Senior Infrastructure Project Manager for SARDI |  EU4Reconstruction Stream 2 

General background 

EU4Reconstruction. The European Union (EU), together with Denmark, Germany, France and Lithuania, launched EU4Reconstruction, a €37 million Team Europe Initiative (TEI) that unites the strength, experience and solidarity of the EU to support Ukraine’s ongoing recovery and reconstruction. 

The initiative aims to strengthen governance, improve public investment management, and enhance coordination across levels of government, with a strong emphasis on EU values. The TEI is divided in two parallel streams; one stream is composed of GIZ (Lead Organisation) and Expertise France (Partner Organisation) and the other gathers the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Lead Organisation) and Central Project Management Agency (Partner Organisation). 

EU4Reconstruction will reinforce the leadership of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, strengthen the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure (SARDI or Agency), empower local governments to manage reconstruction professionally and sustainably, and support civil society and independent media to play an active role in oversight, ensuring public trust and reducing corruption risks. 

The Programme will strengthen the policy dialogue around reconstruction and recovery and will focus in particular on the governance of public investment management, public infrastructure management at national, regional and local levels and how to link this with necessary capacity development to make the system work. Part of this process will ensure that the stakeholders in the programme and their policy and regulatory setup are prepared for EU accession. This will, in particular, ensure resources are allocated effectively, transparently, accountably and with broad inclusion in infrastructure planning and execution, reflecting the subsidiarity principle. 

Denmark together with Lithuania implements Stream 2 of the EU4Reconstruction programme aimed at strengthening the capacity of the SARDI and its subordinated entities to act as contracting authority and Project Implementation Unit for major reconstruction projects. 

This assignment concerns Output 2 of Stream 2 of the EU4Reconstruction: “SARDI has the capacity to operate as a transparent, efficient, and EU-compliant institution, effectively managing sustainable and accountable reconstruction efforts”. 

SARDI and its ecosystem. SARDI was established by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, dated 13 January 2023. It was created through the renaming of the State Road Agency of Ukraine and the merger with the State Agency for Infrastructure Projects. 

SARDI is structured around a central authority in Kyiv and a broad network of regional and subordinate entities, including 24 Regional Offices for Restoration and Infrastructure Development (the SARDI ecosystem). 

SARDI is currently responsible for prioritisation, planning and implementation of road infrastructure projects, as well as implementation of other reconstruction projects delegated by the Cabinet of Ministers. 

In the context of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, SARDI is expected to play a central role in the preparation, prioritisation, and implementation of complex state and regional infrastructure projects financed from both national and international sources. This requires a step change in institutional capacity, particularly in the application of modern project management, risk management, and public investment management practices aligned with EU standards. 

At present, SARDI faces the dual challenge of delivering priority recovery projects under tight timeframes while simultaneously transforming its internal systems, procedures, and competencies in line with the Government’s reform agenda and EU accession requirements. Addressing these challenges necessitates hands-on senior-level expertise that combines operational support for live projects with the transfer of international best practices and sustainable capacity building across the Agency and its regional offices. 

In view of the above, the Agency – supported by the EU4Reconstruction – seeks for a Senior Infrastructure Project Manager for SARDI to support SARDI, who will be embedded within the Agency and refer to SARDI deputy head responsible for international relations. 

The Senior Infrastructure Project Manager will work in close collaboration and coordinate work of Project Manager for Recovery Projects engaged by the EU4Reconstruction under a separate arrangement. The coordinated work of the experts shall allow combining experience, knowledge and resources to more effectively support the recovery and infrastructure development projects. 

Objective 

The objective of the assignment is to find an experienced Senior Infrastructure Project Manager to help SARDI increase its institutional capacity and provide capacity building for SARDI in design and implement priority state and regional infrastructure projects in line with strategic task of the Government, while bringing closer to EU standards through: 

1. Facilitating implementation of international project management standards within the Agency; 
2. Development and implementation a recovery project risk management system. 
3. Supporting PIM reform implementation. 
4. Transformation of the system of preparation and management of infrastructure projects 

Scope of work 

The scope of work of the assignment includes different tasks, including, but not necessarily limited to: 

1. Support SARDI deputy head during supervision of preparation and implementation of recovery projects. 
2. Develop proposals for the implementation of international standards for project management in SARDI ecosystem, including relevant guidelines and instructions, and promote of their use in the Agency. 
3. Design and support a unified project management system for infrastructure projects across SARDI and its RORs, define standards, procedures, and tools for planning, implementation, monitoring, and closure of projects. 
4. Design and implement a risk management framework in recovery projects, including risk registers and mitigation plans in SARDI; support with integration checkpoints into project workflows. 
5. Support public investment management (PIM) reform implementation in SARDI ecosystem. 
6. Design and implementation of capacity building activities for SARDI central office and regional units, including on-the-job mentoring, workshops, and peer-learning sessions in the field of infrastructure project management. 
7. Provide advisory support for integrating best practices of project management into SARDI strategy and transformation roadmap. 
8. Coordinate work of Project Manager for Recovery Projects; 
9. Ensuring close engagement and coordination with the EU4Reconstruction team. 
10. Performing other related tasks as required. 

