Project Manager

Project Manager BMZ project

Location: Dnipro with frequent travel to activities in the field. 

Position Type: National

Position Status: Full-time, fixed term employment contract (with 3 months’ probation period). 

Reports to: Country Director (CD)

Line Management: Project Officers (POs), Employment and Housing support Officer, Social Protection Officer, Grant distribution Consultant

Supports: MEAL Team 

Works directly with: Head of Finance, MEAL Manager, Age&Inclusion Advisor, Pocurement&Logistic Manager, local partners` NGOs and others.

Salary: Based on the HAI Salary Scale

Position Summary
The Project Manager will be responsible for coordinating a transitional aid project focused on recovery and development within the humanitarian–development–peace nexus: “Dignity in Independence: Supported Living and Economic Empowerment for Displaced Older People, especially Women, in Eastern Ukraine”, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). The role includes oversight of implementing partners in the eastern region (Dnipro and Kharkiv oblasts), ensuring full compliance with HelpAge International (HAI) Ukraine policies, supporting project development, and ensuring timely delivery of project activities, including implementation, monitoring, reporting, and budget management.

The Project Manager will ensure effective delivery in line with donor requirements (AA/KWI), humanitarian standards, localisation commitments, and relevant coordination frameworks.

About the HelpAge International 

HelpAge International works with partners and a diverse global network of more than 170 organizations across 90 countries, supporting millions of older people to live safe, dignified, and healthy lives. Through our partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone, whatever their age.

 Our work is driven by our desire to deliver real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience. Our 2030 strategy Ageing in a Just World sets out how we will work together to shape the future we all share. By ensuring that all our work promotes wellbeing, dignity and voice, we can be a positive influence in the lives of current and future older people.

 About the HelpAge Ukraine 

 HelpAge has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, establishing an office in Kyiv and provided programmatic outreach in the Eastern region (Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts).  

HelpAge in Ukraine relocated its main office from Kyiv to Lviv in April 2022 due to the full russian invasion. HelpAge has offices in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro now. Internal coordination including regular programme coordination meetings with HQ in London and other country colleagues takes place on a weekly basis.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Coordination (10%):

• Encourage project cohesion through coordination with local Partners.
• Ensure project quality and impact through liaison with the programme quality team with all departments and program staff of GFFO project.
• Represent HelpAge in cluster and technical working groups, including the Age and Disability Technical Working Group (ADTWG), Protection Cluster, and relevant UN coordination mechanisms.
• Maintain close cooperation with local and national authorities, including social protection departments, municipalities, and the Ministry of Social Policy.
• Coordinate with UN agencies (e.g. UNFPA, UNHCR, WHO) and civil society actors to ensure complementarity, referrals, and adherence to standards. 
• Build relationships with authorities at the level of communities. Ensure good communication of security relevant information in each location including various field sites and offices.
• Ensure participation in the relevant meetings with Partners and regional/local authorities. 

Project Coordination (60%) 

