email attachments shall not exceed 4MB; otherwise, the bidder shall send his/her bid in multiple emails.

Failure to comply with the above may disqualify the Bid.

DRC is not responsible for the failure of the Internet, network, server, or any other hardware, or software, used by either the Bidder or DRC in the processing of emails.

DRC is not responsible for the non-receipt of Bids submitted by email as part of the e-Tendering process

Tagged as: Consultant