Chief of Party, Ukraine National Identity Through Youth (UNITY)

IREX - International Research and Exchanges Board

Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukraine National Identity through Youth (UNITY) is a seven-and-a-half-year, USAID-funded program that supports youth leadership towards a values-based Ukrainian identity. Through UNITY network, and partnerships with a wide range of civil society organizations, youth centers, employers, and government bodies, young Ukrainians build knowledge, skills, and connections for improved economic and civic opportunities. UNITY also engages diverse youth to actively contribute to community-based problem solving and engagement, including age-appropriate activities to support pluralism and respect for diversity. In response to Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UNITY is investing in improving access to education to address the critical needs and developments for youth to reach their potential and continue playing a critical role in Ukraine’s recovery. The UNITY program is currently in its fourth year of implementation.

The Chief of Party will provide overall strategic, technical and administrative leadership of UNITY. Serving as the principal liaison with USAID, they will oversee all aspects of program implementation, providing vision to the program and ensuring that objectives are met on time and within budget. They will oversee all staff, financial management, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. They will be responsible for administering and managing the implementation of the program and have the overall responsibility for ensuring that all assistance provided is technically sound and appropriate to meet program objectives. The Chief of Party will be responsible for all aspects of coordination and communication, including with the Ukrainian government, other donors, key stakeholders, and other implementing partners. They will work on assigning the management of the work of all organizations (sub-awardees) and individuals engaged under the program.

Your Background & Skills

Bachelor's degree in leading programs focused on youth engagement, civic education, civil society strengthening, youth livelihoods, or peacebuilding. (Master’s degree highly preferred);
Minimum of 15+ years of relevant experience;
Understanding and background on applying Positive Youth Development into programming is highly preferred;
Successful track record of supervising, designing, managing, and implementing complex donor-funded technical assistance projects; past USAID-funded project management experience is required;
A successful track record of working substantially with local organizations, positioning them as authentic development partners and to lead major interventions;
A minimum of 4 years of experience in Eastern Europe, preferably in Ukraine;
Demonstrated success working at the community-level, assessing challenges, creating and implementing solutions, and achieving measurable results on donor-funded development projects;
Ability to establish strong working relationships with senior government officials, youth-led groups, community officials, media, civil society, and private sector leaders, international donors; and other stakeholders;
Demonstrated ability to track and manage budgets and plan both strategically and creatively to meet project objectives;
Background in managing programs under difficult conditions is preferred;
Strong understanding of the Ukrainian context is preferred;
Proven leadership qualities and excellent management skills;
Strong representational and organizational skills and demonstrated experience in building and effectively supervising a diverse team of employees;
Fluency in written and spoken English; language skills in Ukrainian and/or Russian highly preferred;
You must have unrestricted authorization to work in Ukraine.

Your Daily Tasks

Provide strategic and technical leadership to the program and the team; bring dynamic and creative leadership to bring innovation to rigorous program implementation and meeting donor deliverables;
Serve as the principal liaison with USAID, as well as with key government officials at the country and national level, other donors and implementers, and private sector and civil society partners;
Engage with program beneficiaries, youth leaders, youth cooperatives, youth networks, and other stakeholders; ensure that all stakeholder relationships are managed effectively; develop and maintain effective partnerships with local, regional, and international organizations;
Responsible for administering and managing the implementation of UNITY and has the overall responsibility for ensuring that developed workplans and all assistance provided is technically sound and appropriate to meet program objectives;
Ensure program activities are implemented on schedule and within budget;
Supervise, manage, and mentor program staff, including accountability for hiring diverse and qualified staff and building a strong team;
Oversee program budgeting and financial management and ensure contractual compliance; ensure effective cooperation with the IREX Ukraine Field Operations and Finance Unit;
Oversee compliance with IREX policy for prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation (SEA) of children and vulnerable adults, including mandatory staff training and effective reporting mechanisms;
Oversee monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of program activities; promote a culture of learning and adaptation across the program;
Oversee program communications, including compliance with USAID-approved Branding Strategy and Marketing Plan;
Ensure that IREX’s safety and security policies and procedures are applied to all program and staff operations;
Monitor and stay informed of country developments through news sources and in-country networks and adjust program based on security considerations;
Serve as in-country point of contact for emergency responses and liaise with IREX global security on setting up appropriate security measures and protocols;
Represent IREX publicly and support its organizational development;
Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout program implementation while also promoting an evidence-based positive youth development approach;
Provide strategic and technical leadership to the program and the team; bring dynamic and creative leadership to bring innovation to rigorous program implementation and meeting donor deliverables;
Administer and manage the implementation of UNITY and assume overall responsibility for ensuring that developed workplans and all assistance provided is technically sound and appropriate to meet program objectives;
Ensure program activities are implemented on schedule and within budget;
Oversee monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of program activities; promote a culture of learning and adaptation across the program;
Ensure that IREX’s safety and security policies and procedures are applied to all program and staff operations;
Monitor and stay informed of country developments through news sources and in-country networks and adjust program based on security considerations;
Serve as in-country point of contact for emergency responses and liaise with IREX global security on setting up appropriate security measures and protocols;
Serve as the principal liaison with USAID, as well as with key government officials at the country and national level, other donors and implementers, and private sector and civil society partners;
Engage with program beneficiaries, youth leaders, youth cooperatives, youth networks, and other stakeholders; ensure that all stakeholder relationships are managed effectively; develop and maintain effective partnerships with local, regional, and international organizations;
Oversee program communications, including compliance with USAID-approved Branding Strategy and Marketing Plan;
Represent IREX publicly and support its organizational development;
Oversee program budgeting and financial management and ensure contractual compliance; ensure effective cooperation with the IREX Ukraine Field Operations and Finance Unit;
Oversee compliance with IREX policy for prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation (SEA) of children and vulnerable adults, including mandatory staff training and effective reporting mechanisms;
Supervise, manage, and mentor program staff, including accountability for hiring a diverse and qualified staff and building a strong team;
Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout program implementation while also promoting an evidence-based positive youth development approach;
Other support duties as needed.