Protection and GBV Advisor

Location: 

Kyiv, Ukraine 

Contract duration 

Six months with a possibility of extension (02/11/2026 – 30/04/2027)

Contract Type: 

Service contract/ Full time (100%) 

Open to: 

National and international candidates 

Salary: 

2,800 EUR

Reporting to: 

Head of Programs 

Technical supervision: 

Protection and GBV Coordinator 

About ActionAid

ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice. ActionAid Eastern Europe’s Regional Office was established in Kyiv in 2022 and works through local partner organisations, prioritising women’s rights and leadership, young people’s leadership, civil society development, protection of at-risk groups and marginalised communities, and humanitarian assistance.

Role purpose

The Protection and GBV Advisor is a senior technical role providing strategic direction, external coordination and technical leadership for ActionAid Eastern Europe’s protection and GBV programming in Ukraine, with particular emphasis on ActionAid’s responsibilities as lead of the ECHO consortium.

Working closely with the Protection and GBV Coordinator, consortium partners and programme leadership, the Advisor will shape the protection response strategy and oversee its application across different protection and GBV activities, delivered by ActionAid and partners. The role will lead on technical standards, quality assurance, monitoring, and technical supervision and support to partners.

The Advisor will closely follow developments on the ground and work with the AA team, partners and other relevant stakeholders to identify protection risks, unmet needs and service gaps to inform programme adaptations and proposal development, ensuring that ActionAid’s strategy and response remain relevant to evolving needs.

The role will promote feminist, rights-based, survivor-centred and community-led approaches, building on partners’ expertise and strengthening their existing systems.

Working relationships and scope

The Advisor will provide technical supervision to the Protection and GBV Coordinator, who leads implementation of the Community-Based Protection (CBP) component, and provide technical support and oversight to consortium partners. The Advisor will work closely with the Head of Programs, the ECHO Consortium Coordinator, MEAL Coordinator and other relevant functional teams. The Advisor will lead strategic direction, external technical coordination and quality assurance, while providing technical guidance to the Protection and GBV Coordinator on day-to-day CBP implementation, practical partner engagement, activity coordination and operational follow-up.

Key responsibilities

1. Protection strategy, needs analysis and programme development

• Lead the development and regular review of ActionAid’s protection response strategy in Ukraine, with particular attention to the ECHO protection consortium and feminist, community-led approaches. 
• Work closely with the Protection and GBV Coordinator and partners to translate strategic priorities into intervention plans, referral arrangements and technical support priorities, and oversee their application.
• Closely monitor and analyze evolving protection risks, needs and barriers to assistance through community engagement, partner observations, assessments, field monitoring, research and coordination forums; use the findings to recommend changes to activities, target groups, locations and referral pathways, and assess whether these changes address identified gaps.
• Guide protection needs assessments and analysis with partners and MEAL colleagues, applying an intersectional approach to capture risks and access barriers affecting women and girls, children and adolescents, older people, people with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic minorities, LGBTQI+ people, veterans and their families, displaced people and other at-risk groups, including how overlapping vulnerabilities shape protection needs.
• Collaborate with humanitarian actors, specialized service providers and relevant authorities to identify unmet needs, gaps in geographical and service coverage, and opportunities for joint or complementary responses.
• Support proposal development process by providing protection and GBV technical input to needs analysis, response design, results frameworks and indicators, ensuring alignment with identified needs, relevant protection standards and donor requirements.

2. Technical leadership, quality assurance and capacity building

• Lead technical reviews of programme approaches, service-delivery practices, protection policies, SOPs, protocols and guidance for ActionAid and partners, ensuring alignment with relevant inter-agency standards, ActionAid requirements, donor commitments and the operational context. 
• Provide technical oversight of community-based protection and protection mainstreaming, including relevant links with GBV, MHPSS and child protection services. Guide the consistent application of Do No Harm, safety, dignity, accessibility, non-discrimination, informed consent, confidentiality and accountability.
• Provide technical guidance on GBV prevention, risk mitigation and survivor-centred response, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), case management, psychosocial support and safe referrals to specialised services. Advise on relevant elements of partner assessments and capacity-strengthening plans, working with safeguarding and other relevant colleagues.
• Provide targeted technical consultation and support to partner GBV supervisors on complex or high-risk situations, including reflective practice and anonymised case discussions, with appropriate confidentiality safeguards.
• Undertake field visits, technical monitoring and periodic reviews with partners and MEAL colleagues, focusing on service quality, protection outcomes and barriers to assistance. Agree follow-up actions and escalate unresolved protection or service-quality concerns through consortium management.
• Support MEAL colleagues to strengthen indicators and monitoring tools that assess quality, accessibility and referral effectiveness alongside activity delivery. Document lessons, good practice and recurring challenges and ensure they inform programme development and future technical support.
• Work with partners to identify technical capacity gaps and agree priorities for strengthening GBV and protection practice through training, mentoring, peer learning and reflection, with clear learning objectives and practical outcomes.
• Provide senior technical mentoring to the Protection and GBV Coordinator and support the team’s understanding and application of protection and GBV approaches.

