Civil Society Project Coordinator

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine, with in-country travel (up to 33%) 

Contract duration:12 months, Starting 15/03/2026 (there are good prospects for an extension) 

Contract Type: Consultancy

Open to: National candidates

Salary: According to ActionAid’s salary grid – EUR 2500,00

Reporting to: Head of Programmes 

Direct Reports: N/A (Senior Project Officer and support staff at a later stage) 

Recruitment: Internal & External candidates 

About us:  

ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice. ActionAid’s Regional Office for Eastern Europe was established in Kyiv in 2022 and is covering projects in Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Moldova and Georgia.   

In Ukraine and across the region, ActionAid works through long-term, equitable partnerships with local civil society organisations, with a particular emphasis on women-led organisations, youth-led initiatives, and organisations representing marginalised communities, including Roma, LGBTIQ+ groups, persons with disabilities, IDP-led initiatives and other at-risk groups.  

Grounded in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, ActionAid prioritises young people’s leadership, civil society development, women’s rights and leadership, the protection of at-risk groups and minorities, and humanitarian assistance. 

The Role: 

The Project Coordinator, Civil Society Development is responsible for managing ActionAid Eastern Europe’s flagship SIDA-funded Civil Society Development project; collaborating with local implementing partners and civil society actors - particularly those representing marginalised communities - facilitating the direct implementation of ActionAid’s capacity strengthening programme, and driving the civil society and feminist leadership agenda within the team and externally. 

The role is based in Kyiv and reports to the Head of Programmes. The role works closely with the Women’s Rights Advisor, the Social Movements Technical Lead, the PQMEAL team, the Project Development & Implementation Coordinator, the Finance team, as well as other teams and support staff, as well as other colleagues based in Moldova, Poland, Romania and Spain.  

The Coordinator is expected to actively embed feminist leadership principles - including power-sharing, collective care, inclusion, transparency and reflexivity - into programme management, partnerships and team culture. 

Tasks and Priorities 

1. Project Management (30%) 

• Lead the project, ensuring effective collaboration, communication, and alignment among partner members. 

• Facilitate regular meetings, fostering an inclusive and transparent decision-making process. 

• Strengthen partnerships with national and local actors, ensuring meaningful participation and leadership of local organisations. 

• Represent the project in external coordination forums, including humanitarian clusters,  

• Ensure timely and high-quality implementation of the SIDA-funded project. 

• Monitor progress against agreed deliverables, flagging risks and proposing mitigation measures. 

• Oversee the development and implementation of cross-cutting strategies, including gender, protection mainstreaming, accountability to affected populations, and conflict sensitivity. 

• Lead the implementation of direct ActionAid activities under the SIDA-funded programme, ensuring compliance with organisational and donor requirements. 

• Provide guidance to ActionAid teams on programme delivery, monitoring, and reporting,ensuring high standards of quality and impact. 

• Ensure compliance with SIDA regulations and guidelines, as well as ActionAid’s policies and procedures. 

• Ensure quality and timely submission of reports. 

• Work closely with finance and grant management teams to track budget expenditures and ensure financial compliance 

1. Capacity Strengthening Work (35%) 

• Lead ActionAid’s comprehensive capacity strengthening portfolio for local partners. 

• Develop methodologies, SOPs, tools, approaches and plans to support local civil society capacity.  

• Conduct tailored training sessions, manage operational aspects of training facilitation, and adapt trainings to partners’ feedback.  

• Identify, select and manage relevant partners and consultants in line with ActionAid and SIDA requirements.  

• ‘Be on standby’ and provide ongoing mentorship support to local partners.  

• Develop, manage, evaluate and fine tune small grants processes, including ensuring built-in learning cycles, and adapt small grants programming to be as flexible as possible in line with programmatic requirements.  

• Ensuring that partners’ needs are monitored and covered as much as possible through the capacity strengthening programme (incl. MHPSS needs, security & safety related, needs, any other needs).  