Deliverables 

It is expected that the Consultant will demonstrate tangible progress through the implementation of agreed activities and deliver as detailed below: 

1. Organization and participation in up to 24 project management meetings, with action notes and follow up correspondence with stakeholders. 
2. Monitoring and regular briefing notes for the SARDI Deputy Head on the status of recovery projects (key issues, risks, decisions required); 
3. Analytical note comparing relevant international project management standards and their applicability to SARDI; 
4. Practical documents (guidelines, instructions, recommendations etc) for applying international project management standards within the SARDI ecosystem aligned with EU accession requirements; support during documents adoption at SARDI; 
5. Practical documents (guidelines, instructions, recommendations etc) for risk management framework for recovery projects implementation; support during documents adoption at SARDI; 
6. At least two analytical briefs demonstrating alignment of SARDI projects development and management with EU standards and PIM reform. 
7. Reviews and inputs to the SARDI institutional transformation roadmap to implement project management best practices; 
8. Structured training on infrastructure project management and risk management delivered; relevant training material prepared; 
9. Coaching and mentoring to SARDI deputy Head and other top officials on complex recovery projects; 
10. Final report outlining key activities performed, results achieved and recommendations for further interventions. 

Written deliverables should be in Ukrainian, unless otherwise specifically indicated herein or agreed with the EU4Reconstruction. Deliverables should be translated into English upon request of the Agency / EU4Reconstruction. 

Qualification 

The contract will be awarded to the expert meeting the following criteria: 

General qualifications: 

1. Master’s degree in Economics and Finance, Public Policy, Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Management, or related field. 
2. Minimum 10 years of professional experience in project management, preferably with a focus on attracting international investments, infrastructure and construction. 
3. At least 5 years in senior/project lead roles with public authorities or donor programs. 
4. Proven experience working with EU, World Bank, EBRD, or similar donor frameworks will be an asset. 

Adequacy for the assignment: 

1. Experience with digital PPM tools, GIS will be an asset. 
2. Sectoral expertise in roads, energy, water, or multi‑sector reconstruction will be an asset. 
3. Strong stakeholder management, facilitation, and negotiation skills. 
4. High integrity, transparency, and results-orientation. 
5. Excellent analytical, reporting, and communication skills. 

Experience with the region and languages: 

1. Practical experience working in Ukraine. 
2. Fluency in Ukrainian and English (written and spoken). 

Budget, timeframe, and location 

The maximum budget available for this assignment is EUR 32,000 (inclusive of all applicable expenses and taxes). 

Payments to the Consultant shall be done on a monthly basis against Consultant’s timesheet and invoice for the respective period. Payments shall be based on the actual days worked, the agreed daily fee rate, and the expenses occurred by the Consultant during the period (if any). Payments will require verification of completion of deliverables and approval of the Consultant’s timesheets and expense outlay by the Project Manager for Strategic Development of the SARDI. Travel costs and other reimbursable costs will only be accepted if they are in compliance with the guidelines in the contract. 

The intended commencement date is the date of signature of the contract with the Consultant and the period of implementation of the contract will be 8 months, with a start in February 2026. The assignment includes up to 168 working days per full term of the Contract (up to 21 working days per month). 

The expert is expected to work from the premises of the Agency with possible business travels in Ukraine. 

Reporting and management 

The performance of the Consultant 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 Consultant 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. 

Senior Expert will report to the Project Manager for Strategic Development of the SARDI, who will review / approve deliverables indicated above. 

The Expert will work in close coordination with SARDI Deputy Head responsible for international relations and relevant SARDI departments. The Senior Infrastructure Project Manager will work in close collaboration and coordinate work of Project Manager for Recovery Projects engaged by the EU4Reconstruction under a separate arrangement. Regular planning and reporting sessions with the representative of the Agency and EU4Reconstruction are expected. 

How to apply 

The deadline for submitting the proposal is 26 February 2026, 18:00 Kyiv time. 

All interested candidates should submit the following documents in English: 

• Completed Annex 1, including: CV for Key staff (Section 3), Supplier’s Technical Proposal / Methodology (Section 4) and Workplan (Sections 5) 

• Financial offer (Annex 2, forms 1 and 2) in EUR, including daily fee and other related expenses (taxes, if applicable), with calculation of maximum 168 working days. 

If these documents are not submitted in line with the requirements 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: “Senior Infrastructure Project Manager for SARDI [your surname and name]”. 

Bidding language: English. 

Any clarification questions regarding the terms of reference should be addressed to [email protected] cc to [email protected], not later than 19 February 2026, 18-00 Kyiv time. 

Evaluation criteria 

Read all details: TOR for Senior Infrastructure Project Manager for SARDI.