Project Manager

The Council of Europe Office in Kyiv assists the authorities in fulfilling their membership commitments and obligations, supports legislative and other reforms, provides expertise in the Organisation’s fields of competence, develops effective training programmes or implements activities such as thematic campaigns.

Funded within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026, the Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine – Phase II” aims to address urgent needs of major stakeholders and media players in the country. The project’s objective is “Enabling a pluralistic media environment in Ukraine through harmonisation of legal and policy frameworks in line with European standards”.

As a Project Manager, you will :

• ensure the planning, organisation, implementation, and follow up of project activities in accordance with the project workplan, under supervision of the Programme Manager and the Head of Division in the Council of Europe headquarters (HQ) and in co-operation with national partners and stakeholders;
• establish and maintain contacts and working relationships with the representatives of national authorities, members of the Parliament, relevant ministries, audiovisual authorities, public service media, journalists and civil society organisations working in the area of media freedom;
• establish and maintain contacts with counterparts, donors, and other international organisations;
• contribute to the preparation of legal opinions, policy advice, and training programmes, work closely with international and national consultants;
• represent the project at meetings and events; undertake official journeys in connection with your duties;
• oversee administrative matters and manage the financial and human resources allocated to the project;
• contribute to negotiating and concluding contracts with suppliers, consultants and other relevant parties;
• contribute to the development of the next co-operation project in consultation with national partners and stakeholders;
• provide regular and substantive reports and information and conduct assessments on the results achieved and their impact;
• report and regularly update the Division and the leadership of the Council of Europe Office in Kyiv on relevant developments, risks and opportunities; advise on actions to be taken;
• ensure the timely preparation of project reports in accordance with Council of Europe rules and regulations as well as donor requirements.

You must:

• hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree (2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education) in political or social science, international relations, human rights, journalism, or in a related field;
• have a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience related to democracy, media, audiovisual and communications sectors in an international context, as well as experience in managing projects;
• have an excellent knowledge of Ukrainian (first language level) and a very good knowledge of English (one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe);
• be a citizen of the host country or one of the member states of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
• be currently present in Ukraine;
• have discharged any obligation concerning national service (military, civil or comparable);
• not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe;
• be under the age of 65 years.

Your application must demonstrate to what extent you have the competencies listed below. To help you doing so, feel free to consult our competency framework.

• Managerial - Management of teams
• Managerial - Decision making
• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Drafting skills
• Operational - Results orientation

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • knowledge of relevant Council of Europe and other international instruments in the field of freedom of expression and media, countering disinformation, safety of journalism;
  • very good knowledge of Ukraine’s media and audiovisual landscape, ongoing reforms in this area;
  • experience in the management of co-operation projects, including the management of staff and budgetary matters;
  • knowledge of specific project management tools (Project Management Methodology, logframes);
  • good computer skills and use of standard tools in office applications (word processing, spreadsheet, data bases, presentation software, outlook, internet).
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• Interpersonal - Teamwork and co-operation
• Interpersonal - Negotiating
• Interpersonal - Communication

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • management of programmes/projects in the areas of democracy and freedom of expression;
  • experience with policies and practices related to freedom of expression.

This job vacancy is for a local external recruitment based on fixed-term contracts. Employment is limited to 31 December of the current year and may be extended. You can consult the conditions of employment (salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance etc.) on the webpage What we offer.

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page Our recruitment process. This recruitment is carried out in accordance with Rule No. 2/2025 on locally recruited staff members in Duty Stations outside of France. The deadline for applications is indicated in the General information section of this vacancy notice (see above) and is fixed at 23:59:59 (CET/CEST). When applying, make sure your motivation shows how your competencies make your profile the best for the role.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunity policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve gender parity in staff employed in each category and grade. At the time of appointment, preference between suitable people shall be given to the person of the gender which is under-represented in the relevant grades within the category to which the vacancy belongs.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us at talents@coe.int, we will ensure that your request is handled.

The information published on the CoE’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication of the vacancy notice. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process will be updated on our Portal and will apply at the time of the job offer. Our career's website is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. Should you have remaining questions, please contact us at talents@coe.int.