Local Coordinator, NPSA-9, DS-Kharkiv, National position

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a 'leave no one behind' approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 

Background

Ukraine is currently facing the most critical humanitarian, social, and economic challenges since independence. The ongoing war has resulted in extensive loss of life, mass displacement, and large-scale destruction of infrastructure. According to the UN Ukraine Flash Appeal, more than 15.7 million people remain in urgent need of protection and emergency assistance, while prolonged conflict could set back socio-economic development by almost 20 years.

Compounding these challenges, Ukraine is now among the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. The widespread presence of landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) poses a critical and growing threat to civilians, emergency responders, reconstruction efforts, and humanitarian access. Mine contamination affects agricultural land, transport corridors, residential areas, and critical infrastructure sites, delaying reconstruction and preventing safe return of communities.

To address these urgent risks, UNDP is scaling up its multi-donor Mine Action Programme (MAP). The programme strengthens the national mine action system by building institutional and technical capacities, supporting emergency service responders, establishing normative frameworks aligned with IMAS, and integrating mine action as an enabler of sustainable development and early recovery.

As reconstruction activities accelerate, oblast administrations require constant, technical, and operational coordination with multiple mine action actors - national authorities, humanitarian demining operators, development partners and international organisations. Effective delivery of mine action support cannot be achieved from the capital alone; it requires a permanent field presence to ensure real-time coordination, information flow, prioritization of contaminated areas, and monitoring of activities.

For this reason, UNDP is establishing regional coordination roles, responsible for ensuring that mine action interventions in war-affected oblasts are aligned with local reconstruction priorities and implemented efficiently and safely. The position serves as the direct interface between UNDP Mine Action Programme and regional stakeholders, enabling rapid decision-making, timely problem solving, and continuous monitoring of progress and risks.

The incumbent will support the operationalization of UNDP mine action activities in Kharkiv, including coordination with local authorities, state institutions, implementing partners, NGOs, INGOs and UN Agencies. The role ensures that community needs are reflected in planning and that mine action contributes directly to enabling safe humanitarian access and reconstruction. All activities shall be implemented in line with UNDP's commitments to gender equality, diversity, inclusion, and zero tolerance for discrimination, sexual exploitation or abuse.

Duties and Responsibilities  

 

The purpose of this role is to ensure effective coordination and field-level implementation of UNDP Mine Action interventions. The position serves as the primary interface between UNDP and regional stakeholders, facilitating planning, prioritization, monitoring, and information flow necessary to enable safe reconstruction and community recovery in areas affected by explosive ordnance. The Mine Action Local Coordinator will report to the Mine Action Technical Specialist and, within delegated authority, will be responsible for the following duties:

A. Stakeholder & Government Liaison

Ensure effective cooperation between UNDP Mine Action Project and national / regional stakeholders:

• Engage with regional military-civil administrations, local authorities, National Mine Action Center (NMAC) and Regional Mine Action Center (RMAC), UN agencies, NGOs and implementing partners.
• Facilitate communication flow between field stakeholders and the UNDP Mine Action project team.
• Participate in regional coordination platforms, sector meetings, and working groups. 
• Prepare briefs and talking points for senior UNDP personnel before meetings with authorities.

B. Coordination of Mine Action Activities

Ensure that mine action activities in the region are aligned with UNDP objectives and IMAS requirements:

• Coordinate implementing partners and demining operators working in the region.
• Ensure activities are aligned with national Mine Action structures and sector response plans.
• Support planning of deployments, capacity development activities, and procurement-led processes.
• Track progress against work plans and provide early warnings on delays or issues.
• Facilitate project and programme related training/learning activities.
• Promote gender balance and inclusion within mine action operations, ensuring equal participation of women and men in coordination, planning, and training activities.

C. Monitoring, Quality Assurance & Reporting

Ensure accurate situational awareness and monitor the quality of field implementation:

• Conduct regular field visits to monitor activities and verify results.
• Collect feedback from end-users (communities, local authorities, operators).
• Prepare monitoring notes, mission reports and input for donor reporting.
• Maintain documentation on key decisions and project progress.
• Ensure gender-disaggregated data collection and analysis in monitoring and reporting to reflect equitable impact and participation.

D. Operational & Administrative Support

Support project implementation at field level and ensure operations run smoothly:

• Support logistics for missions, workshops, trainings and stakeholder consultations.
• Assist procurement processes (TORs, vendor identification, comparison of quotations).
• Maintain a database of stakeholders, contractors, suppliers, consultants.
• Support coordination with LTAs and ensure administrative documentation is complete.

E. Risk Management and Information Management

Identify risks and feed information to project management for decision-making:

• Monitor risks (operational, contextual, political) and flag issues early.
• Contribute to risk registers with mitigation measures.
• Ensure mine action data and reporting follow Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) and International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) standards.
• Maintain situational awareness of projects, funding and donor activity.
• Brief the UNDP Mine Action Technical Specialist on emerging issues, trends, potential opportunities on a bi-weekly basis.

F. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing

• Organize training, workshops, and capacity building activities in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia. 
• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partners. 

Perform other duties within your functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the MAP Project/UNDP Programme.

Under the overall guidance from, and the supervision of the UNDP Mine Action Technical Specialist, the Mine Action local coordinator will be responsible for facilitating a process aimed at ensuring the achievement of the above-mentioned duties. The incumbent will be managing a quality management analyst and driver and will be working in close partnership with the Mine Action project team in Kyiv and other UNDP mine action regional offices when required for cooperation, knowledge sharing and coordination purposes. The role will also require frequent travel to the project's operational areas.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:
LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively:
LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously:
LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility:
LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process

Act with Determination: 
LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner:
LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:
LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making  

People Management:

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Thematic Area
Name
Definition

Business Direction & Strategy 

System Thinking 

Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Development

Knowledge Generation

Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and

new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.

Business Management

Risk Management

Identify and organize action around reducing, mitigating and proactively managing risks

Business Management

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs.

Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

 Procurement

Contract Management 

Knowledge of contract management concepts, principles and methods, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations

Partnership management

Relationship management

Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding 

2030 Agenda: Prosperity

Recovery Solutions and Human Mobility

Mine Action 

Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements

• Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Project Management or Public Administration, or Business Administration, or Social Sciences, or Economics, or Jurisprudence, or Military Engineering or any other related fields is required. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor's degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of Master ́s degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience 

• Minimum 2 years (with Master's degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor's degree) of relevant experience, at national or international level, in liaison, and coordination of mine action field operations with monitoring and liaison functions. 

Required skills 

• Computer literacy with good knowledge of MS Office (Word/Power Point/Excel). 

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience in UN and/or international organizations is an asset.
• Experience working in crises situations is an asset.
• Experience in promoting gender balance and inclusion within mine action operations is an asset. 
• Experience facilitating projects and program training is an asset.

Required Language(s) 
Fluency in Ukrainian and English is required.

Professional Certificates

- EOD level 1, 2 or 3 certificate in compliance with IMAS obtained from internationally recognized organization or educational entity is an asset. 

- Other mine action certificates (NTS, TS, EORE, Clearance) in compliance with IMAS obtained from internationally recognized organization or educational entity will be considered as an asset.

Disclaimer

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.   

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

 

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

---