Department(s): Parliamentary Program & Youth Program

Job Title: Senior Program Assistants (multiple positions) 

Reports to: Program Manager / Senior Program Officer

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Application Deadline: January 9, 2022 

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a non-profit organization working to strengthen democracy worldwide. NDI programs in Ukraine are supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Government of Sweden, Global Affairs Canada, the National Endowment for Democracy and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Position Summary: The National Democratic Institute (NDI) seeks two Senior Program Assistants (SPA) to support the Parliamentary Program and the Youth Program in Ukraine. These positions are expected to perform increasingly complex tasks with decreased level of oversight from supervisors for basic functions of a program assistant-level position. The SPAs will be responsible for providing advanced administrative support for the implementation of program activities under the supervision of the program manager/senior program officer, and ultimately the Resident Country Director. These positions require a high degree of discretion, strong organizational skills, good judgement, and an interest in political analysis. Working proficiency in English is required.

About the Parliamentary Program: With the support of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and in close partnership with the European Parliament, NDI is working with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to strengthen and promote cross-party cooperation, consensus building, coalition building and capacity of parliamentary factions, individual MPs and parliamentary staff. 

About the Youth Program: NDI Youth Program is a multi-year program that is focused on promoting youth political participation and strengthening cooperation between civil society and political parties to ensure greater civic and political youth leadership in Ukraine.

Job Responsibilities:

• With general guidance from a supervisor, work with increasing independence to support the implementation of NDI’s parliamentary/youth program activities  in Ukraine;

• Independently arrange logistics for NDI activities, including parliamentary consensus building exercises, workshops, study visits and consultations for Members of the Parliament and parliamentary staff;

• Contribute to the design and development of all the program activities and events;

• Liaise and work on a daily basis with Youth program partners and sub-grantees on reporting, planning and financial issues;

• Prepare meeting/activities notes, background information, brief papers when needed;

• Assist with and provide back-up for the day-to-day operations of the program, responding to routine program inquiries, ensuring prompt and accurate forwarding of messages;

• Contribute to the development of program materials for national and international events;

• Cultivate and maintain regular communication with program partners, participants and vendors;

• Contribute to analysis of political and civic context in Ukraine, which may include monitoring of the national and international media and developing regular political newsletters and analysis papers; 

• Provide high quality oral interpretation and written translation from English into Ukrainian and vice versa  as required;

• Work with NDI’s Administration and Finance team to prepare payments and reconciliations of program expenditures;

• Perform increasingly complex monitoring and evaluation of program activities, in line with NDI’s performance monitoring framework;

• Prepare drafts of contributions to reports under supervisor’s review and edits; 

• Write weekly reports for internal purposes on program developments in consultation with supervisor and contribute to quarterly and annual reports; and

• Perform other duties as assigned by the manager or other supervisors.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Social Sciences, International Relations, or related fields;

• Two years  of experience in a related field is required;

• Ability to provide general analysis of trends in Ukrainian politics and identify intersections with NDI programs; 

• High-level organizational skills with clear attention to detail;

• Demonstrated experience applying established organizational and donor policies to logistical and administrative support functions;

• Fluency in Ukrainian is required; Advanced written and oral communication skills in English are required;

• Increasing ability to work both independently and as a member of a team;

• Previous experience on youth engagement would be an asset;

• Working knowledge of Google Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, and G+), and PC-based word processing and spreadsheet applications; 

• Willingness and work beyond usual working hours, when necessary; and

• Ability and willingness to travel in and outside Ukraine, when necessary.

NDI offers a competitive package of remuneration and benefits. Actual salaries will be negotiated with successful applicants based on qualifications and experience.

Submission Guidelines. Suitable and qualified candidates are requested to send a CV and motivation letter as one PDF file in English to the following email address: [email protected]. Please indicate the position (Senior Program Assistants - Parliamentary/Youth Programs) you are applying for in the subject line of the email. Your CV and motivation letter should demonstrate your interest and qualifications for this position. Please indicate the program preference (Parliamentary or Youth)  in your motivation letter.

Deadline. The deadline for the submission of the required documents is January 9, 2022. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the written assessment, and finalists only will be invited for an interview. 

NDI welcomes and supports a diverse, inclusive work environment. As such, our commitment is to promote equal employment opportunities for all applicants seeking employment and employees. NDI makes employment decisions based on organizational needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to any grounds such as age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression etc.