Country Director

Ukraine

Country Director

Organization

• Norwegian People's Aid
  
  

Posted 10 Nov 2025 Closing date 22 Nov 2025

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to take on a key leadership role in one of the most important and largest country programmes of Norwegian People’s Aid? Do you have experience working in complex crisis or emergency situations, managing and directing large scale and complex operations? Then you might be the candidate that we are looking for as our new Country Director in Ukraine!

We seek candidates who demonstrate integrity, trust, accountability, and openness. In this role, you will be instrumental in building strong teams, ensure high quality programming that focuses on building local capacities, and give strategic direction in the context of an evolving crisis and sector in reform.

What We Offer

• A unique opportunity to be part of an organisation that works to promote safety, dignity and a just distribution of power and resources.
• A chance to shape a diverse and integrated portfolio, including humanitarian mine action, weapons and ammunition management, gender-based violence, and economic recovery.
• The opportunity to lead a highly skilled and motivated team, drive strategic direction, and foster collaboration across sectors and with national partners.
• Comprehensive salary package including country specific allowances and insurance scheme.
• Five weeks annual holiday plus one additional week off for expats and R&R scheme.
• Three international flights home per contract year.
• A two-year expatriate contract* with potential for renewal, under the Norwegian Working Environment Act's and the Special Agreement’s favorable conditions.
  
  

Requirements

• Minimum five years’ management experience with proven results from an international humanitarian, development and/or mine action organisation.
• Professional experience working in a complex crisis or emergency situation, managing and directing large scale and complex projects or programmes with high administrative complexity.
• Solid experience with security and crisis management.
• Relevant higher education
• Ability and willingness to engage closely with partners and stakeholders, combined with solid knowledge and understanding of relevant institutional donors and proved results in fundraising
• Excellent leadership skills with the ability to build teams and empower others in decision making.
• Written and verbal proficiency in English.
• Knowledge and understanding of the cultural and political context is desired.
• Knowledge of local languages is an advantage.
  
  

Skills

As a person, you have excellent interpersonal and communication skills with proven ability to motivate and develop a team. You identify yourself with the core leadership competencies of NPA:

• Integrity: Ethical decision-making and honesty. Managers embody our values and ensure employees follow ethical standards.
• Trust: Build and maintain reliability. Create a safe space for expression and development. Balance trust and control, delegate wisely, and encourage learning.
• Openness: Foster innovation and development through effective communication and inclusion of relevant skills.
• Accountability: Achieve results with employees through clear direction and goals, balancing strategic initiatives with operational tasks. Provide feedback and hold everyone accountable for performance
  
  

You are analytic, strategic, creative, and able to solve problems with maturity of judgement. You are systematic, structured, and possess good planning skills. You have high work capacity and ability to work under pressure and live under stressful and hazardous conditions.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic direction and leadership for NPA’s country programme in Ukraine, ensuring synergy between different programme interventions and alignment with NPA’s global vision Solidarity in Action
• Lead the Senior Management Team and foster a strong, inclusive team culture.
• Ensure the relevance, quality, and impact of all programme activities through integrated strategic, programmatic, and operational management, including collaboration across sectors and with support functions.
• Hold overall responsibility for the safety and security of NPA staff, assets, and resources, including crisis preparedness and response.
• Ensure sound financial oversight, budget control, and compliance with donor and internal requirements, including grant management and reporting.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the evolving sector reform, country context and regional dynamics and ensure programmes adapt accordingly.
• Lead donor strategy, fundraising efforts, and ensure the timely delivery of high-quality proposals and reports to secure and sustain funding.
• Represent NPA to national authorities, donors, partners, and media (in coordination with Head Office), and proactively engage in advocacy related to programme priorities and context.
• Ensure that administrative procedures and support functions comply with NPA’s Quality Management System (QMS), policies, and donor requirements.
• Ensure active mainstreaming of gender, inclusion, and environmental considerations across all programme activities and operations.
• Validity of the offer and contract depends on satisfactory medical certificate, full vaccination, valid travel visa and necessary permits for service and residency in the country of service. The offer and contract also depend on donor funding and might be subject to donor approval.
  
  

How to apply

We work continuously for more diversity and inclusion throughout Norwegian People's Aid. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

Please note, that only applications submitted through our career site will be considered. Applications and resumes sent via e-mail will not be reviewed.

We kindly ask you to carefully read NPA’s Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy and Anti-Corruption Policy, before you submit your application. If you are the selected candidate for this position, you will be asked to complete and sign a Safeguarding self-declaration as well as our Code of Conduct. All policies related to ethics can be found on our website.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Job details

Country

• Ukraine
  
  

City Kyiv Source

• Norwegian People's Aid
  
  

Type

• Job
  
  

Career category

• Program/Project Management
  
  

Years of experience

• 5-9 years
  
  

Themes

• Health
• Mine Action
• Protection and Human Rights
  
  

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