Program Officer

Organization Profile

Around the world, the number of missing persons is rising – as a result of conflict, climate change, organized crime, migration and other causes. By some metrics, the world is experiencing the highest number of conflicts since 1946. Conflict and natural disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes and floods, have fueled migration, which in turn has been accompanied by a surge in human trafficking and slavery.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, is seeking an experienced, dynamic and committed individual to join a highly motivated team working on this global challenge. ICMP's overall strategy is based on upholding international law and securing the rights of families of the missing to truth, justice and reparations.

Ukraine Program

The overarching goal of the ICMP Program in Ukraine is to support the country in accounting for large numbers of missing persons to judicial standards that will make it possible to hold perpetrators of atrocities to account, provide the public with credible information regarding disappeared persons and related crimes, and secure the rights of their families. ICMP's Ukraine Program seeks to achieve the following strategic objectives:

1. Support further development and strengthening of Ukraine's technical capacity for a dedicated and sustainable impartial investigation into missing persons cases, starting with the professional recovery of mortal remains, documentation of the crime scene, determining the cause and manner of death, and testing and matching of family reference and post-mortem samples, and concluding with identifying deceased persons and reuniting families;

2. Support the meaningful participation of Ukraine's civil society and family associations, especially those which are women-led, in the missing persons process to strengthen the state's accountability and secure the rights of families of the missing;

3. Facilitate intergovernmental and in-country cooperation and coordination of efforts among state institutions, civil society, international organizations, and the diplomatic community to address the issue of missing persons in an effective way;

4. Advocate and raise public awareness in Ukraine and among policymakers globally regarding the issue of missing persons, highlighting its indispensable role in security, conflict-prevention, peace building and international justice;

5. Support the strengthening of Ukraine's institutional capacity and legislative framework to account effectively for missing persons and secure the rights of all families of the missing, regardless of circumstances of disappearance, nationality, or any other factor, to truth, justice and reparations.

Program Officer (DC) is responsible for data collection, including genetic reference samples, and data mining of information on missing persons and their family members, and sending samples with proper Chain of Custody to ICMP`s DNA Laboratory in The Hague for DNA extraction. Additionally, under the supervision of the Head of Data Coordination (Ukraine Program), the Program Officer shall work in close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Commissioner on persons missing in special circumstances with regard to case management of foreign nationals who have the status of persons missing in special circumstances.

Reporting to the Head of Data Coordination (Ukraine Program), and working in close coordination with the Head of Data Coordination Division (HQ), the Program Officer (Data Coordination) is based in Kyiv with the following key responsibilities:

• Plan for and collect relevant information on missing persons using ICMP Integrated Data Management System (IDMS) including Online Inquiry Center (OIC).
• Collect genetic reference samples from families of missing persons, supporting the overall locating and identification, if requested.
• Closely cooperate with the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances.
• Manage cases of foreigners who went missing in Ukraine as a result of the full scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
• Design and deliver trainings and facilitate roundtable discussion to support the overall data processing systems and methodologies with a focus on data protection and data privacy.
• Support activities of families of missing persons, family associations and or public institutions and other civil society sectors in processing of information relevant to the missing persons, where it may include information on possible detention locations and other sites of interest, such as individual or mass graves of human remains.
• Together with ICMP Civil Society Initiatives colleagues, identify and lead the design of the data partnership processes with relevant NGO`s and local institutions supporting the overall data processing efforts including the collection and processing of relevant genetic references.
• Support the Communication Officer in the design of the public and media campaigns to support the missing persons reporting process.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Studies in a relevant discipline such as Social Sciences, Data Management or a related discipline.
• At least six years of relevant experience in working on large data sets, data collection and data analysis
• Experience in case management and data collection from conflict -affected population.
• Experience in documentation of human rights violations or working directly with the victims, is desirable.
• Demonstrable conceptual, analytical, documentation and presentation skills, including report writing.
• Experience with an in-depth understanding of the Ukraine conflict and the region is an advantage.
• Prior experience working with international organizations desirable

Other Requirements

• Professional fluency in written and spoken English, Ukrainian and Spanish.
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Teams
• Proven ability to interact positively with colleagues regardless of culture, nationality or gender
• Ability to travel at short notice and to work flexible hours including weekends and evenings
• Commitment to the underlying objective of helping the authorities and families of the missing to account for missing persons in an impartial and transparent manner

Benefits

This is a full-time fixed term position with a competitive base salary at the LES 6 on the ICMP Ukraine salary scale, generous paid leave, and extensive health insurance benefits for the incumbent and any eligible dependent. The position may involve travel to the Netherlands or other locations for official business reasons. For more details, please see the ICMP website.

This position is not eligible for expatriate allowances.

Expected start date: 1 November 2025

Review of applications will begin after the VN closure: 12 September 2025

ICMP is committed to maintaining an environment of mutual respect, where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants. ICMP believes that diversity and inclusion among our staff are critical to our success as a global organization, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented individuals from a thoroughly diverse range of candidates. ICMP is proud to be part of the International Gender Champions network.

ICMP may cancel this recruitment without notice, or may decide to offer a position with different duties and/or contract length.

ICMP does not request payment during any stage of the selection process