IT services specialist for professional service maintenance, consulting, technical support, and maintenance of the IT infrastructure of the Digital Le

1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?

Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO and one of the few with a specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating in a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included into hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.

REPRESENTATION OF THE DANISH REFUGEE COUNCIL IN UKRAINE (DRС), an international non-governmental organization, which promotes and supports durable solutions to the problems faced by refugees and internally displaced people all over the world.

2. Purpose of the consultancy

The Danish Refugee Council based in Ukraine seeks proposals from a consultant to perform the work specified in clause 5, as well as to ensure the stability, reliability and uninterrupted operation of the Digital Legal Aid Platform, in user support and optimization of the IT infrastructure, in particular servers, which ensure the operation of the Platform.

3. Background

The Digital Legal Aid Platform (https://edopomoha.org) contains answers to the most popular legal questions, analytical materials and informative videos, as well as a list of lawyers who can provide free online and offline consultations. To ensure smooth operation and efficient functioning of the Platform, as well as to meet the needs of users, install new functions and fill the Platform, professional service, technical support and support of the IT infrastructure of the digital platform for legal assistance is required.

4. Objective of the consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to ensure the execution of tasks defined in paragraph 5 and provide professional service maintenance, consulting, technical support, and IT infrastructure support for the Digital Legal Aid Platform. This includes servers hosting the Platform, ensuring uninterrupted operation and effective functioning of the Platform, as well as meeting user needs and implementing new features on the Digital Legal Aid Platform website.

The consultant will be required to ensure smooth operation and efficient functioning of the Platform, as well as meeting the needs of users, installing new functions on the website of the Digital Legal Aid Platform.

5. Scope of work and Methodology

Within the scope of the work, the Contractor is expected to:

a. Service Maintenance and Technical Support: Conduct regular monitoring and analysis of the IT infrastructure, identify potential issues and shortcomings. Resolve incidents, address malfunctions, and problems arising from system operations. Provide consultations and support to users on IT matters, including the platform and its functionalities;

b. Technical Support: Ensure proper functioning of the servers hosting the Digital Legal Aid Platform. Conduct regular monitoring of server status, proactively identify potential issues, and backup data. Take measures to prevent data loss and ensure information security on servers;

c. IT Infrastructure Maintenance and Update: Perform regular updates of software and operating systems, as well as backup and data recovery. Ensure optimal performance and efficiency of the Platform’s IT infrastructure;

d. Infrastructure Management: Plan and implement an IT infrastructure development strategy considering the Platform’s needs. Monitor and optimize resource utilization to ensure efficient system operation and user scalability;

e. Security Assurance: Implement security measures and data protection to prevent unauthorized access to the information on the Platform. Conduct regular security audits, identify potential threats, and implement appropriate measures for their mitigation;

f. Communication: Communicate regarding the status of the IT infrastructure, server operations, issue identification, and task execution with representatives of the client. Ensure interaction with project management and the project’s client.

The Consultant will be required to prepare a detailed methodology and work plan indicating how the objectives of the project will be achieved, and the support required from DRC.

6. Deliverables

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables as mentioned in the Annex C Terms of Reference (ToR).

7. Duration, timeline, and payment

The total expected duration to complete the assignment will be no more than 3 months.

The consultant shall be prepared to complete the assignment no later than 30.04.2024.

The compensation will be determined according to the schedule provided below. Payment will be made in stages after proper completion of the respective works for each phase and taking into account the features defined below, namely:

а) The first payment in the amount of 100% of the cost of the works for 1 phase will be made by DRC to the Contractor based on the acceptance of the work by DRC representatives for Period 1, which occurs during monthly meetings (online). After such acceptance of the work by DRC representatives, and in the absence of claims against the Contractor regarding the quality of work performed, the Contractor prepares and submits a Work Completion Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate) to the designated DRC employees, which is signed by DRC in the absence of claims against the content-defined work.

b) The second payment in the amount of 100% of the cost of the works for 2 phase will be made by DRC to the Contractor based on the acceptance of the work by DRC representatives for Period 2, which occurs during monthly meetings (online). After such acceptance of the work by DRC representatives, and in the absence of claims against the Contractor regarding the quality of work performed, the Contractor prepares and submits a Work Completion Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate) to the designated DRC employees, which is signed by DRC in the absence of claims against the content-defined work.

c) The third payment in the amount of 100% of the cost of the works for 3 phase will be made by DRC to the Contractor based on the acceptance of the work by DRC representatives for Period 3, which occurs during monthly meetings (online). After such acceptance of the work by DRC representatives, and in the absence of claims against the Contractor regarding the quality of work performed, the Contractor prepares and submits a Work Completion Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate) to the designated DRC employees, which is signed by DRC in the absence of claims against the content-defined work.

The Contractor is obliged to provide a Work Completion Certificate.

Taxes and other expenses are the responsibility of the service provider.

8. Proposed Composition of Team

The consultant can either work alone or as part of a team. DRC does not restrict the number of people working on the consultancy.

9. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required

Essential:

– experience in creating cloud web services (CV + product examples (portfolio or link to the profile on https://clutch.co/));

– development of IT products that meet the highest security standardsGDPR and/or HIPAA security certificates (summary + product examples (portfolio or link to the profile on https://clutch.co/))).

Additional criteria: Previous experience working with non-profit organizations in terms of creating IT products.

• Qualification:
  • • Education: master’s degree in computer science (diploma + resume).
• Experience:
  • Minimum of 2 years of work experience in the IT field (CV + product examples (portfolio or link to the profile on https://clutch.co/)).

10. Technical supervision

The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:

Protection Specialist – Oleksandr Hlotov – [email protected];

11. Location and support

Online services.

12. Travel

Not travel is needed.

13. Submission process

Please refer to RFP-UKR-003041 Invitation Letter.

Interested consultants or teams should submit their bids as per the rules and listed documents as stated in the RFP-UKR-003041 Invitation Letter.

14. Evaluation of bids

Please refer to RFP-UKR-003041 Invitation Letter.