Organization Overview
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit civil society organization founded in 2004. It works to achieve justice, defend human rights, promote media freedom, support civil society, and encourage active citizenship. The center has gained expertise in combating impunity and promoting the rule of law. The center has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2011. Its work focuses on documenting human rights violations and presenting legal cases to hold perpetrators accountable, strengthening the role of victims and their families, and supporting journalists, human rights defenders, and independent media to build democracy and support civil peace. The center has established a developed database to serve as a reference for transitional justice processes.
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression is seeking service providers to develop the organisation’s main website.
1. Purpose of the Website
To build a secure, dynamic, and user-focused digital platform that reflects SCM’s mission and serves its stakeholders. The site will offer access to publications, campaigns, legal resources, and interactive experiences such as timelines, chatbot support, and media engagement tools, while adhering to the highest standards of usability, performance, scalability, and privacy.
2. Target Audience
- Human rights defenders, legal professionals, and researchers
- Civil society organizations, media professionals, and journalists
- Students, academics, and policy makers
- NGOs, international institutions, and government agencies in Syria, MENA, and Europe
3. Functional and Interactive Requirements
- Fully responsive design for desktop, tablet, and mobile
- Multilingual support: Arabic, English, Kurdish
- Full-text search and filtering by category, date, and keyword
- Social sharing buttons for major platforms (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp)
- Reading progress bar and estimated reading time for articles
- Interactive timeline and chronological content features
- Chatbot assistant (rule-based or AI-enhanced) to guide users
- Smart modules for posting jobs and tenders with filters, deadlines, and uploads
- Accessible design (WCAG 2.1), ARIA tags, font resizing, keyboard navigation
4. Technical Specifications
- SEO-optimized HTML5 with schema markup and clean URLs
- Fast loading (<2s) with image compression, caching, lazy loading
- Scalable architecture allowing future expansion without major redesign
- Integration with Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Tag Manager, Search Console
- Newsletter system integration (e.g., Mailchimp, CiviCRM)
- Sitemap and Robots.txt setup
- Browser support: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera
5. Security and Privacy Compliance
- Full HTTPS (SSL/TLS via SCM IT)
- GDPR/ePrivacy compliance: cookie consent, opt-in/out, privacy controls
- RBAC (Admin, Editor, Contributor, Viewer…)
- Secure API connections (token-based)
- Anti-spam: CAPTCHA, IP block, comment moderation
- Real-time logging and monitoring
- Optional DDoS and WAF via CDN (e.g., Cloudflare)
- OWASP Top 10 risk mitigation and ISO/IEC 27001 readiness
6. Site Architecture
- Home
- About SCM (Mission, Vision, History, Team, Partners)
- Programs (Landing pages per program)
- Publications (Reports, Legal Briefs, Articles)
- Newsroom (News, Press Releases)
- Media (Videos, Podcasts, Webinars)
- Get Involved (Careers, Volunteer, Donate, Contact)
- Tenders
- External VDC Link (Violations Documentation Center)
- Legal Pages: Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, 404 Page
7. Handover, Dashboard, and Maintenance
- Hosting on SCM-managed cloud infrastructure
- Migration of existing content and PDFs
- Custom admin dashboard with analytics, reporting, and spam control tools
- One-month training for SCM staff
- Minimum six-month post-launch technical support
- All design work must be developed in collaboration with SCM and approved by the center
- Full delivery of source code, templates, and configuration files
- SCM retains full ownership and rights to reuse, modify, or redeploy the code
8. Required Qualifications:
- A minimum of 5 years of experience in website development and design.
- Proficiency in core programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Python (or others as needed).
- Experience using Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla.
- Strong knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices and information security.
- Experience integrating databases and working with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
- Skills in User Experience (UX) design and User Interface (UI) design.
- Ability to work flexibly and communicate effectively with the team.
9. Acceptance Criteria
- Site loads under 2 seconds on desktop and mobile
- No critical vulnerabilities based on OWASP security scans
- All key content is accessible without JavaScript (graceful degradation)
- Timeline, chatbot, search, and filtering work across all supported browsers
10. Required Documents:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- A detailed financial proposal including the total cost and the validity period of the offer.
- Samples of previous website development work (links or files).
- Proof of experience in similar projects (reports, certificates, or recommendation letters).
- At least two professional references with contact information.——————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit civil society organization, founded in 2004. It works to achieve justice, defend human rights, promote media freedom, support civil society, and encourage active citizenship. The center has gained expertise in combating impunity and promoting the rule of law. The center has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2011. Its work focuses on documenting human rights violations and presenting legal cases to hold perpetrators accountable, strengthening the role of victims and their families, and supporting journalists, human rights defenders, and independent media as a means of building democracy and fostering civil peace. The center has also established a sophisticated database to serve as a reference for transitional justice processes.
The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression is seeking service providers to develop the center’s main website.
