Legal Analyst(s) to the Secretariat Supporting the Selection Competition for the Position of the Deputy Head of the SAPO (six positions)

General background

The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) is the European Union’s technical support program in the area of anti-corruption in Ukraine, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark. The overall objective of the EUACI is to achieve significant progress in preventing and countering corruption, ensuring the coherence and systemic anti-corruption activities of state and local self-government bodies, and to empower civil society and citizens to contribute to the combatting of corruption, as well as the proper process of Ukraine’s post-war recovery. The program runs till April 2027.

One of the beneficiaries of the EUACI is the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Established in 2015 and reconstituted as a separate legal entity in 2024, SAPO is a prosecutorial agency with a primary mandate to prosecute top-level corruption, including criminal offences committed by senior public and local officials and cases that threaten national security. The Law “On the Prosecution Service” determines SAPO’s status, mandate, powers, and organization, while the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine defines its investigative jurisdiction.

In accordance with the Law on the Prosecutor’s Service, the organisation and conduct of the competition for the positions of Deputy Prosecutor General – SAPO Head, First Deputy Head, and Deputy Head of SAPO are carried out by the Selection Commission (hereinafter – the Selection Commission) that consists of six members:

• three persons appointed by the Prosecutor General based on proposals from the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine, and
• three persons appointed by the Prosecutor General based on proposals from international and foreign organisations that, in accordance with international or intergovernmental agreements, have been providing Ukraine with international technical assistance in the field of preventing and combating corruption over the past three years.

Following the voluntary resignation of Deputy Head of SAPO Andriy Syniuk on 14 November 2025, a vacancy arose for this position. Accordingly, on 19 March 2026, the Selection Commission was established, primarily to conduct the competition for the position of Deputy Head of SAPO. The upcoming selection of the Deputy Head of SAPO will be the first application of substantially reformed rules provided by Law No. 3509-IX, adopted in December 2023, as part of the IMF and the EU conditionalities.

In accordance with Article 29-1 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Prosecutor’s Service”, the financing and logistical support of the activities of the Selection Commission and its members, including the Secretariat established to assist in their work, may be provided through international technical assistance.

Given the high volume of information and the complexity of legal issues arising from the selection process, it is essential to ensure comprehensive and high-quality legal support for work of Selection Commission members.

Objective

The objective of this assignment is to support the Selection Commission in conducting an effective, transparent, and merit-based selection process for the position of the Deputy Head of SAPO by providing high-quality legal and analytical support for the Selection Commission and its members, in accordance with Article 29-1(3) of the Law of Ukraine “On the Public Prosecution Service,” through the engagement of a Secretariat established to assist the Commission in its work.

Legal Analysts shall assist the Selection Commission through legal analysis of applicable legislation and procedures, preparation of analytical and background materials, and support to integrity and compliance checks, while fully respecting and safeguarding the independence, impartiality, and decision-making autonomy of the Selection Commission members throughout the selection process.

Scope of work

The role of the Legal Analyst(s) is to support the Selection Commission for the selection of the Deputy Head of SAPO by facilitating integrity and background checks of candidates and providing legal and analytical support necessary for the conduct of a transparent, lawful, and merit-based selection process.

The Legal Analyst(s) shall perform their tasks under the coordination of the Coordinator of the Secretariat and in accordance with the instructions of the Selection Commission, while fully respecting and safeguarding the independence, impartiality, and decision-making autonomy of the Commission.

The Legal Analyst is expected to:

• Provide legal support in drafting of the Rules of Procedure, methodology, evaluation criteria, competition announcement, and other relevant documents, upon request of the Selection Commission.
• Carry out integrity and background checks of candidates for the position of Deputy Head of SAPO, including but not limited to analysis of asset declarations, relevant open-source information, media reports, court registers, and information provided by competent authorities or third parties, as requested by the Selection Commission.
• Prepare individual candidate portfolios, including structured summaries of integrity-related findings and identified risks, for submission to the Selection Commission (the number of candidates to be defined by the Commission).
• Draft individual integrity questionnaires for candidates, collect, systematise, and analyse candidates’ responses, and prepare analytical summaries for consideration by the Selection Commission.
• Conduct preliminary legal analysis of candidates’ compliance with statutory eligibility requirements and prepare analytical notes for the Selection Commission, as requested.
• Provide legal and analytical support to the Coordinator of the Secretariat, including drafting of letters, responses to requests, internal memoranda, briefing notes, and other documents related to the selection process.
• Support the Secretariat in responding to information requests from state bodies, international partners, or other stakeholders, within the mandate of the Selection Commission, if requested by the Selection Commission.
• Participate in meetings of the Selection Commission, working groups, or briefings, if requested, and provide analytical or legal clarifications within their area of responsibility.
• Draft memoranda of understanding or other legal instruments, as instructed, to facilitate lawful information exchange between the Selection Commission and third parties.
• Assist in identifying potential legal, procedural, or integrity-related risks associated with the selection process and inform the Coordinator of the Secretariat and Selection Commission members thereof.
• Support compliance of the selection process with the Law of Ukraine “On the Public Prosecution Service”, relevant secondary legislation, and applicable procedural rules.
• Ensure proper documentation, confidentiality, and data protection of all materials processed within the scope of their work.
• Perform other tasks related to the facilitation of the selection process, as defined by the Selection Commission within its mandate.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