3. Referral systems and continuity of protection support

• Lead the technical development, review and partner validation of a harmonised consortium referral framework, including SOPs, tools and follow-up arrangements.
• Clarify responsibilities for referrals and handover across evacuation, transit, medical care and onward placement, including confirmation of service availability, informed consent, safe information sharing and follow-up.
• Ensure safe, confidential and survivor-centred referral pathways for GBV survivors, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), respecting survivor choice and facilitating access to specialised medical, psychosocial, legal and protection services without requiring disclosure of incident details or undertaking investigations.Support partners to address unsuccessful referrals, interruptions in assistance and needs that fall outside their direct service scope.
• Support partners to address unsuccessful referrals, interruptions in assistance and needs that fall outside their direct service scope.
• Identify systemic barriers to specialised assistance and longer-term support, including rehabilitation, psychosocial services, legal assistance, veteran services, family reunification, accommodation and social protection.

4. External coordination, representation and advocacy

• Lead ActionAid’s technical engagement in relevant national and sub-national coordination mechanisms, including the National Protection Cluster, GBV coordination forums and relevant technical working groups, and ensure that coordination findings inform consortium strategy and response. 
• Strengthen relationships with NGOs, UN agencies, specialised service providers, relevant authorities and other actors to improve coordination, referral pathways and access to assistance. 
• Support the Head of Programs/Regional Director in developing evidence-based advocacy messages and products on protection risks and barriers affecting marginalised groups. Contribute senior technical input to donor discussions, monitoring missions and relevant coordination/advocacy spaces.
• Engage with other ActionAid offices and networks to exchange expertise, learning and relevant approaches.

Qualifications and experience

Essential

• University degree in social work, psychology, gender studies, human rights or another relevant field.
• Minimum seven years of relevant experience in protection and GBV programming, including senior technical advisory, leadership or supervision responsibilities.
• Demonstrated expertise in survivor-centred and trauma-informed GBV programming, case-management standards and technical supervision, including an understanding of CRSV-related protection risks and safe referrals to specialised services.
• Experience developing protection strategies, conducting needs analysis and translating findings into programme design and adaptations.
• Experience contributing to humanitarian proposals and results frameworks.
• Proven experience in protection quality assurance, technical monitoring, referral-system development and partner capacity strengthening.
• Experience working collaboratively with national and local civil society organisations.
• Strong understanding of community-based protection, protection mainstreaming, age and disability inclusion, and barriers affecting marginalised groups.
• Demonstrated understanding of confidentiality, informed consent, data protection, PSEA and safeguarding.
• Experience in external coordination and technical representation.
• Strong analytical, writing, facilitation, mentoring and interpersonal skills.
• Fluency in English; knowledge of Ukrainian is an advantage

Desirable

• Experience with DG ECHO-funded programmes and consortium arrangements.
• Experience in Ukraine’s humanitarian response, including evacuation, transit and accommodation settings.
• Familiarity with community-led response approaches, MHPSS and links between protection, livelihoods and social protection.
• Experience supporting evidence-based protection advocacy.

Values and commitments

The Advisor is expected to demonstrate:

• Commitment to ActionAid’s mission, Code of Conduct, feminist leadership principles and rights-based approaches.
• Commitment to women’s rights, intersectional inclusion and meaningful community participation.
• Commitment to preventing sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, and safeguarding children and adults at risk.
• Respect for partners’ expertise and leadership, and commitment to equal partnership principles.

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This offer is contingent upon pending funding applications for the role.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks,which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. ActionAid Eastern Europe also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from jobapplicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexualharassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant leftemployment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of theserecruitment procedures. 

Due to high volumes of applications received, we can only correspond with short-listed applicants. Should you not have received feedback on your application within two weeks of the closing date, please consider your application as unsuccessful. 

ActionAid will not consider unsolicited candidates from recruitment agencies. 

ActionAid reserves the right to modify, re-announce, or withdraw any of our vacancies at any time.

ActionAid is committed to recruiting candidates who promote ActionAid’s SHEA and Safeguarding policies and values and will only recruit candidates who are committed to SHEA and Safeguarding and ActionAid’s values, thereby helping to create safer working cultures.

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