Consultancy Services for Development of Model Programs for Professionally Oriented Specialised Secondary Education

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

UKRAINE

Country: Ukraine

Program: «Lifting Education Access and Resilience in times of Need in Ukraine Program»

Grant : TF0C5794

Project : P504171

Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for Development of Model Programs for Professionally Oriented Specialised Secondary Education

Contract Package ID: LEARN-1.1-CIRRICULA

Ukraine has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need in Ukraine Program.

The Ministry of Education and Science intends to use part of the proceeds for consulting services, for which this REoI has been issued.

Consulting services (hereinafter referred to as "Services") include: supporting MoES in developing a comprehensive, scalable and standardised set of professionally oriented model programs for upper secondary education.

The expected period for the Consultant to provide services for the development of the online course is approximately 6 calendar months, starting in December 2026.

Detailed information regarding the provision of the specified Services is provided in the Terms of Reference (hereinafter referred to as "TOR"), which is attached.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the "Client") invites qualified consulting companies (hereinafter referred to as "Consultants") to express their interest in providing the specified Services. Interested Consultants must provide information that confirms their qualifications and experience required to perform the Services.

The evaluation of the expressions of interest provided by the Consultants will be carried out based on the following criteria:

Minimum Qualification Requirements (Pass/Fail Basis)

Failure to meet any of the requirements below shall result in disqualification.

Core Business and Experience

• At least 3 (three) years of experience in education, curriculum development, institutional development, or related fields;

• At least 3 (three) successfully completed assignments during the last 6 years in one or more of the following areas:

– curriculum development or educational program design;

– vocational education or education sector projects;

– capacity building programs for education institutions.

In case of a Joint Venture / Consortium (JVCA), the Lead Member shall demonstrate substantial compliance with the above requirements, including at least 3 (three) years of relevant experience and participation in at least 2 (two) relevant assignments. The JVCA as a whole must meet all qualification requirements.

Financial Capacity

• Average annual turnover for the last 3 completed financial years shall be at least USD 150,000 or equivalent.

In case of a JVCA: Lead Member: minimum 50% of the annual turnover requirement; Other members: minimum 25% of the annual turnover requirement; Combined: must fully meet the annual turnover requirement. Audited financial statements or verified financial documents shall be provided.

Experience with Donor-Funded Projects

• At least one assignment financed by international financial institutions or bilateral donors (e.g., World Bank, EBRD, EU, GIZ, UNICEF, etc.) within the last 5 years is an advantage.

Staff

The Consultant shall provide suitably qualified professionals in terms of expertise and time allocation to complete the activities required under the scope of work and to finally achieve the objectives of the Assignment in terms of time, costs and quality, within the agreed timeframe.

The Consultant shall also provide adequate administrative staff (secretaries, translators, etc.) needed to support the expert team.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, items 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of The World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers [1], dated September 2023 with amendments of September 2025[2] (hereinafter referred to as the "Procurement Regulations"), which contains the World Bank's policy regarding conflict of interest.

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications, but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.

Selection of a Consultant will be performed in accordance with Consultant’s Qualification-based Selection (CQS) method following World Bank’s Consultants Guidelines.

Further information may be obtained at the address below.

Expressions of interest must be submitted in Ukrainian or English via email to the address: Cc: ; by 2:00 PM Kyiv time on September 30, 202 6 .[3]

Expressions of interest to be clearly marked: "LEARN-1.1-CIRRICULA: Expression of Interest" .

Consultants should provide not only information demonstrating their compliance with the Mandatory Minimum Qualification Requirements , but also information that meets the specific requirements of the assignment and will be considered an advantage. The Consultant rating will be based on compliance with these latter requirements. The Consultant with the highest rating, determined according to the established criteria for evaluating the Consultant’s qualifications, will be invited to submit a technical and financial proposal.

Information on the Consultant’s experience provided by the Consultants must be documented (copies of contracts or parts thereof, and acceptance certificates for services provided; additionally, client references may be submitted, describing the specifics of the completed assignment).

Interested Consultants are additionally advised to pay attention to the following aspects when preparing their information:

• Files submitted by the Consultant should be in PDF (Portable Document Format) and/or JPG formats and should be as consolidated as possible;

• When preparing information describing your qualifications and experience, provide as much detail as possible to demonstrate compliance with the established qualification criteria and relevance to the assignment;

• Include copies of documents confirming the stated experience and competencies, and provide contact information of third parties who can confirm your experience and provide relevant references.

