Senior Expert on Strategy and Institutional Development for EUACI Partners

General background

The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) is the largest European Union (EU) programme in the area of anti-corruption in Ukraine, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark on behalf of the EU.

The strategic objectives of the EUACI Phase III are: corruption in Ukraine is reduced; Ukraine advances with anti-corruption reform; and reconstruction in war-affected areas of Ukraine is implemented within a framework that incorporates transparency, accountability, and integrity.

One of the key beneficiaries of the EUACI is the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), whose mandate is to administer justice in corruption-related and corruption-linked criminal cases. Another key beneficiary is the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), a prosecutorial authority with the primary mandate to prosecute top-level corruption, including criminal offences committed by senior public and local officials, as well as cases that pose a threat to national security.

In December 2025, both institutions adopted their institutional development strategies for 2026–2028, developed with the support of the EUACI. The strategies aim to strengthen the institutional capacity of SAPO and HACC, enhance the effectiveness of their mandate implementation, increase public trust in their work, and align institutional priorities with Ukraine’s EU integration path. To ensure the effective implementation of these strategies, it is necessary to develop clear implementation indicators, appropriate monitoring tools, and to carry out targeted activities aimed at achieving the strategies’ objectives. The EUACI will support HACC and SAPO in implementing these strategic documents through expert and technical support.

Another important area of EUACI’s work is support aimed at reducing corruption risks in the area of school nutrition. In 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Strategy for Reforming the School Meal System for 2023–2027. One of the key elements of this strategy is the renovation and modernisation of school canteens. In 2024 and 2025, the Government of Ukraine provided a subvention to local communities to support these renovations.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (the Ministry) is responsible for managing this subvention. The School Nutrition Reform Team, supported by Olena Zelenska, works closely with the Ministry. Given the high risks of corruption in construction and public procurement, the Ministry asked EUACI to support the implementation of this programme and help prevent violations and misuse of funds.

EUACI’s support focuses on several practical areas: reviewing project and design documents, analysing public procurement procedures for the renovation of school canteens, and using remote technical monitoring to oversee construction works.

To support the implementation of this large-scale programme, the EUACI has brought together a group of experts and representatives of the School Nutrition Reform to work as a single team. Their task is to help ensure transparent and efficient use of public funds for the purchase of food and related services, such as catering or outsourcing, under the planned UAH 1 billion subvention for school canteen modernisation in 2026. To strengthen the work of this group, EUACI plans to engage a Senior Expert on Strategy and Institutional Development to conduct capacity-building sessions and support better coordination, planning, and long-term results.

Objectives

Overall objective: the activity contributes to Objective 1: Anti-corruption institutions perform according to their mandate with enhanced effectiveness and improved track record, and to Objective 2: Improved anti-corruption framework for integrity of the reconstruction process in Ukraine, by supporting the implementation of institutional development measures within HACC, SAPO, and EUACI’s Expert Group on School Canteen Reform. Sub-objective: The specific objective is to support the effective implementation, coordination, and monitoring of institutional development activities of the EUACI partners, including capacity-building actions and implementation-focused coordination sessions.

Scope of work

The scope of work of the service provider shall consist of the following specific tasks:

1. Assist HACC and SAPO in developing and applying implementation indicators and monitoring tools for their Institutional Development Strategies. These tools should define indicators’ baselines and target values for the 2026–2028 period, and practical templates for tracking implementation progress.;
2. Support and coordinate the implementation of selected measures under the Institutional Development Strategies of HACC and SAPO, including the preparation of annual implementation plans for 2026 and 2027 and provision of ongoing advisory support during implementation. Similar support may be provided to other EUACI partners, if required and agreed with EUACI;
3. Prepare and facilitate coordination meetings and events aimed at achieving partners’ strategic objectives, including coordination sessions related to strategy implementation and institutional development, preparation of agendas and background materials, facilitation of discussions, and documentation of agreed follow-up actions;
4. Prepare and facilitate capacity-building and strategic events for EUACI’s expert group working on school canteen reform, including sessions focused on strategic management, coordination, and implementation planning;
5. Prepare and facilitate trainings and capacity building activities for the EUACI team related to strategic planning, results-based management (RBM), stakeholder engagement, and related topics, upon request;
6. Carry out other institutional and strategic development activities for EUACI national partners, as requested by EUACI, including preparation of concept notes and Terms of Reference (ToRs) for selected sub-projects aimed at achieving institutional development objectives.

Deliverables

Qualifications

The key qualifications of the Expert shall include the following:

• A relevant education up to Master’s degree level, or an academic qualification demonstrating the ability to perform the specified duties and responsibilities.
• At least 5 years of experience in capacity building or institutional strategy development and implementation planning for law enforcement, anti-corruption agencies, or similar institutions in Ukraine.
• At least 5 years of experience in the fields of rule of law, good governance, and, preferably, anti-corruption in Ukraine.
• Fluency in written and spoken Ukrainian and good English skills an advantage.

Budget, timeframe, and location

The intended commencement date is the date of signature of the contract by both parties and the period of implementation of the contract will be up to 1 November 2026, with a minimum of 4 days per month and max for 10 days, starting from February 2026 – October 2026.

The assignment may be implemented remotely, with periodic in-person meetings with partners in Kyiv, as required.

Allocation of working days for specific activities has to be approved by the EUACI before work is carried out.

Reporting and management

The performance of the Service Provider 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 Service Provider 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 Service Provider agrees to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents (“confidential information”) disclosed to the Service Provider or discovered by the Service Provider or prepared by the Service Provider 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 Service Provider 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 22 February 2026 18:00 Kyiv time.

All interested candidates should submit:

• CV indicating relevant experience in strategic institutional development;
• Financial offer, including daily fee and number of days in total and per month that expert is ready to dedicate to this activity.

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 “Senior Expert on Strategy and Institutional Development for Anti-Corruption Institutions”.

In case the submitted documentation does not live up to what is requested above, the bid will not be considered.

You should 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 16 February 2026 2025 17:00 Kyiv time.

Please note that the name of the winner will be published on the website of the EUACI.

Evaluation criteria

Bids will be evaluated under the criteria provided below: