The EU4Reconstruction is looking for a Project Manager to support of Strategic Development of big Cities (more then 150 000 citizens).
Background
The EU4Reconstruction. The European Union (EU), together with Denmark, Germany, France and Lithuania, launched EU4Reconstruction, a €37 million Team Europe Initiative 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 Team Europe Initiative is divided into two parallel and communicating streams; one stream will be composed of GIZ (Lead Organisation) and Expertise France (Partner Organisation) and the other will gather the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Lead Organisation) and CPVA (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), 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.
This assignment concerns specific sub-output of Stream 2 of the EU4Reconstruction programme, namely “Capacities in cities to undertake strategic long- and medium-term planning and monitoring of strategic plans related to reconstruction”.
Ukrainian cities require a comprehensive transformation of their approaches to strategic planning, development management, and performance monitoring. As a result of the war, significant demographic shifts, and growing reconstruction needs, municipalities face challenges that demand professional support to update their strategies, define investment priorities, and modernize governance systems.
There is an urgent need for high-level expert assistance in municipal governance and in ensuring data-driven, professionally structured reconstruction planning aligned with EU standards. Strengthening the strategic capabilities of cities is a key component of the national reform of public investment management and an essential factor for improving the effectiveness of local self-government. This transformation aims to overcome fragmentation
between departments, address weaknesses in management structures, and establish effective mechanisms for coordination and oversight of strategic implementation.
The introduction of modern methods of strategic planning, structured development plans, governance regulations, and monitoring systems will enable cities to form realistic, prioritized, and institutionally aligned reconstruction plans. By applying performance indicators, data-collection tools, and regular progress assessments, city councils will be able to ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with the expectations of citizens, donors, and partners. A well-established system of strategic management will serve as a foundation for trust, efficient resource utilization, and effective implementation of recovery projects.
The position
Title: Project Manager for Strategic Development of municipalities (Project Manager).
Place of service: The EU4Reconstruction office in Kyiv.
Contract: We offer a contract for a fulltime position with the Danish Embassy.
Conditions: A salary according to qualifications and embassy staff policy and a benefit package for embassy staff, including performance bonus, health insurance and five weeks of paid holidays.
Team: Project Manager will report directly to the Team Leader for the Capacity Development of the Municipalities (Team Leader) and will work in close cooperation with other project managers of the EU4Reconstruction Stream 2. Project Manager will lead and coordinate a big group of external experts and contractors supporting strategic development of selected five big municipalities.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain work plans for strategic planning and PIM-related activities, ensuring alignment with EU4Reconstruction objectives and relevant national reforms.
- Coordinate technical assistance to revisit and strengthen planning and prioritisation processes in selected cities to ensure alignment with Public Investment Management (PIM) policy requirements.
- Coordinate analytical work related to the assessment of infrastructure and service needs, ensuring the use of evidence-based approaches.
- Facilitate cross-departmental and cross-institutional coordination of city PIM processes, including cooperation with municipal enterprises.
- Coordinate the work of external experts engaged in strategic planning, PIM alignment, governance assessment, and recovery prioritisation.
- Oversee the implementation and ensure the quality of deliverables produced by experts, consultants, and service providers supporting strategic planning and monitoring functions.
- Conduct procurements, including designing interventions, drafting of the ToRs and starting the procurement under the Danish MFA internal systems.
- Coordinate work of external experts engaged in supporting the capacity development of the municipalities.
- Oversee the implementation and ensure the quality of the deliverables of the experts, consultants and other service providers engaged in providing technical assistance to the Municipalities.
- Collect invoices from service providers, verify compliance with contracts, and ensure timely posting of payments.
- Ensure effective cooperation and information flow between the Team Leader, other project managers in Stream 2 and municipalities.
- Track progress against sub-output indicators and report to the Team Leader and EU4Reconstruction Stream 2 management.
- The person should cooperate and coordinate with the EUACI Integrity City teams on issues of joint interests, including corporate governance and municipal owned enterprises.
Support to municipalities capacity building and institutional development:
- Identify and assess municipal needs related to strategic planning, prioritisation, coordination of governance processes, and the development of monitoring systems.
- Organise technical assistance for the development and updating of long-term development strategies and medium-term investment plans, with a clear focus on reconstruction priorities.
- Coordinate activities aimed at strengthening coordination between municipal departments and municipal enterprises within the implementation of PIM processes.
- Organise training programmes, workshops, capacity-building sessions and peer-to-peer exchanges for municipalities on strategic planning, monitoring, and project portfolio management.
- Engage with national associations of local self-government and Workstream 1 to assess policy options and tools for enhancing strategic planning frameworks.
- Support the development of monitoring systems for strategic documents, including indicators, data-collection mechanisms, and reporting tools.
- Provide policy and technical advice to improve strategic governance, management models, and evidence-based decision-making systems.
The successful candidate has to:
- Be able to work both at a strategic and operational level and define short and long-term assistance to the municipalities.
- Develop work plans, budgets, and resource allocation for the sub-output, ensuring alignment with the overall EU4Reconstruction program document.
- Keep all stakeholders informed about project progress, milestones, and potential challenges, while ensuring a cohesive and integrated approach to project activities.
- Ensure the quality of the work and represent sound values as to procurement and administrative practices in compliance with high Danish MFA standards.
- Contribute to analytical work in the field of strategic planning and implementation of PIM reform on local level.
- Assist with other duties as agreed with the Team Lead.
Qualifications & Experience
- University degree in Economics, Administration, Management, Law or another relevant field.
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience in project management, institutional development, or capacity building within government, local municipalities, international organisations, NGOs, or donor-funded programmes.
- At least 5 years of experience working with local self government.
- Strong skills in strategic planning, policy advice, and development of institutional roadmaps.
- Deep understanding of PIM policy and the practical application of project preparation requirements.
- Experience in developing strategies, investment plans, pre-feasibility/feasibility studies (pre-FS/FS), and monitoring systems will be an advantage.
- Experience in infrastructure, construction, or public investment management, ideally linked to Ukraine’s reconstruction context will be an advantage.
- Strong analytical skills and experience working with indicators, data, and evidence-based approaches.
- Demonstrated analytical, drafting, and reporting abilities, with attention to evidence-based approaches.
- High standards of integrity, professionalism, and commitment to transparency and accountability.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with ability to build trust and foster cooperation among diverse stakeholders.
- Proficiency in Ukrainian and English (both written and spoken).
Apply
Interested candidates should submit their CV with three reference contacts and Motivation Letter in English to [email protected] and cc [email protected], [email protected] before close of business on 12 January 2026 with a subject line: “Project Manager for Strategic Development of municipalities”.