Consultants who have submitted an EOI should not submit any documents or information after the deadline for EOI submission , except for providing documents and/or information requested by the Employer for clarification or explanation of the submitted EOI. Any exchange of information between the Employer and Consultants must be in writing via the official email addresses specified in this announcement .

LIST OF ATTACHED DOCUMENTS

• Terms of Reference (TOR)

[1] https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/6c0602876d68949e80820507d90a14ed- /original/Procurement-Regulations-September-2023.pdf

[2] https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/20fb60f35ce8f2b52bb205da13c4df /original/Revisions-of-the-Procurement-Regulations-September-2023.pdf

[3] Consultants are advised to ensure that their submission has been delivered to the recipient

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultancy Services for Development of Model Programs

for Professionally Oriented Specialised Secondary Education

Contract LEARN-1.1-CIRRICULA

ACRONYMS

EC(s) – Educational Component(s)

ED(s) - Educational Domain(s)

MEC(s) - Mandatory Educational

Component(s)

MoES – Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

MP(s) – Model Program(s) of Mandatory Educational Component belonging

to some Educational Domain and included to the Group 1 according to the

Order 898

Order 657 - Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No.

675 dated 05.06.2023 "On Approval of the Procedure for Conducting

Expertise, Providing Grades to Educational Literature and Curriculums"

Order 898 - Order of the Ministry

of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 898 dated June 8, 2026 “On Approval of

the Typical Educational Program for Professionally Oriented Specialised

Secondary Education”.

PO - Professional Orientation

POSSE - Professionally Oriented Specialised Secondary Education

PPHE – Professional Pre-Higher Education

QA – Quality Assurance

SSE – Specialised Secondary Education

SSSE - State Standard of Specialised Secondary Education

TPSSE - Typical educational program of specialised secondary education

VE – Vocational Education

I. BACKGROUND

Ukraine with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association (hereinafter referred to as the World Bank) have signed the agreements for the Program “Lifting Education Access and Resilience in times of Need in Ukraine” (hereinafter referred to as the LEARN or Operation).

LEARN was designed to address critical issues and provide the necessary support to the education sector in accordance with the Strategic Action Plan of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine until 2027, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 07.03.2024 No. 276 (hereinafter referred to as the Strategic Plan).

The Operation focuses on supporting the priorities “1. Early Childhood and Preschool Education” and “2. Reform of the “New Ukrainian School”” stipulated in the Strategic Plan.

The LEARN objectives are: (i) to improve teaching and learning conditions; and (ii) to strengthen the management capacity of the education system. The total LEARN financing amounts to US$451 million provides a combination of the World Bank financing instruments: Program for Results (PforR) and Investment Project Financing (IPF).

The Program-for-Results (PforR) is implemented through a US$235 million loan provided by Bank resources, supported by loan enhancement from the Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, which is backed by the Government of Japan. This is formalized under the Loan Agreement between Ukraine and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Program (LOAN No 9721-UA). An additional US$150 million is provided under the Special Program for Ukraine and Moldova Recovery (SPUR) of the International Development Association (IDA) Crisis Facility, as outlined in the Financing Agreement between Ukraine and the International Development Association for the Program (CREDIT No 7626-UA). On July 1, 2025, the Financing Agreement (Additional Financing: Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need in Ukraine Program) between Ukraine and the International Development Association (CREDIT No 7905-UA) was signed in the amount of US$4.9 million.

Furthermore, US$30 million in Investment Project Financing (IPF) is secured under the Grant Agreement between Ukraine and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, acting as the administrator of the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform Multi-Donor Trust Fund (URTF GRANT No TF0C5794). On December 19, 2025, the Grant Agreement (Additional Financing for Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need in Ukraine Project) between UKRAINE and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association jointly acting as a Supervising Entity for the Global Partnership for Education Fund and as administrator of the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Multi-Donor Trust Fund (GPE GRANT No TF0D0613, URTF GRANT No TF0D0612) was signed in the amount of US$31.1 million.

More detailed information about the LEARN program is provided at https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P504171

The latest additional grant agreement provides for expanded support for reforms in the education sector, in particular by:

• financing activities for the development of preschool education;

• providing grant support of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to implement educational reforms.

