Радник/ця з врядування / Governance Advisor

The British Embassy in Kyiv is now looking for a Governance Advisor to work across two British Embassy development programmes focused on inclusive governance reform in Ukraine. This includes work to advance political inclusion and empower marginalised groups to support Ukraine’s social recovery and strengthen more inclusive and effective institutions, systems and services, and to safeguard democracy and open societies.

The role will be split between the Social Recovery and the Governance Teams. You will be managed by the Head of the Governance Team.

The role entails:

Programme delivery on social recovery (40%):

• Deliver high-quality governance advice to quality assure and guide the mobilisation and implementation of British Embassy Kyiv’s flagship Social Recovery programme. Support delivery of an innovative, localised and agile intervention, which strengths more inclusive, effective and efficient social systems and lays the foundation for future reform and recovery.
• Undertake robust inclusive political analysis and institutional analysis to influence Ukraine’s national social policies and strategies and develop innovative approaches to inform the prospects for sustainable reform.
• Provide technical advisory support to the Government of Ukraine in pursuit of ambitious institutional and sectoral reforms aligned with EU accession requirements, including through the development of a new Social Recovery and Reform Office within the Ministry of Social Policy. 
• Capture and utilise governance/political inclusion trends, evidence and learning to identify risks and opportunities for further engagement across the social recovery and inclusion portfolio, and to inform successor programming.
• Oversee greater alignment between governance  and social reform conversations, bolstering both democratic and demographic resilience, finding ways to enhance the role of women, people with disabilities and other excluded groups in public sector decision-making.
• Build capability of others to do no harm, benefit poor and excluded people, and deliver transformational change in public sector governance and service delivery.

Programme delivery on democratic resilience (40%):

• Use analysis of the trends in Ukraine’s democracy, to identify the risks and opportunities for engagement and undertake programme scoping in different thematic areas (e.g. political rights, civil society, inclusive political processes, elections, media) to shape sophisticated approaches to supporting Ukrainians under and after martial law.
• Contribute to discussions on how a problem-driven approach to governance and advocacy could be applied in Ukraine and the risks and opportunities of this approach.
• Provide high quality written inputs into programme documents and help to mobilise the programme, by overseeing a range of different procurement processes (commercial, accountable grants, MoUs etc.) to select new suppliers and to ensure they are set up to deliver in line with FCDO expectations.
• Oversee the strategic and technical delivery of the programme, helping to ensure the programme is responsive to the context and adapts to new opportunities.
• Establish close ways of working with the wider Programme Team, Political Team and HQ to ensure strong  join up between the programme and other parts of the ODA portfolio and with UK diplomacy.

Cross-Embassy engagement (10%):

• Play an active role in relevant Embassy cross-mission Delivery Groups, particularly on Democracy and Governance and Social Recovery and Inclusion.
• Alongside two other Embassy Governance Advisers, quality assure governance work across the portfolio and provide governance advice as needed, to ensure interventions think and work politically.
• Liaise with colleagues in HQ, including the Reforms Hub, to ensure programme insights and learnings are fed into relevant briefings and policy work on social recovery and democratic resilience.

Coordination and representation (10%):

• Represent the UK, leveraging our political influence and programmes to help advance and promote our social recovery and democratic resilience ambitions in Ukraine.
• Build networks with government counterparts, civil society, technical experts, and like-minded missions to keep your understanding up to date and improve coordination.

Resources Managed:

As Lead Advisor for the Democratic Resilience Programme, the jobholder will be expected to take decisions on the use of resources for a ?40m programme. As Lead Advisor for the Social Recovery programme, SPIRIT, the jobholder will be expected to take decisions on the use of resources for a ?25m programme in addition to next stage Social Recovery and Inclusion programming at scale. The role might also entail line management responsibilities.

Our ideal candidate will have:

• Excellent communication skills with written and spoken fluency in English and Ukrainian at C1 level (according to CEFR* or equivalent) 
• At least 4 years’ experience working professionally, in the development sector in Ukraine (international organisations, Embassies, civil society and/or Government of Ukraine at national or local level).
• Experience working on international assistance/donor programmes in Ukraine and/or the region, with experience of designing new programmes and overseeing performance and partner delivery.
• An understanding of Ukraine’s internal politics and political systems and how elections, parliament, political parties, civil society and the media can help to foster more inclusive politics.

It would be beneficial to have:

• Direct experience of work to promote empowerment, accountability and/or inclusion in Ukraine
• A passion for fostering accountable, inclusive and rights-based politics in Ukraine.
• An understanding of the informal networks that govern how change happens in Ukraine.
• Comfortable using research and social and political analysis to identify issues and design programmes that respond in strategic and politically-savvy ways.
• Demonstrable resilience to manage multiple projects concurrently is an advantage. It also requires flexibility and tolerance for uncertainty and change.
• A creative, well-networked and influential self-starter who can conceptualise, challenge and lead debates on policy and programming.

The successful candidate will benefit from:

Working in a diverse, multi-cultural team of Ukrainian and British colleagues with wide-ranging experience. A well-balanced work/life culture and a friendly and supportive team.

• Medical and dental plan (non-contributory for the employee and contributory for qualified dependants, applicable after successful probation period).
• 24 working days of annual leave and additional public and privilege holidays.
• System of performance-based bonuses for high-achievers every twelve months.
• Participation in staff gatherings organised by the Social Committee (team get-togethers, Christmas Party etc.) as well as cultural events hosted by the Ambassador.
• Direct contribution towards to accelerating Ukrainian victory and supporting the country’s recovery from the consequences of war.

Learning and development opportunities:

The jobholder will have the opportunity to accredit to the FCDO’s Governance Cadre as part of the application process, joining a strong network of FCDO governance experts across the world. As an accredited adviser, you have the opportunity to enhance your learning and share your experiences by spending 10% of your time a year supporting other Embassy/HQ teams deliver their governance objectives.

Required behaviours: Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Leadership, Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together\

Application deadline: 11 December 2024

Grade: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

Type of Position: Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal

Working hours per week:40 hours gross

Location (City): Kyiv

Salary: $3,969.15 gross per month. This is an official employment, and the salary is subject to official tax; currently 19.5%. The salary is a set rate and there are no additional allowances on top.

Start Date: 1 February 2024

This is a full-time, fixed-term contract until the 31st March 2026 (with the possibility of renewal), for 40 working hours per week including 1 hour per day for lunch. The jobholder will need to be based in British Embassy Kyiv and on average, to be in the office 3 days a week. But there is flexibility and individual circumstances can be discussed.

The start date mentioned in the advert is just an expected start date. The appointment can start earlier or later depending on several factors.

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Ukraine. The British Embassy does not sponsor work permits.

Applications must be submitted through the official FCDO local vacancies website – applications sent though any other channel will not be considered.

More detailed description of the position can be also found on FCDO website.