1. Website purpose
Building a secure, dynamic, user-oriented digital platform that reflects the Center’s mission. The new website provides access to publications, campaigns, legal resources, and interactive experiences such as timelines, a chat assistant, and media engagement tools, while adhering to the highest standards of usability, navigation, performance, scalability, and privacy.
2. Target audience
- Human rights defenders, lawyers, and researchers
- Civil society organizations, journalists, and media workers
- Students, academics, and policymakers
- NGOs, international institutions, and government agencies in Syria, the Middle East and North Africa region, and Europe
3. Functional and interactive requirements
- Fully responsive design (for desktops, tablets, and smartphones)
- Multiple language support: Arabic, English, Kurdish
- Full text search with filtering capabilities by category, date, and keywords
- Social media sharing buttons (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp…)
- Reading progress bar and reading time estimate for articles
- Interactive timeline and chronological content
- Chat assistant (rule-based or AI-powered) to guide users
- Smart modules for posting jobs and bids with filters, deadlines, and document upload options
- Accessible design (WCAG 2.1), ARIA tags, font resizing, keyboard navigation
4. Technical specifications
- SEO optimized HTML5 with Schema markup and clean links
- High loading speed (less than 2 seconds) using image compression, caching, and lazy loading.
- Scalable architecture allows for future expansion without the need for redesign.
- Integration with Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Google Search Console
- Integrate with a newsletter system (such as MailChimp or CIVICRM)
- Setting up Sitemap and Robots.txt files
- Support for all major browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera
5. Privacy Protection and Compliance
- SSL/TLS certificates for security are provided by SCM’s IT department.
- Compliance with European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and privacy laws: cookie notices, consent and opt-out options, privacy controls
- Role-based access (RBAC) system: Administrator, Editor, Contributor, Viewer…
- Secure API connections (token-based)
- Spam Protection: CAPTCHA, IP Blocking, Comment Moderation
- The ability to monitor and audit all operations conducted on the site (audit & logs)
- DDoS protection options and WAF firewalls through CDN (e.g. Cloudflare)
- الحماية من مخاطر OWASP و الالتزام بمعايير ISO/IEC 27001
6. Site structure
- Home
- About the Center (Mission, Vision, History, Team, Partners, etc.)
- Programs (landing page for each program)
- Publications (reports, legal memoranda, articles, etc.)
- Newsroom (news, press releases, etc.)
- Media (videos, podcasts, webinars)
- Join us (Jobs, Volunteer, Donate, Contact us)
- Tenders
- External link to the Violations Documentation Center
- Legal Pages: Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, 404 Error Page
7. Delivery, Dashboard, and Support
- Hosting will be on a cloud server managed by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).
- Move existing content and files (PDFs) to the new location
- A specialized administrative control panel that includes analytics, reports, and anti-spam tools.
- Training site supervisors at the center for a full month on how to use the site
- Technical support for a period of not less than six months after delivery
- Develop all design elements in coordination with the center team and approve them by SCM.
- Submit the complete source code, templates, and configuration files to the IT department at the center.
- The Center reserves all rights to use, modify, or republish the code later.
8. Required qualifications:
- At least 5 years of experience in website development and design.
- Proficiency in basic programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python (or others as required).
- Experience using content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, Joomla).
- Strong knowledge of SEO and information security practices.
- Experience in database integration and working with APIs.
- Skills in User Experience (UX) and Interface Design (UI).
- Ability to work flexibly and communicate effectively with the team.
9. Admission criteria
- Website loading speed is less than 2 seconds on desktop and mobile devices.
- The site is free of any critical security vulnerabilities based on OWASP security scanning.
- Full access to main content even when JavaScript is disabled (progressive decomposition)
- Timeline, chat assistant, search, and filter features work on all supported browsers.
10. Required documents:
- the biography .
- A detailed financial offer including the total cost and the offer validity period.
- Previous work samples of developed websites (links or files).
- Proof of experience from similar projects (reports, certificates, recommendations).
- At least two professional references you can contact.
How to apply
Interested service providers must submit their proposals via the link provided in the table below, including all required attachments.
Proposals sent to any email address or without attachments will be rejected.
We also encourage interested parties to send their questions or clarification requests before submitting their financial offer.
Only the selected candidate will be notified within one week after the submission deadline.
Deadline for Submitting Proposals:
July 07, 2025
To submit proposals via the link:
For Inquiries and Clarifications:
Bassel.alhamada@scm.ngo
Contract Duration:
Until the completion of contractual obligations.
Expected Start Date:
August 1, 2025
Interested service providers should submit bids via the link in the table below with attachments. Bids sent to any email address or without attachments will be rejected.** We also encourage interested parties to send their questions regarding any clarifications before submitting the proposed price bid.
Only the selected party will be notified within one week of the application deadline.
Deadline for submitting tenders/bids
July 7, 2025
To submit tenders/offers via the link
Email for questions
bassel.alhamada@scm.ngo
Contract period
Until the contract obligations are fully implemented
Expected start date of implementation
August 1, 2025