In accordance with the provisions of the agreements concluded, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is responsible for the overall implementation, coordination, monitoring and reporting on the Project activities, in particular those aimed at strengthening the institutional management capacity of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Such activities include the provision of technical assistance, the development and implementation of information systems, conducting training activities in the field of vocational (technical) education, as well as the implementation of initiatives in cross-sectoral areas, in particular inclusive education, European integration, education infrastructure management and strategic planning.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES) is implementing comprehensive reforms aimed at aligning the education system with labour market needs, supporting economic recovery, and advancing Ukraine’s European integration agenda.

A key component of this reform is the introduction of professionally oriented upper secondary education , which integrates general education with early professional orientation and creates structured pathways between general secondary education, vocational education, and professional pre-higher education.

The regulatory and methodological framework required for this transformation has already been established, including:

• adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On professional (vocational) education” (August 2025);

• development of secondary legislation and regulatory acts;

• approval of competency-based professional education standards;

• entry into force of the State Standard of Specialised Secondary Education (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated July 25, 2024 No. 851);

• Typical educational program of specialised secondary education in a professional orientation (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 08.06.2026 no. 898);

• Procedure for Conducting Expertise, Providing Grades to Educational Literature and Curriculums (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 675 dated 05.06.2023

Initial experience in developing model programs has demonstrated strong demand, high institutional interest, and significant scalability potential. At the same time, the system currently lacks a sufficient number of professionally oriented model programs across priority economic sectors, as well as adapted academic content aligned with professional pathways.

Given that the regulatory framework has only recently been finalised, this Assignment represents the first opportunity to implement curriculum transformation at scale within a fully operational legal and methodological environment.

Under the GPE-financed institutional capacity activities, MoES intends to engage a qualified Consultant to develop a comprehensive, scalable and standardised set of professionally oriented model programs for upper secondary education. The Assignment shall be implemented over a period of six (6) months from the Effective Date of the Contract. The Assignment will enable rapid, scalable transformation of curriculum content, directly impacting over 37,000 learners in priority economic sectors and creating a foundation for nationwide implementation of professionally oriented upper secondary education.

The Assignment is expected to be implemented in line with World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers and applicable Ukrainian legislation.

II. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Assignment is to support MoES in developing a comprehensive, scalable and standardised set of professionally oriented model programs for upper secondary education.

Specifically, the Assignment is to develop forty-one (41) model programs of mandatory educational components by educational domains for four (4) specializations of professionally oriented specialised secondary education, namely, Construction, Engineering and Technology, Information Technology, and Medical specialization (aligned with priority economic sectors) under the State standard of profile secondary education.

The model programs should be aligned with professional standards, labour market needs and sectoral requirements, as well as provide a unified national approach to curriculum development and adaptation.

The Consultant shall achieve the above objective in full compliance with applicable regulatory and legal framework of Ukraine, including relevant regulations of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and procurement and implementation requirements of the World Bank.

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

3.1 Overall Approach

The Consultant shall provide comprehensive technical, methodological and organisational support to MoES for the development of professionally oriented model programs for upper secondary education.

The Assignment shall build upon the existing regulatory framework developed by MoES.

The implementation logic shall follow a structured sequence:

• Mobilisation of the expert pool.

• Development of specialised model programs.

• Quality assurance and validation.

All activities shall ensure consistency, scalability, and alignment across programs.

3.2 Components

Component 1. Expert Mobilisation and Coordination

The Consultant shall mobilise and manage a structured expert pool and ensure effective coordination throughout all stages of the Assignment.

The Consultant shall:

• mobilise and manage a structured expert pool including:

• VE and PPHE educators;

• scientific and research-pedagogical staff (academics involved in relevant fields of study);

• sectoral experts from industry;

• methodological specialists from NMCs;

• ensure balanced representation across sectors;

• establish coordination mechanisms and workflows;

• assign clear roles and responsibilities;

• develop Quality Assurance Plan;

• ensure timely delivery of outputs.

It is recommended that each Model Program draft be developed by a compact drafting team comprising at least two (2) Subject Experts (Non-Key Experts) responsible for its development.

