Project Officer - Ukraine Response

About this role

War Child is looking for a:
Project Officer
Coordinates project delivery, strengthens partner collaboration and ensures activities reach children, caregivers and communities on time and within budget.

The Project Officer supports the delivery of War Child’s Ukraine projects, which are funded primarily by private donors and foundations, from the signature of the agreement with the local partner through to project closure. The role is responsible for day-to-day coordination of assigned projects, for tracking activities and expenditure against approved plans and budgets, and for timely narrative reporting, working with the Finance and MEAL teams on financial and indicator reporting. Through this contribution, the role helps ensure that activities delivered by partners and by War Child reach children, caregivers and communities on time, within budget and in line with agreed commitments.

• Support project start-up: Support the start-up of assigned projects, including preparation of partner agreements, kick-off meetings, work plans and budget breakdowns, and a shared understanding of deliverables, timelines and reporting obligations.

• Coordinate day-to-day implementation: Coordinate the day-to-day implementation of assigned projects together with partners and internal teams, maintaining work plans, following up on agreed actions and keeping delivery on schedule.

• Track activities and expenditure: Maintain trackers of planned and completed activities and of budget utilisation, and flag delays, deviations and under- or over-spend to the line manager and relevant teams in good time.

• Prepare narrative reporting: Draft, compile and finalise narrative reports and donor updates, gathering inputs from partners and internal colleagues and ensuring accuracy, consistency and adherence to deadlines. Reports are submitted to donors through the line manager rather than directly.

• Support financial and indicator reporting: Work with the Finance and MEAL teams to compile financial and indicator reporting, checking that partner reports, supporting documentation and data are complete, consistent and submitted on time.

• Support partners and day-to-day compliance: Act as a day-to-day contact for local partner organisations, support them in meeting agreed administrative, reporting and compliance requirements, and escalate risks, capacity gaps and safeguarding concerns promptly.

• Organise activity components: Organise and support the practical delivery of components of War Child activities, including scheduling, logistics, participant and material arrangements and follow-up documentation. Prepare and follow up on procurement requests using the organisation’s standard templates, with support from the Project Assistant.

• Maintain project documentation: Maintain complete and well-organised project files, including agreements, amendments, approvals, reports and correspondence, in line with organisational documentation and archiving standards.

• Support project closure: Support the closure of assigned projects, including final narrative reporting, reconciliation of activities and expenditure with the Finance team, closure of partner agreements and documentation of lessons learned.

Education
• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, international relations, management, development studies, public administration or another relevant field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Additional training in project management, grant administration or humanitarian programming is desirable.

Experience
• At least two years of relevant professional experience in project coordination, project support or grant administration, preferably within a non-governmental, humanitarian or development organisation.

• Experience supporting the full project cycle, including work planning, activity tracking, reporting and closure.

• Experience drafting narrative reports or donor updates in English.

• Experience tracking budgets and expenditure against work plans in cooperation with finance colleagues.

• Experience working with, or providing support to, local partner organisations or sub-grantees is an advantage.

• Experience organising trainings, workshops or community events, including the related logistical and administrative arrangements.

• Experience working in humanitarian, conflict-affected or rapidly changing contexts is desirable.

• Familiarity with child protection, MHPSS, education or social service programming is an advantage.

Languages
• Fluency in spoken and written Ukrainian.

• Professional working proficiency in English, sufficient to draft narrative reports and communicate with international colleagues and donors.

(Technical) Knowledge
• Practical knowledge of project cycle management, including work plans, activity tracking, reporting cycles and project closure.

• Basic understanding of donor requirements and of the differences in expectations between private and institutional donors.

• Budget literacy: ability to read a project budget, follow budget lines and track expenditure against plan in cooperation with Finance.

• Understanding of partner-led implementation, including sub-agreements, partner reporting and supporting documentation.

• Awareness of child protection and MHPSS programming approaches and of the role of implementing partners in delivering them.

• Understanding of safeguarding, PSEA, do-no-harm and confidentiality, including informed consent and data protection when collecting content involving children and communities.

• Awareness of the Core Humanitarian Standard and accountability to affected populations.

• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office, and of collaboration platforms such as SharePoint and Teams.

• Location : Ukraine. Preference is given to applicants who reside and have valid working permits. War Child does not offer relocation or visa sponsorship.

• Type of Contract : Local contract with salary and secondary labour conditions based on the…