Program Development Lead CARE Ukraine At CARE Deutschland

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Contract Start Date: 1 March 2026

Contract End Date: 28 February 2027

Duty Station: Kyiv (Ukraine) with possible travel to Dnipro and Lviv area offices

Supervisor: Country Director

Background

CARE Ukraine is a country office which comes under the management of CARE Germany. It has been operating in Ukraine since March 2022.

CARE Ukraine’s FY25 portfolio was approx. EUR 13 million, funded by GFFO/ BMZ, ECHO, DANIDA, Czech MOFA, ADA (Austrian Development Agency), AFD (Agence Francaise de Developpement), LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and others. We implement primarily humanitarian programs, in the protection/ GBV, SRH, integrated humanitarian response and WASH/ shelter sectors. Some 10-15% of our programs are recovery/ response, primarily in livelihoods, WASH and womens empowerment sectors. The focus of most programming is the frontline oblasts of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblast. We also have some programming in Odesa.

We have approximately 57 staff, and implement through 12 Ukrainian CSO partners. The country office is in Kyiv, with a support office in Lviv and field offices in Dnipro and Kharkiv.

On 24th February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marked a significant escalation of the war that started in 2014. It continues to profoundly impact the lives of people across the country at various levels. The front line is continuously shifting and there are areas controlled by Russian forces as well as towns and villages under siege. Aerial attacks on military installations and critical civilian infrastructures are conducted over the whole territory of Ukraine, often resulting in collateral civilian casualties. The conflict has caused the largest population movement in Europe since World War II, with 6.24 million displaced within Ukraine and 7.68 million refugees having fled to neighboring countries. By October 2025, OCHA had counted 17.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The current winter is anticipated to be the worst in decades. By late autumn, an estimated 60-70% of the country’s electricity generation and gas production infrastructure had been damaged, resulting in scheduled power cuts that meant that millions have only 3 hours power per day and a similar amount each night, and occasional disruptions to water supplies.

CARE Ukraine

CARE prioritizes a locally led response and is partnering primarily with Civil-Society Organizations (CSOs), National NGOs, local authorities, and when needed, INGOs with a longstanding presence in the country and access to hard-to-reach areas. CARE Ukraine deliberately and strategically prioritizes partnerships with local and national Women Led and Women Rights organizations (WLO’s/ WRO’s), in accordance with Gender in Emergencies (GiE) principles.

In the first few weeks after the escalation of the war, virtually all humanitarian aid inside Ukraine was organized and implemented by local actors. These groups (together with local authorities) remain the principal aid providers. Thereby, a considerable proportion of CARE’s resources is dedicated to strengthening and supporting the capacities of local partners.

CARE Ukraine currently partners with 12 local/national organizations, almost all of which are WLO’s/WRO’s. We channel some 80% of our funding through local/national partners. Through the activities that have been implemented so far, CARE Ukraine has been able to reach over 750,000 people, including IDPs and affected populations in hard-to-reach areas.

CARE Ukraine’s country office is in Kyiv. We have an area office in Dnipro and a sub-office in Kharkiv, as well as a support office in Lviv. We are increasingly basing program staff in the east, particularly the Dnipro office. We plan to phase out the Lviv support office in the second half of 2026.

Role Objectives

The Program Development (PD) Lead is responsible for leading CARE Ukraine’s efforts to design new programs and raise new funding.

The PD Lead manages a small PD Department. Under the guidance of the Country Director, he/ she works with the Program Quality (PQ) Lead, the Program Implementation (PI) lead, the Partnership Unit, Finance Department, HR Department and Safety and Security Manager to develop quality, winning concept notes and proposals for submission to donors. This includes

  • Being the focal point for intelligence on institutional donor policies and approaches
  • Intelligence on forthcoming calls for proposals
  • Monitoring the issuance of new calls for proposals
  • Managing the GO/ NO GO process for new prospects
  • Establishment of bid development teams for prospects that receive a GO, including ensuring that key roles are assigned, and developing a timeline for the development of the concept note/ proposal
  • Leading and coordinating the complete concept note/ proposal development process, ensuring that relevant members of the team collaborate, and that the concept note/ proposal is completed and submitted prior to the deadline
  • Development of boiler-plate language for concept notes and proposals
  • Writing key non-technical sections of concept notes/ proposals, and coordinating and supporting technical staff in the writing of technical sections
  • In the case of major proposals where an external (consultant/ secondment) proposal writer is recruited, coordinate and oversee the work of the proposal writer and conduct final quality checks
  • Ensure that any concept note/ proposal that is submitted on time and compliant with donor requirements and CARE policies

The Program Development Lead reports to the Country Director and directly supervises the Program Development Coordinator.