Each Sectoral Expert shall coordinate all drafts of Model Programs within the assigned specialization and responsible for:

• methodological supervision;

• coordination of drafting teams;

• ensuring consistency across all Model Programs within the specialization;

• ensuring compliance with the State Standard of Specialized Secondary Education, the Typical Educational Program and methodological guidance approved by MoES;

• internal quality control before submission for independent review.

Subject Experts may contribute to the development of more than one Model Program draft depending on their qualifications and the implementation methodology proposed by the Consultant.

All experts shall be engaged on a contractual basis, with clearly defined deliverables, timelines, and performance expectations.

Component 2. Development of Specialised Model Programs

The Consultant shall develop forty-one (41) specialised model programs across four (4) specializations defined according to priority economic sectors in accordance with State standard of specialised secondary education, Typical educational program of specialised secondary education in a professional orientation and Procedure for Conducting Expertise, Providing Grades to Educational Literature and Curriculums.The four priority sectors are:

• Construction;

• Engineering and technology;

• Information technology;

• Medical

Each program shall:

• integrate general education subjects into applied, sector-specific contexts;

• align with professional standards and occupational requirements;

• reflect labour market needs;

• follow State standard of specialised secondary education and Typical educational program of specialised secondary education;

• be developed in accordance with the academic integrity values.

The development of every model program draft shall be based on the Typical educational programme for professionally oriented specialised secondary education approved under Order 898 and on the corresponding Typical curriculum plan for each of the four profiles listed above. The list of mandatory educational components for which MPs shall be developed for each profile, together with the corresponding number of teaching hours, hours of independent work, ECTS credits and their distribution between the profile-adaptation cycle (year 1) and the profile cycle (years 2-3), is set out in Annex 1 to this ToR.

Each MP shall comply with the structure and content requirements established in the Typical Educational Programme and shall consist, at minimum, of the following four parts:

• Title page – name of the ministry/institution; type of programme (model programme / programme based on a model programme / programme not based on a model programme); type of mandatory educational component (subject, discipline, integrated/crosssectoral/special course, module, etc.); programme title; education level; profile of study; educational domain(s); assessment benchmarks (basic or advanced); author(s); year of development;

• Introductory part – author's concept and the role and significance of the component; relevance for the selected profile; aim and objectives aligned with the assessment benchmarks of the State Standard and with the chosen profile; references to the relevant educational domain(s) and to professional standards, occupational qualification characteristics or professional prehigher education standards used as a basis; crossreferences to other MPs jointly covering the same mandatory learning outcomes, where applicable; workload in hours and ECTS credits; structural elements; recommended forms of organising the educational process;

• Main part – titles and workload in hours of structural elements (content lines, sections, topics); expected learning outcomes linked to, and retaining the indexation of, the mandatory learning outcomes of the State Standard; proposed content reflecting professionally oriented, sectorspecific contexts relevant to the profile; recommended learning activities and active/interactive forms of organising learning; recommended methodological support bearing the "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine" grif;

• Concluding part – strategy and methodological recommendations for achieving the expected learning outcomes; description of assessment tools and instruments; reference to possible alternative assessment systems.

Each MP shall be submitted in the following format: paper size A4 (210×297 mm); font Times New Roman; main text – 14 pt; tables, footnotes and supplementary text – 10–12 pt; line spacing – 1.0; continuous page numbering starting from the second page.

The total workload of each MP, expressed in hours and ECTS credits, shall correspond exactly to the figures established for the relevant educational component for the respective profile, as set out in Annex 1. Any deviation shall be justified in writing by the Consultant and shall require prior written approval by MoES.

Although the educational domains of the components listed in Annexes 1 are common to all profiles, the content of each MP shall be professionally oriented to the specific profile for which it is developed, in accordance with Section 4 of the Typical Educational Programme. In particular, each MP shall:

• integrate the competency potential and core knowledge of the relevant educational domain(s), as defined by the State Standard, with applied, occupation specific contexts relevant to the profile;

• be consistent with the values, cross cutting skills and recommended forms of learning activity described in the Typical educational rogramme.

The development cycle shall be completed within 90 working days .

Considering the large number of tasks included under this component, it may be practical to divide it into two implementation stages.

In accordance with the Quality Assurance Plan and MoES regulations the Consultant shall ensure the quality of all specialised model programs developed under this Assignment through a two-tier quality assurance system: (i) the Consultant's own internal quality assurance process, and (ii) the official State expertise and grif procedure administered by MoES and in accordance with the Procedure for Conducting Expertise and Granting Grifs to Educational Literature and Educational Programmes (MoES Order No. 675 of 5 June 2023).

