Simultaneous translation services from English to Ukrainian and from Ukrainian to English during the EOD IMAS Level 3 training in Skive, Denmark At Danish Refugee Council

1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international humanitarian displacement organization, supporting refugees and internally displaced persons during displacement, in exile, upon return, or when settling and integrating into a new place. DRC Ukraine delivers and supports humanitarian aid initiatives across Ukraine, employing more than 500 primarily national staff. With a main office in Kyiv, DRC is present in 19 oblasts across the country, working to provide targeted, timely, relevant, and efficient aid to displacement and conflict-affected communities.
DRC began programming in Ukraine in 1998, carrying out reintegration projects in Crimea, developing later, in 2014, to a larger-scale presence in the Donbas region. DRC scaled up its operations in response to the conflict in February 2022. It is now one of the largest international NGO operations in Ukraine, responding to the needs of conflict and displacement-affected communities across the country.
Today, DRC Ukraine implements a broad range of integrated and holistic programs both directly and through national partners, delivering emergency and longer-term support, helping to support people to rebuild and recover their lives, and improving access to durable solutions to displacement.
DRC delivers program activities in Protection, Economic Recovery, Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding, Shelter & Settlements, as well as support to improve access to safe Water, Sanitation & Hygiene services. DRC remains committed to continuing to support conflict and displacement-affected individuals and communities in Ukraine where vulnerabilities are deepening and where access to basic services and rights are at risk.
2. Background
DRC’s HDP Capacity Building Programme is contributing to evidence-based and demand-driven policies in the area of HMA capacity building of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU).
The project’s purpose is to Support the development of a Sustainable Training Capacity within SESU and aims to develop EOD Instructors’ Components.
The military offensive launched by the Russian Federation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has led to extensive Explosive Ordnance (EO) contamination across many oblasts of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk. The most common types of explosive objects detected by pyrotechnicians of the SESU are artillery shells, mortars, rockets, aerial bombs and aerial missiles, anti-tank mines, as well as various antipersonnel mines, and cluster munitions. The Russian forces use remote mine-laying systems, install mine barriers on the territory of populated areas, and leave behind booby traps and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that pose a lethal threat to the civilian population. Depending on the intensity and nature of the conflict in different regions of Ukraine, different types and levels of EO contamination in regions are observed. According to SESU internally circulated information, approximately 174,000 square kilometers of landscape and water areas of Ukraine were contaminated with EO, and the scope of humanitarian demining work, since the war started, has increased almost ten-fold.
Ukraine has the national capacity to respond to the contamination threat, with a range of stakeholders engaged in the response, including the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) currently managed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the State Special Transport Service (SSTS) under MoD, and two Mine Action Centres (MAC), one run by MoD and one run by the SESU under the Ministry of Interior.
However, given the scale and complexity of the problem, additional response and continued capacity development of national stakeholders are required.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capacity is essential to clear contaminated lands from different types of EO, creating a safe environment, which in turn encourages safe returns. On SESU’s request, PFRU is funding and DRC is implementing the development of SESU EOD Instructors to deliver their own training to new SESU staff in a self-sufficient and sustainable way.
DRC is well-placed to implement this component. In addition to directly implementing humanitarian mine action activities, DRC has been working to strengthen the capacity of SESU since 2015 with EU and US Government support, and since 2020 with German Government funding as well.
3. Objective of the procurement
The objective is to complete a training phase of a multiphase holistic process by training SESU, NMAA, and MAC EOD Instructors in IMAS-compliant EOD Level 3 training and EOD IMAS-aligned operations and instructing methodologies and providing them with tools for the development of subject matter-related Standing Operating Procedures (SOP), Training Management plans (TMP), theory/practical lesson plans, handouts, and other related documents. Completion of this phase will achieve preparedness of SESU, NMAA, and MAC Instructors for the next practical (advisory and mentoring) phases of the mentioned multiphase holistic process.
DRC – HDP sector in Ukraine succeeded in securing funding from the Donors for the capacity-building of national Mine Action actors and specifically for the organization of the Ukraine-specific EOD IMAS Level 3 training course (Explosive Ordnance Disposal course in line with the International Mine Action Standards).
The Course will be delivered to 12 persons in Skive, Denmark. The Course will take 4 weeks, arriving in Denmark on May 18 and departing on June 15, 2024.
4. Scope of work
The two contractors for the period May 17 – June 16, 2024, including travel dates shall perform the following assignments:
– simultaneous translation services from English to Ukrainian and from Ukrainian to English during the EOD IMAS Level 3 training for 12 participants. The contractors are expected to provide services during the period May 19 – June 15, 2024, every day from Monday to Saturday starting 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., and on Sunday starting from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 12 participants. The services will be provided at Denmark Military Training Centre, Skive.

The two contractors for the period May 31 – June 16, 2024, including travel dates shall perform the following assignments:
– simultaneous translation services from English to Ukrainian and from Ukrainian to English during the EOD IMAS Level 3 training for 12 participants. The contractors are expected to provide services during the period June 2 – June 15, 2024, every day from Monday to Saturday starting 7.00 a.m. till 4.00 p.m., and on Sunday starting from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 12 participants. The services will be provided at Denmark Military Training Centre, Skive.
Besides translation fees, DRC will cover the following costs for the contractor(s):
– food allowance;
– travel insurance;
– logistics including bus/train/plane tickets, taxi to/from hotel/airport;
– accommodation.
5. Deliverables
The following are the expected deliverables from the selected translators:
– Accuracy of meaning
– Grammatical and stylistic correctness
– Proper translation of specialized terms such as Knowledge of Mine Action and specifically, the EOD understanding and its terminology used within Humanitarian Mine Action or related fields.
– Overall speed and smoothness of simultaneous translation.
6. Duration and timeline
The suppliers must be ready to complete the task:
• 1st session – theory – services provision during the period May 19 – June 15, 2024, every day from Monday till Saturday starting 7.00 a.m. till 4.00 p.m. and on Sunday starting from 7 a.m till 1 p.m. for 12 participants
• 2nd session – practice – services provision during the period June 2 – June 15, 2024, every day from Monday till Saturday starting 7.00 a.m. till 4.00 p.m. and on Sunday starting from 7 a.m till 1 p.m. for 12 participants
7. Proposed Composition of Team
1st session – theory – 2 translators (May 19 – June 15, 2024)
2nd session – practice – 2 translators (+2 for the previous 1st session) – June 2 – June 15, 2024
8. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required
Qualification criteria:
● Minimum of one year of simultaneous translation experience in the field of Mine Action and EOD or related fields;
● Minimum of one year of similar experience in providing translation services for international trainings;
● Fluency in Ukrainian and English languages;
● Valid foreign passport (minimum three months after the planned date of travel) and Schengen visa if applicable;
● The possibility of traveling abroad for Ukrainian citizens according to the Ukrainian martial law, confirmation to be provided.
9. Technical supervision
The selected Services Provider will work under the supervision of:
• Vitalina Burlaka, DRC Ukraine Programme Specialist
10. Location and support
Skive, Danmark
11. Travel
Required to Skive, Denmark
DRC will cover the following costs for the contractor(s):
– food allowance;
– travel insurance;
– logistics including bus/train/plane tickets, taxi to/from hotel/airport;
– accommodation.
12. Submission process
According to the ITB-UKR-003402 Invitation Letter.
13. Evaluation of bids
According to the ITB-UKR-003402 Invitation Letter.