1. External Representation and Engagement (15%) 

• Engage with external stakeholders, including SIDA, development partners, UN agencies, INGOs, and local actors. 

• Establishing contacts and regularity of contacts with relevant Ukrainian counterparts.  

• Attend relevant fora, evenets, and engagement opportunities to stay abreast with political developments in the civil society. This includes monitoring policy developments, civil society trends, and donor needs.  

• Coordinate and contribute significantly to ActionAid’s annual Political Economy Analysis of the Civil Society space; this includes idenfying relevant stakeholders, adjusting the methodology, conducting interviews, and writing (parts of) the report.  

• Facilitate learning, knowledge sharing and strategy development within the ActionAid team. 

• Contribute significantly to the implementation, and the annual updating of, ActionAid’s Strategic Pillar IV – Civil Society and Justice in Recovery.  

1. Fundraising (20%) 

• Identify and pre-position ActionAid for relevant proposal opportunities. 

• Undertake research, needs assessments, consultations etc. and develop high quality tailored problem statements.  

• Engage with potential national and international partners, facilitate joint sessions and support partners in inputting to ActionAid-led proposals.  

• Write high-quality, relevant, context adapted, Expressions of Interest, Concept Notes, and Proposals tailored to donor requirements and ActionAid’s Regional and programmatic pillar strategies.  

• Contribute technical expertise and inputs to proposals developed by the Programme team or in Consortia.  

• Undertake any other tasks as assigned by the manager to support ActionAid’s new business development.  

(The responsibilities of this position are subject to change as required by the rapidly evolving context.) 

Who we're looking for:  

• A master’s degree in a relevant discipline such law, economics, social sciences, political science, or similar.  . 

• At least five years of relevant experience working for international NGOs, including at least two years in a similar role. Additional experience working with local civil society is a strong advantage.  

• Significant experience in cooperating with local and national organisations utilising an equitable partnerships approach.  

• Significant experience in designing and implementing high quality capacity strengthening programming for local actors, including supporting strategy development, providing mentorship, developing tailored plans and trainings. 

• Significant experience in in project cycle management PCM), including proficiency in managing standardised project management tools, budgets, and MEAL frameworks, as well as experience in high-quality donor reporting.  

• A strong understanding of proposal development processes with a wide range of different donors (in particular EU-INTPA, SIDA, NORAD and similar development donors).  

• A strong knowledge of the civil society sector in Ukraine, with a strong understanding of the nexus and civil society and social cohesion issues. Experience in programming with gender or intersectional lenses is highly preferred.  

• Proven experience in managing, and building the capacity of, staff and local partners.  

• Proficiency in English and Ukrainian. 

• Exceptional interpersonal skills: tact, patience, diplomacy, confidentiality, and appropriate assertiveness when communicating with donors and partners. 

• Consultative and empowering working style and willingness to learn from others. 

In addition, we expect: 

• A strong commitment to AA’s vision, mission, and values, especially the rights-based approach and the principles of equal opportunity as outlined in ActionAid’s Code of Conduct.   

• A strong commitment to embedding feminist leadership and ActionAid’s humanitarian signature.  

• A strong commitment to adhering to and promoting ActionAid’s approach to Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse and other Safeguarding concerns (including child abuse and abuse of adults at-risk)   

• A strong understanding of and commitment to women’s rights and cultural sensitivity.   

• A commitment to the importance of downward accountability to rights-holders and transparency in humanitarian response.  

What we offer: 

ActionAid is committed to providing a welcoming, supportive workplace where we recognize a job well done, encourage close collaboration and sharing power, and where safeguarding standards and feminist leadership are exemplified everywhere. At ActionAid, you can look forward to a fair compensation package and a flexible working environment, including.  

• A workplace that embraces intersectional feminist principles  

• Flexible, family-friendly working arrangements. 

• Salary and conditions according to ActionAid’s salary grid for national candidates. 

How to apply: 

Please send your CV and cover letter as pdfs in English (no more than 2 pages each) to Відправити резюме with the reference Ukraine – Project Coordinator, Civil Society Development.