• In accordance with donor requirements, lead the day?to?day management of the project across protection, health, basic services, livelihoods, and social cohesion components.
• Ensure timely, high-quality implementation of all outputs, including infrastructure rehabilitation, age- and disability-friendly services, community-based protection, and economic reintegration activities
• Oversee implementation in Dnipro and Kharkiv oblasts, ensuring contextual adaptation and conflict sensitivity.
• Ensure gender-responsive and feminist approaches, with a specific focus on older women, persons with disabilities, and marginalised groups (including LGBTIQ+ and Roma communities).
• Oversee implementation of conditional cash start-up grants for older people (50+), ensuring compliance with CVA guidelines, accountability, and risk mitigation.
• Ensure integration of training, mentoring, business planning, grant selection, and post-grant monitoring.
• Monitor protection, gender, and inclusion risks related to cash assistance and livelihoods activities.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of key project documentation and ensure that the Project Staff are familiar with the project goal, objectives, and activities, required donor procedures and the approved project proposal.
• Review existing project design, objectives, outputs, indicators, and budget to ensure that they are appropriate and realistic, and if required, suggest changes.
• Regularly work with the budget to make appropriate changes, including partners` budget
• In the supported locations, provide overall supervision to work planning processes to ensure priorities are identified, and appropriate strategies to address them are implemented.
• Ensure project quality and the application of best practices in HAI Programme Standards:
• Maximize opportunities to integrate lessons learned and best practices.
• Coordinate and ensure input from staff in the field. Be responsible for all aspects of the accountability for particular project.
• In coordination with MEAL Team contribute to data collection, storage, and analysis.
• Oversee a Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) in the project locations, which ensures all HAI beneficiaries can provide confidential complaints and feedback about HAI, ensure that POs and project staff are familiar with the CRM.
• Ensure data protection and confidentiality at all stages of the process.
• Coordination of information gathering and preparation of reports.
• Working collaboratively with the Head of Finance to monitor project spending monthly and project actions taken in case of over/under expenditure.
• Recruit POs and project staff through transparent, rigorous, and soundly justified procedures in line with HAI policies and values.
• Manage POs and project staff performance and development, providing appropriate and timely feedback.
• All project information and documents (both programmatic and financial) for the audit is available and accessible in the field office.
• Assist in the identification and preparation of the success stories of beneficiaries.
• Ensure compliance with respect to Donor "Visibility" requirements (logos, photos etc.).
• Provide support on safety & security issues to POs and project staff under the guidance from line manager and Security Officer.
• Conduct regular meetings with implement partners to be shure than implement project activities quality and in time.
• Provide all necessary support control them on the monthly basis and insure collect all necessary information for the donor report.
• Conduct regular field monitoring visits to the AoO including partners` activities.

Reporting (20%)

• Preparation on monthly reporting, including update for KPIs. Lead preparation of high-quality narrative reports, updates, and ad hoc donor communications.
• Preparation and edit donor required project reports in English for line manager review.
• Preparation necessary information, PPP for different events about project activities.
• Contribute to audits, evaluations, and learning processes. 
• Support coordination with HelpAge Deutschland (HAD) on compliance, reporting, and technical inputs. 

Other (10%)

• Ensure effective partner capacity strengthening and mentoring, guaranteeing alignment with project standards, accountability frameworks, and donor (BMZ/AA) requirements.
• Promote localisation principles by supporting partner leadership, accountability, and sustainability.
• English speaking employees are expected to provide verbal and written translations when required.
• Other program related tasks given by direct supervisor. 

Let's talk about you

You will be someone with:

Essential 

• University degree in social sciences, development studies, public health, humanitarian affairs, or a related field
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience development project management, preferably in conflict-affected settings.
• English language proficiency

• Preferably experience in managing projects funded by German donors such as BMZ, GFFO

• Proven experience working with local partners and implementing localisation approaches.

• Solid understanding of cash-based interventions (CVA) and livelihood programming.

• Experience coordinating with UN agencies, clusters, and government counterparts.

• Strong knowledge of protection principles, gender equality, disability inclusion, and accountability frameworks.

• Excellent reporting, coordination, and stakeholder management skills.

• Strong knowledge and understanding of project management, able to ensure project quality and application of best practice.

• Excellent team working skills and the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish effective working relationships.

• Strong interpersonal and representation skills with the ability to network effectively.

• Ability to manage and develop team members.

• Ability to write high quality reports and proposals.

• Ability to contribute to and review budgets and monitor expenditure and logistics.

• Able to prioritize work and meet tight deadlines

• Willingness and ability to travel and work across Ukraine as required.

What we offer

• Employment contract.
• Salary in accordance with Help Age Ukraine’s Salary scale depending on the experience and qualifications. 
• Private medical insurance.
• 24 days of annual paid leave and other benefits according to the Ukrainian Labor code. 
• Wellbeing day, the last Friday of each month is a non-working day. 
• Convenient office location in the city center.

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with.

Therefore, you will also be responsible for:

Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes to anyone that encounters our work.

• Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism.
• Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices.
• Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures.

 How to apply

Attention! This vacancy is open for Ukrainian citizens only. Please be aware that interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis until the position is filled, and only short-listed candidates will be informed. If you did not hear from us within two weeks after the application closing date it means your application was not successful.