Tier 1 - Consultant's internal quality assurance

The Consultant shall:

• conduct iterative internal review at each stage of the development cycle;

• ensure consistency of outputs across all profiles through centralised coordination by the Quality Assurance Expert;

• develop all the outputs following the academic integrity values

The Consultant may conduct iterative internal review at each stage of the development cycle and/or organise independent blind peer review as part of the Consultant’s internal quality assurance processes.

Tier 2 - Submission for the official MoES grif procedure

Each MP shall be submitted by the Consultant, through MoES to Ukrainian Institute of Education Development for expertise and the grant of the grif "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine," in accordance with the Procedure for Conducting Expertise and Granting Grifs to Educational Literature and Educational Programmes.

The Consultant shall note that, pursuant to paragraph 6 of Section IV of the Procedure, expertise of model programmes (as objects falling under subparagraph 3 of paragraph 5 of Section I of the Procedure) is exempt from the standard fee-based expertise mechanism. The Consultant's budget shall accordingly cover only its own internal quality assurance activity.

Expertise process and timelines to be reflected in the Work Schedule

The Consultant's Work Schedule shall account for the following parameters of the official procedure:

• expertise is conducted by at least two members of the relevant Commission and/or expert group, selected by a method of random selection with regard to their professional background, specialisation and place of work;

• the Commission's reasoned expert opinion is to be expected within two months of submission, unless a different period is agreed;

• where the Commission requires revision, the Consultant shall resubmit the revised MP together with a reasoned response to each comment within 30 calendar days of receipt of the extract from the Commission's protocol;

• the grif "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine" is granted by MoES order and is valid for five years, expiring on 1 July of the relevant year;

• upon granting of the grif, the MP is entered in the public Catalogue of Granted Grifs maintained by MoES and the Institution.

The Assignment shall be deemed complete in respect of Component 2 only once the full package of drafts of model programs has obtained the grif "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine" and has been duly entered in the Catalogue, once each tranche of programs has obtained such confirmation. Evidence of the grant of the grif and of the Catalogue entry shall be annexed to the relevant Interim or Final Completion Report.

IV. DELIVERABLES

The Consultant shall deliver the following key deliverables during the implementation of the Assignment.

Deliverable 1. Inception Report

Within 20 calendar days from the Effective Date of the Contract, the Consultant shall submit a Draft Inception Report, including:

• work plan and timeline;

• expert mobilisation plan;

• risk assessment and mitigation measures;

• Quality Assurance Plan.

Deliverable 2. Interim Report on development of the 1st set of Specialised Model Programs

The following outputs shall be produced under Deliverable 2:

• 20 drafts of specialised model programs developed and obtained the grif "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine" and has been duly entered in the Catalogue;

• documentation of the development process and quality assurance activities.

Deliverable 3. Interim Report on development of the 2nd set of Specialised Model Programs

The following outputs shall be produced under Deliverable 2:

• 21 drafts of specialised model programs developed and obtained the grif "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine" and has been duly entered in the Catalogue;

• documentation of the development process and quality assurance activities.

Deliverable 4. Final Completion Report

The following outputs shall be delivered under this deliverable and documented in the Final Completion Report:

• full package with forty-one (41) final approved programs;

• documentation of the development process and quality assurance activities;

• lessons learned and next steps for further implementation.

The Consultant shall submit a Draft Final Completion Report no later than one month before the completion of the Assignment, summarising overall implementation results, achievement of objectives and targets, key lessons learned, and recommendations for further institutionalisation and sustainability.

Reports Submission and Acceptance Procedure

The following procedure shall apply to all reports submitted under this Assignment: the Inception Report (Deliverable 1), Interim Report on development of the 1st set of Specialised Model Programs (Deliverable 2), and Interim Report on development of the 2nd set of Specialised Model Programs (Deliverable 3) and the Final Completion Report (Deliverable 4).

The exact format of the reports will be discussed and agreed upon with MoES and, where applicable, with the World Bank, upon contract signing and before the commencement of the Assignment. All reports and deliverables will be submitted in a minimum of two (2) hard copies in English and two (2) hard copies in Ukrainian. The products developed (model programs as well as methodological materials for development for Ukra