Country Representative (Ukraine)

Background and general scope

The Estonian Refugee Council’s (ERC) Country Representative (CR) in Ukraine will be deployed to the Kyiv office as the overall humanitarian response lead for ERC’s humanitarian portfolio, particularly the cash assistance, livelihoods and food security programmes, making sure that the overall humanitarian work is implemented in a timely and quality manner in line with ERC’s standard operating procedures and mandate. The post-holder will ensure that humanitarian programmes delivered are to the appropriate scale, scope, quality and accountability expected of the ERC. The CR reports to the ERC Director and works closely with the HQ Programme staff and Country office technical staff.

The CR is responsible for general leadership at and managing the Country office, incl. programme development and coordination, HR management, ensuring security and safety of staff members, and ensuring effective communication and information flow between the Country office and HQ.

In particular, the CR is responsible for identifying needs and resources and elaborating programmatic, operational and leadership recommendations for the ERC’s response in line with ERC’s national and global priorities. In so doing, the CR will ensure that all relevant policies and procedures with respect to safety and security, Code of Conduct, equal opportunities and other relevant policies are in place and followed. The post holder will play a leading role in the effective scale up and management of ERC’s emergency and livelihoods programmes in Ukraine. The CR will also be expected to liaise and work in collaboration with other humanitarian organizations, donors and coordination structures active in the country, and to support the organisational strategy, policy and advocacy initiatives and fundraising.

Tasks and responsibilities

Leadership and HR tasks:

• Recruit national staff according to programme and strategic needs, carry out induction and performance appraisals of national staff and objective setting in line with programme requirements and Country office priorities.
• Manage human resources at the Country office in conformity with applicable labor laws and with internal regulations.
• Ensure that all staff members are knowledgeable of and following the ERC Code of Conduct and other internal rules and regulations.
• Ensure optimal safety and security management procedures and practices are in place for the emergency response programme and continually monitor the safety and security situation.
• Take initiative in documenting lessons learnt, good practice and case studies to shape in-country strategies and programme approaches, and contribute to broader sector learning.
• Provide input to ERC Director and relevant Programme teams in developing ERC’s national and global strategies.

Management and operational tasks:

• Provide support and oversight for humanitarian programming implementation to ensure timely and high quality delivery of programme activities in line with relevant standards and local laws.
• Ensure strict compliance of programme activities with ERC’s national and global policies and procedures and with relevant donor regulations and agreements, Sphere and other relevant standards, and the ERC Code of Conduct.
• Ensure effective communication and information flow between the Country office and ERC HQ.
• Coordinate closely and support the Project Development team on response fundraising, supporting the development of high quality concept notes and proposals linked to the response strategy, and engaging effectively with donors’ humanitarian advisors.
• Produce high quality and timely sitreps/reports (where necessary) for the HQ and donors and within agreed reporting schedules as required.
• Ensure strong accountability to beneficiaries in cooperation with the M&E team.
• Ensure appropriate financial management made available to the Country office in an effective and transparent manner.

Representation, coordination and advocacy tasks:

• Represent ERC at the coordination forums, to donors, the media and members of the humanitarian community.
• Coordinate and communicate closely with other humanitarian actors and national coordination mechanisms (in particular CWG, FSL cluster, and SNFI cluster) to ensure harmonized response.
• Help shape broader sector strategies and advocacy priorities through active participation in coordination mechanisms and task teams, ensuring the specific needs of ERC’s target groups are being addressed.
• Play a leadership role in shaping communications and media priorities in line with programme and organization’s priorities, acting as a spokesperson when required.

Key competencies and qualifications

• Minimum of Master’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent field experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of previous field experience in a humanitarian (I)NGO.
• Minimum of 1 year of previous experience in a managerial position.
• High-level language skills in English; language skills of local languages (Ukrainian and/or Russian) are an asset.
• Ability to deal with stressful situations and environments.
• Ability to create and maintain a productive and safe working environment in line with ERC Code of Conduct.