Policy Advisor on Municipal Management (full-time, Mykolaiv) in Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is seeking for the programme “U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme” a qualified staff member to fill the position of the 

Policy Advisor on Municipal Management (full-time, Mykolaiv) 

(internal SAP code: Advisor)

In the last few years, Ukraine has developed and adopted various laws in favour of an ambitious decentralisation reform, which reshapes the relations between the national, regional and local levels and builds institutional capacity. The success of the decentralisation reform greatly depends on the coordination and cooperation between different stakeholders involved into reform implementation at the national, regional and local levels. Given the important new tasks, responsibilities and financial resources that local self-governments have gained, the implementation of the reform must be accompanied by expert advice, trainings and diverse support measures. U-LEAD (Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development) is a special measure which is conducted as a multi-donor action by the EU and its member states Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Poland and Slovenia to support the Ukrainian government in the implementation of the decentralisation reform.

 For our team of Mykolaiv Regional Office, we are looking for an experienced and highly motivated policy advisor with an innovative mind-set, a strong team player with solid knowledge of decentralisation and economical/management aspects of local self-government with practical experience of supporting municipalities in the course of decentralisation reform implementation and municipal management.

Key responsibilities:

• Providing capacity development and consultative support to municipalities in the field of municipal management, recovery and development and aimed at assisting them to efficiently perform tasks and carry out new responsibilities acquired in the course of reforms’ implementation. 
• Contributing to policy analysis. 
• Ensuring good communication and information flow with all stakeholders (political and implementation partners and within the GIZ team) and supporting them. 
• Contributing to the planning, monitoring and evaluation processes at U-LEAD Regional Office. 

Tasks: 

The Policy Advisor: 

• Provides consultations (online and offline) and capacity development measures for local self-government officials on municipal services, resilience and management which includes but is not limited to the topics of municipal management, recovery and development planning, management of provision of municipal services for citizens and support to project implementation by municipalities. 
• Participates in the internal working groups, contributing to the preparation and delivery of online training courses with inputs, materials, presentations on municipal management, development, recovery and related topics. 
• Puts in and provides necessary information to responsible for the data entry into data monitoring system on all events (e.g., trainings, consultations) within his/her responsibility as well as further necessary data (e.g., trainers, good practices, support to municipalities, etc.) according to the guidelines. 
• Coordinates the organization of trainings and professional advice to municipalities with short-term experts according to GIZ values, standards and rules. Contributes to the quality assurance of the experts’ work. 
• Collects and analyses municipalities’ feedback on challenges they face as well as their needs in terms of amending policy and legislation in the field of the Policy Adviser’s expertise. 
• Participates and contributes to public discussions and policy dialogue events aimed at supporting reforms’ implementation, contributes to U-LEAD communication and visibility activities. 
• Participates and contributes to the strategic and operational planning, monitoring and reporting of the U-LEAD Regional Office in Mykolaiv oblast. 
• Provides short reports and pictures from the attended events on time upon request. 
• Contributes to the overall knowledge and data management of the U-LEAD Regional Office in Mykolaiv oblast. 
• Follows personal data protection rules during handling of participant lists and entry of personal data into U-DATA. 
• Collects good practices and success stories, checks their progression over time and shares the information in the respective field for public awareness raising and communication purposes. 
• Provides technical support to international and local experts during their field visits. 
• Communicates regularly with local stakeholders. 
• Communicates and cooperates effectively with the colleagues in the Regional Office, the U-LEAD team and other GIZ projects in Ukraine. 
• Ensures discreet behaviour vis-a-vis third parties in all internal matters. 
• Supports the implementation of other project activities and other assigned tasks. 
• Communicates and reports regularly to the Head of Operational Team.

 Required qualifications, professional experience and personal competences:

• Bachelor’s Degree in the field of Economics, Finance, Public Administration or other relevant fields. 
• At least 2 years’ work experience in the municipal services, municipal management and/or in public service, in local self-government bodies or in an NGO. 
• Proven track record of providing consultations and conducting trainings on municipal management, municipal services or local development issues will be an advantage. 
• Sound knowledge of municipal management (including municipal services and development). 
• Deep understanding of the specific set-up, its actors and political environment of Mykolaiv oblast. 
• Knowledge and experience of capacity building of adults. Experience of provision of services (trainings, consultations, webinars) in an online mode. 
• Strong organizational and planning skills. 
• Team player with excellent communication skills, including public outreach. 
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities. 
• High degree of self-organization. 
• Very good Ukrainian language skills. English or/and German is an asset. 
• Good computer skills (MS Office Suite, Excel, PowerPoint etc.). 

We offer: 

• Official employment, salary fixed in EUR, performance-related bonuses and 13th salary.
• Medical insurance, 29 vacation days annually.
• Language classes, hard and soft skills trainings.
• Individual and group psychological support.
• Possible flexible and remote work (depending on projects’ needs up to 10 days a month within Ukrainian border). 
• Meaningful and valuable work, international environment.

Employment conditions:

 Full-time position with 40-hours working week. Place of assignment is Mykolaiv. Starting as soon as possible. The contract duration will be until the end of the year with the possibility of prolongation.

 GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and offers an attractive and challenging working environment with opportunities for skill enhancement.

 Application:

 We are looking forward to your application in English, comprising your CV and a Cover letter explaining your motivation to apply for the job until COB 11 February 2026, Wednesday. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stages of the recruitment process.

 Candidates are requested to submit their documents with the following title:

•  Surname Name_CV

•  Surname Name_Cover letter

By sending the application you give the consent for the personal data processing for recruitment processes solely according to GIZ data privacy regulations. You can familiarize yourself with these regulations by the link Data protection | GIZ