Project Officer, Gender - Ukraine

Context

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance — International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization of 35 member states, with a mission to support sustainable democracy worldwide. The Institute pursues this mission by providing comparative knowledge to reform-makers, assisting in conceptualizing and implementing democratic reforms, and influencing policies and politics at national and global levels. International IDEA shares comparative knowledge and supports policy reforms in the following key thematic areas: electoral processes, constitution building, political participation and representation, and democracy assessments. It also addresses the important issues of gender, diversity, and conflict and security as they relate to democracy.

International IDEA has a mandate to support democracy worldwide. Since its establishment in 1995, the Institute has sought to fulfil this mandate by incrementally expanding its geographic footprint. Increasing demand for the Institute´s support in countries in Europe, coupled with key developments that have highlighted the weakness of democratic institutions in some European countries, has motivated the Institute to establish a Regional Europe Programme (REP).

The REP has a strategic objective to support democracy in Europe, with an emphasis on Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. In Ukraine, International IDEA aims to support state and civil society organisations in enhancing the resilience and quality of democratic institutions and processes. Key areas of our engagement relate to electoral processes and political finance, parliamentary strengthening, and promoting the expertise and capacity of civil society organisations to participate in decision-making processes. To date, the programme has supported important reforms in the fields of the integrity of elections and political finance, constitutional review and reform processes, local and regional democracy assessments. It has delivered this support through country and regional projects.

International IDEA is currently looking to expand its programming in Ukraine. The Programme’s key areas of focus are provision of support to parliamentary strengthening and to enhancing electoral integrity; other areas of work may include activities to foster greater civic engagement in democratic processes, support to strengthening the culture of constitutionalism, digitalization, promotion of gender equality and women’s participation in political and public life.

The Project Officer, Gender provides gender and inclusion advisory support, contribute to the monitoring, evaluation and learning, ensures gender mainstreaming of all project interventions, and contributes to institutional cooperation processes with state authorities. The incumbent will provide subject matter expertise and technical oversight to ensure successful implementation of multiple Ukraine activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

 • Advises programme teams on the integration of gender-responsive, intersectional, and results-based approaches across the full programme cycle, including design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning;

• Serves as a subject-matter expert, providing technical leadership, quality assurance, and strategic guidance to support effective implementation and evidence-based decision-making;

• Supports the systematic integration of gender equality and social inclusion principles into project design and implementation, including the development and application of gender analyses and gender action plans;

• Provides technical guidance on gender sensitive approaches, including the identification of gender related risks, mitigation measures, and opportunities to strengthen gender outcomes;

• Drafts and reviews project documents, terms of reference, and outputs to ensure gender responsiveness and compliance with organizational gender policies and relevant international standards;

• Consolidates gender inputs for donor and corporate reporting, including tracking delivery against gender commitments;

• Reviews and analyzes donor policies, national legislation, and institutional frameworks through a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) lens to ensure alignment with international standards and commitments;

• Contributes to monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) processes, including data collection, analysis, and preparation of MEL reports in line with donor requirements, and uses monitoring and evaluation findings to inform adaptive management, programme improvement, and accountability;

• Leads and contributes to gender and MEL analyses related to elections, democratic governance, political participation, and public administration;

• Supports effective collaboration with public authorities by generating evidence-based, gender-sensitive findings, lessons learned, and srecommendations to inform policy development and programmatic decision-making;

• Provides guidance, capacity-building, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) support to programme staff, consultants, and partners on gender equality, women’s political participation, and inclusive governance.

• Works closely with state institutions, electoral bodies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to design, implement, and strengthen gender-responsive monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks for democratic processes;

• Contributes to the collection, analysis, and use of sex-disaggregated and inclusion-focused data to assess progress on gender equality, women’s political empowerment, and inclusive governance outcomes;

• Contributes to the development, delivery, and assessment of trainings, workshops, and knowledge products on gender and democracy-related issues, ensuring learning is captured and applied to improve programme quality;

• Supports internal coordination by contributing gender and MEL expertise to planning, decision-making, and adaptive management processes;

• Represents International IDEA in meetings, consultations, and working groups related to monitoring, evaluation, learning, and results-based management, ensuring that gender equality and inclusion are systematically integrated.

General Profile

 • Demonstrates strong expertise in Gender Equality and Social Inclusion to provide practical, solution-oriented programmatic advice.

• Possesses sound judgment and the ability to operate effectively in complex institutional and regulatory environments.

• Works collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and external stakeholders to design, implement, and assess initiatives.

• Can be expected to travel to any geographical area involved in their projects, including to support election-related activities as required; Acts in accordance with International IDEA’s core values Respect, Integrity and Professionalism;

• Integrates gender equality, diversity, and social inclusion (GEDSI) considerations into all tasks and activities, in alignment with the Institute’s Core Values and commitment to the GEDSI policy.

Reporting line

 • Programme Manager, Ukraine.

Education and Experience

 • University degree in social science or related discipline;

• Minimum five (5) years of relevant professional experience working on donor funded projects in the field of gender equality, gender mainstreaming, and/or GESI integration in democratic governance and elections;

• Experience in the development of MEL plans, data collection, analysis, reporting, and use of MEL findings for adaptive management;

• Demonstrated experience in writing reports, knowledge products and reporting under a Results Based Management (RBM) system;

• Experience of working in an international context, e.g. in an intergovernmental organization, considered an advantage;

• Experience in networking and communicating with different stakeholders such as government, public institutions, electoral bodies, UN, NGOs and other organizations is considered an advantage.

Terms of Contract:

• Local Post.

• Fixed term appointment for Two (2) years.

• Remuneration - USD 3,006 Gross per month

Please note as this is a local post, International IDEA will bear no costs relating to the relocation of the selected candidate to the duty station. This position is open to those legally authorized to live and work in Ukraine for the duration of the contract. International IDEA is not able to support work permit applications. 

Use of AI in Recruitment
International IDEA places strong emphasis on human input in recruitment. Candidates must disclose any use of AI tools. All application materials, written assessments, and interview responses (as applicable) must be entirely human-generated and reflect the candidate’s own knowledge, skills, and experience. The use of AI to generate content or misrepresent qualifications is not permitted. AI‑powered assistive technologies (such as screen readers or speech‑to‑text tools) may be used for accessibility purposes to ensure equal access to the recruitment process.

Applying for this position:

• Applications should be submitted online no later than 23:59 (CET) 13 April 2026. 

• Please note that all applications must be made in English.

Selection Process:

• Evaluation of qualified candidates will include a written test assessment and up to two (2) interviews.

• Candidates selected to proceed to the next stage of the process will be contacted once all applications have been carefully reviewed.

• All candidates will be notified of the status of their application via email once the process has been finalized.

Due to the anticipated volume of applications, International IDEA will review applications on a rolling basis, and the vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. Applicants are therefore encouraged to apply early.

International IDEA is an equal-opportunity employer which seeks to further diversify its staff in terms of gender, culture and nationality.