In carrying out these duties, the Legal Analyst(s) shall ensure strict protection and confidentiality of any personal data, sensitive information, or restricted materials obtained in the course of work. Such information shall be used solely for the purpose of fulfilling responsibilities related to the SAPO Deputy Head selection process and shall not be disclosed or used for any other purpose.

Deliverables

The Legal Analyst(s) shall ensure the timely delivery of the following outputs during the term of the Selection Commission:

• Individual candidate integrity portfolios, including structured summaries of findings based on asset declarations, open-source information, and data received from competent authorities or third parties, prepared in accordance with the instructions of the Selection Commission.
• Integrity questionnaires and analytical summaries requested by the Selection Commission.
• Consolidated analytical summaries of candidates’ responses for submission to the Selection Commission.
• Preliminary legal and analytical notes assessing candidates’ compliance with statutory eligibility requirements, prepared upon request of the Selection Commission or the Coordinator of the Secretariat.
• Drafts or contributions to internal regulation documents, competition announcement, and other procedural documents, as requested by the Selection Commission.
• Draft letters, responses to requests, memoranda, briefing notes, and other legal or analytical documents prepared in support the Selection Commission.
• Draft memoranda of understanding or other legal instruments to facilitate lawful information exchange with third parties, as instructed.
• Analytical briefs or legal clarifications prepared for meetings of the Selection Commission, working groups, or briefings, if requested.
• Inputs identifying potential legal, procedural, or integrity-related risks relevant to the selection process, communicated to the Coordination of the Secretariat and Selection Commission.
• Properly organised, documented, and confidential handling of all materials processed within the scope of the assignment, in line with data protection and confidentiality requirements.
• A brief summary note outlining the Legal Analyst(s)’ contribution to the selection process and key procedural steps supported, prepared upon completion of the assignment.

Qualifications

1. Key qualifications:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Law, International Relations, Public Administration, or Political Science is desirable.

• At least 5 years of experience with a focus on legal writing, research, and analysis.

2. Adequacy for the assignment

• Previous engagement with international projects in the sphere of law enforcement/judicial/ anti-corruption reform would be considered an advantage.

• Previous experience in selection processes will be considered as an asset.

• Skills to conduct information search in databases and analyse other online resources to produce balanced and credible situation descriptions based on multiple data sources.

• Respect for deadlines.

• Ability to work under pressure and extra hours if necessary.

3. Experience with the region and languages

• Language: Fluency in written and spoken English (CEFR level B2) and Ukrainian C1 is a must.

Budget, timeframe, and location

Payments to the Consultant shall be made on a monthly basis against Consultant’s timesheet and invoice for the respective period. Payments shall be based on the actual days worked and the agreed daily fee rate.

The intended commencement date is the date of signature of the contract with the Consultant, and the period of implementation will be up to 7 months, commencing in April 2026. The assignment includes up to 45 working days per full term of the Contract.

The expert is expected to work online and offline in Kyiv.

Reporting and management

The performance of the Contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the section “Objective” and “Deliverables” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the Contractor will be judged upon the successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated in Section “Scope of work” of this document

By signing the contract, the Consultant agrees to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents (“confidential information”) disclosed to the Consultant or discovered by the Consultant or prepared by the Consultant in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contract, and agrees that it shall be used only for the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party. The Consultant also agrees not to retain copies of any written information or prototypes in its archive and for its use.

How to apply

The deadline for submitting the proposal is the end of the day on 26 April 2026.

All interested candidates should submit:

• Experts’ CV, not more than 3 pages
• Financial offer, including daily fee
• Brief description of the integrity check methodology, based on previous professional experience, outlining the key steps, sources of information, and analytical approach used in conducting integrity and background checks of candidates (up to 3 pages).

If these documents are not submitted in line with the request above, the bid will not be considered.

The proposal shall include the aforementioned information and should be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected] cc to [email protected] indicating the subject line: Legal Analyst for SAPO Deputy Head selection process.

You will receive an auto-reply from the [email protected] mailbox when the offer has been received. If you do not receive an auto-reply, your offer was not received and you should contact the EUACI by phone.

Bidding language: English.

Any clarification questions regarding the terms of reference should be addressed to [email protected], not later than 20 April 2026, 17:00 Kyiv time.

Evaluation criteria