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Contract Start Date : e arly 2027, no later than 1 March, 2027 Contract Duration: 1 year Duty Station: Kyiv (Ukraine) with possible travel to Dnipro and Lviv area offices
As a member of the Senior Management Team, reporting directly to the Country Director, the Head of Programmes leads the development and implementation of high-quality programmes in Ukraine, ensuring delivery against scope, time and budget, and overseeing quality management and impact across the portfolio. The role line-manages the Programme Implementation Lead, Technical Advisors and Coordinators, and MEAL Coordinator, while ensuring close cross-departmental coordination. It places particular emphasis on programme quality and strengthening partners’ technical capacities in relevant sectors. Working closely with the Country Director, Programme Development Lead, Partnership Coordinator, Advocacy Advisor and department heads, the Head of Programmes contributes to strategic direction, programme implementation and partnership development.
Your mission
Overall Programme Implementation and Quality
Provide inclusive and cohesive leadership to CARE Ukraine’s programme teams, ensuring coordinated, high-quality implementation in line with the Country Strategy.
Maintain a strong understanding of Ukraine’s social, political and economic context, initiating assessments to identify emerging needs and opportunities for programme expansion.
Ensure projects are delivered on scope, time and budget, with day-to-day oversight delegated to the Program Implementation Lead and technical guidance provided by relevant teams.
Regularly review programme priorities against the Country Strategy, adapting them based on contextual changes, evidence, learning and priorities identified with partners.
Ensure effective coordination between programme implementation, technical teams, MEAL and Program Development to address challenges, strengthen cross-sector integration and inform new initiatives.
Oversee strategic programmes and initiatives, ensuring their contribution to CARE Ukraine’s long-term objectives.
Mainstream gender equality, protection and inclusion across all programmes, ensuring consistent application of CARE’s programme quality standards.
Lead regular programme review meetings covering progress, quality, risks and monitoring findings, ensuring follow-up on agreed actions.
Resolve operational bottlenecks between the Programme Department and other Country and Area Office departments.
Oversight and Management of Programme Implementation and Budget
In collaboration with the SMT, define and oversee an effective, efficient and sustainable programme implementation model, clarifying the roles of CARE and its partners and ensuring appropriate SOPs and systems are in place.
Support the Partnership Coordinator in overseeing partner due diligence, capacity development plans and partnership agreements, ensuring compliance with CARE requirements, including PSEA.
Ensure effective use and follow-up of project management tools, including Detailed Implementation Plans, MEAL Plans and monitoring reports, through the Program Implementation Lead and MEAL Coordinator.
Ensure programmes are responsive to communities, particularly women and girls, and comply with CARE’s principles, values, strategic plans and CI procedures.
Act as overall budget holder for all programmes, delegating day-to-day budget management to the Program Implementation Lead while retaining accountability for expenditure and donor compliance.
Oversee financial forecasting, expenditure monitoring and corrective actions, ensuring budget risks and variances are addressed and resources are aligned with programme priorities, in coordination with Finance and Operations.
Provide direction on significant budget adjustments and resource allocation, and directly oversee specific grants where required.
Programme Quality, Technical Support and Learning
Maintain and adapt CARE Ukraine’s programme quality framework in line with CARE…