Director for Ukraine NGO Forum

Director for Ukraine NGO Forum

This job offer is not active.

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine, with frequent visits to Eastern Ukraine

Starting date: Immediately/according to availability

Duration: 12 months with the possibility of extension (pending funding)

* The contract is administered by People in Need for legal purposes. This is not a PIN position.

Background information

The Ukraine NGO Forum was established in mid-2014 to facilitate information sharing and coordination activities in order to positively increase the impact of humanitarian activities in Ukraine. The Ukraine NGO Forum welcomes participation from international and national NGO's providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. The Forum works closely with Ukrainian and international NGOs, as well non-traditional humanitarian actors, including agencies, departments and offices of United Nations and Ukrainian government. The Forum is committed to working with existing coordination mechanisms in Ukraine.

The humanitarian community operating in Ukraine is a diverse collection of actors. The Ukraine NGO Forum acknowledges this richness and is actively encouraging the development of cooperative and collaborative platforms for capacity development and training, information exchange, and cooperation. The Ukraine NGO Forum recognizes the likely long-term nature of this crisis and is keen to see an integration of emergency and stabilization activities where appropriate, as well as a greater role for national organisations and civil society groups.

The Forum has an important role to play in minimising gaps and duplication in humanitarian activities, including support and management functions performed. The successful candidate will contribute to ensuring appropriate, accountable, and effective humanitarian action in Ukraine by harmonizing NGO collective opinions, by addressing issues not considered by UN-led mechanisms, and by providing consistent and constructive advocacy from within the NGO community.

In light of evolving situation when humanitarian funds for Ukraine steadily decrease and (prevailing) discussions around finding a balance between humanitarian and development actions, NGO Forum serves critical functions in representing evolving challenges and advancing collective action. The successful candidate will efficiently contribute to amplifying collective NGO Forum membership experience and ensure that frontline perspectives are well represented in operational and strategic decision-making. He/she will also demonstrate strong arguments on performance advantages of the Forum especially now when the organization is experiencing the resourcing constraints.

The current strategic cycle consists of the following pillars, and all programming shall be developed to meet these objectives in an appropriately balanced manner, all that while maintaining overall organizational capacity and sustainability:

  • Advocacy
  • Internal and External Information Sharing
  • Coordination
  • Capacity Building

Duties and areas of responsibilities

The Director of the Ukraine NGO Forum is based in Kyiv and is expected to manage the Forum as a platform, as an advocacy body, and to provide support to the realization of its strategic objectives and to the members at large.

The Director will work under the guidance of the Forum Steering Committee specifically, towards the objectives of the NGO Forum as described above and as defined in detail by the strategies approved by the Steering Committee and ratified by the plenary group of members.

Except for any supervisory and management responsibilities, the Ukraine NGO Forum Director will share, allocate, and coordinate these duties with the NGO Forum Secretariat.

Internal relations

The Ukraine NGO Forum serves as the representative of the NGO Forum members, and reports directly to the NGO Forum Steering Committee, elected by the members on annual basis, ensuring the highest level of transparency. The Director serves as line manager to NGO Forum Deputy Director, National Advocacy Manager and Finance Manager.

External relations

In coordination with the NGO Forum Steering Committee represents NGO Forum in front of UN, EC, GoU, donors and other relevant stakeholders, presenting the agreed position of NGO Forum members. Serves as a key advocacy focal point for the NGO Forum members.

Key Responsibilities

  • Creates an environment conducive to trust-building and sharing of information, active participation, and innovative collaboration between Ukraine NGO Forum members.
  • Facilitates transparent coordination between the NGO Forum members including regular sharing of information between members, and to external stakeholders.
  • Ensures funding and contributions for NGO Forum activities and services, including the support of general fundraising efforts of the NGO community at large as and when required.
  • In close collaboration with members, develops the NGO Forum Strategy.
  • Ensures a solid understanding of the needs, challenges and priorities of the NGO community through the design, development, and implementation of programming in line with NGO Forum strategic priorities.
  • Represents and advocates to external stakeholders in close collaboration with the NGO community, and along with the NGO Steering Committee; represents the NGO Forum at high-level meetings.
  • Provides information, briefings, presentations on the function and structure of the humanitarian NGO community in Ukraine.
  • Represents NGO members at the Humanitarian Country Team, Inter-Sector Coordination Group, and ad hoc coordination groups, meetings and initiatives as mandated by the NGO Forum and/or alongside other NGO representatives and distributes meeting information and collects feedback to and from Forum members, assuring the representational nature of the position.
  • Develops productive relationships with key individuals in relevant government as required in close collaboration with the NGO Forum Steering Committee, including ministries, civil society, counterpart institutions, the foreign and national NGO community, UN agencies and offices, Government of Ukraine, de-facto NGCA authorities, diplomatic missions, and donors.
  • Schedules NGO Forum meetings and NGO Forum Steering Committee meetings, drafts agendas, invites external speakers and follows up on relevant action points including the distribution of meeting minutes.
  • Establishes mechanisms to provide regular security updates to the NGO Forum including the establishment of relationships with security-oriented organizations.
  • Manages the NGO Forum Secretariat and the support services that are provided through this structure, including day-to-day management of personnel and resources, performance appraisals, and assuring staff have the correct skills to meet the needs and priorities of the NGO community.
  • Other tasks in line with the strategy approved by NGO Forum Steering Committee and ratified by the Forum members in good standing.

Experience and skills

  • At least eight years of international experience in the sphere of humanitarian assistance, early recovery, or development, of which at least four years were at programme management level with significant experience in high-level representation and experience in advocacy at all levels
  • At least two years’ experience in leading a multi-organizational platform or Cluster coordination
  • At least two years’ experience in successful advocacy work
  • At least two years' experience working on strategic level issues
  • Proven fundraising skills
  • Significant experience coordinating humanitarian activities within a UN-led cluster system and/ or similar coordination mechanisms
  • Experience working with LNGOs and implementing partners
  • Experience working in conflict environment
  • Fluency in English; a basic working knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian language is desirable
  • A university degree in a relevant field; a master’s degree is highly preferable.
  • Previous experience in a managerial position at an NGO Forum greatly preferred. 

NGO Forum/ People in Need offers

  • Salary 3 800 EUR (per diems included)
  • Standard financial bonuses paid half-yearly according to the performance evaluation (maximum total amount of bonuses paid within one year equals to one monthly salary without per diems)
  • Accommodation allowance up to 600 EUR/ month
  • Duration of the contract: 12 months
  • Reimbursement of travel expenses with travel to the country of residence once per every 6 months of work
  • Reimbursement of costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure
  • 25 days of paid leave annually

NB: PIN/ The NGO Forum reserve the right to recruit this position before the closure of the application deadline.