Key tasks which are undertaken by the PD Lead include:

  1. Strategic Program Development and Resource Mobilization

This role provides strategic leadership for program development and resource mobilization by managing and mentoring staff, establishing systems and procedures, guiding fundraising planning and forecasting. Specifically the PD lead will :

  • Recruit, onboard, mentor and manage the Program Development Coordinator and provide the necessary support to ensure best performance
  • Develop program development procedures, rules and guidelines and ensure all relevant staff understand and has access to those learning documents.
  • Lead on the design, update and implementation of the CO Resource Mobilisation Strategy
  • On an ad hoc basis, provide training, coaching and mentoring to staff, primary stakeholders, and implementing partners in project design and proposal development;
  • Ensure that both, CARE and partner staff have the comprehension and competencies to follow donor rules and regulations. If this is not the case, work closely with the Partnerships Manager and the PQ Lead to develop capacity-building plans.

2. Proposal/Concept Development, & compliance assurance

This role leads program development and compliance through strong coordination across teams and partners, including convening and managing proposal processes, coordinating technical inputs and internal approvals, ensuring adherence to international and organisational standards, and supporting high-quality, compliant submissions. Specifically, the PD lead will:

  • Evaluate eligibility and provide summaries of opportunities and calls to support the CO Go/ No Go appraisal and decision-making process.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the CARE/ humanitarian world in order to draw upon technical expertise, standards, approaches and lessons learnt when designing concepts and proposals in order to influence design and scope of initiatives and programs as necessary.
  • Advise both programs and program quality teams, finance, other working groups on relevant donor requirements/compliance, changes in donor priorities and also national priorities/restrictions if any.
  • Ensure adherence to Common International Principles and standards and CARE’s Programming Principles.
  • Lead the planning, coordination, facilitation, drafting, and editing of proposals, including convening meetings and coordinating technical inputs from Program Quality, Security, and Finance colleagues. .
  • Manage all required internal sign off and facilitate the submission of all bids and proposals in close consultation with the relevant CARE Member Partners.
  • Ensure all concept notes and proposals are of a sufficient quality to meet minimum requirements for submission.
  • Provide advice to program and grants team in negotiations with institutional donors or business partners over contracts, costs, governance and accountability, and compliance requirements.
  • Ensure adherence to funding policies and guidelines

3. Strategic Planning and Donor engagement

This role drives strategic planning and donor engagement by representing CARE in consortiums and donor interactions, coordinating portfolio and funding assessments, aligning resource mobilization efforts with organisational strategies, maintaining donor engagement tools and visibility materials, and facilitating cross-team collaboration to advance the Country Office’s fundraising and partnership objectives. Specifically, the interim PD lead will:

  • Represent CARE as a generalist, alongside technical experts, in consortium meetings during proposal development and donor engagement.
  • Liaise with members to determine opportunities, support global donor relationship management, and align member and country funding strategies.
  • Lead the portfolio and funding assessments (portfolio analysis, donor landscape and, funding opportunity assessments) to identify potential donors and advance the country office strategy.
  • Ensure RM efforts align with the Country Office and CARE regional and global strategies.
  • Develop and maintain systems and tools to track positioning and donor engagement strategies.
  • In collaboration with Comms and Advocacy, and program staff maintain updated capacity statements, factsheets, brochures, and visibility materials.
  • Actively participate in key relevant internal meetings such as annual planning meetings, ESMT meetings, etc.

Requirements

Required qualifications and skills

  • At least five years experience in program development with international NGOs or national CSOs
  • At least three years experience working in a context similar to that in Ukraine, or in a HO role in support of program development in a context similar to Ukraine
  • Understanding of the Ukraine context
  • Strong team management skills
  • Experience and excellent skills in collaborating across teams
  • Demonstrated strategic thinking ability
  • Excellent English writing skills with proven ability to develop high quality concept notes and proposals

Desired qualifications and skills

  • Experience preparing proposals for submission to donors such as GFFO, BMZ, ECHO, Humanitarian Pooled Fund, ADA, DANIDA, SDC, Czech MOFA, other European MoFA’s etc.
  • Experience working in support of humanitarian/ development programs in Ukraine
  • Experience living in Ukraine
  • Master’s degree or equivalent in a field relevant to international humanitarian or development programs
  • Experience working in both humanitarian and development contexts
  • Experience with both institutional donors and foundations

Accountability

A commitment to CARE values and CARE’s integrity framework is critical to working with CARE. Any candidate offered a job with CARE will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability:

• Comply with CARE’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.

• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area.

• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a CARE staff or partner.

Safeguarding:

CARE has a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse. We make very clear that any form of abuse, perpetrated by our employees, related personnel, or partners, towards anyone, during or outside of working hours, in-person or online, will not be tolerated.

Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with CARE as a result of CARE activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways that CARE shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

Gender equality:

CARE is committed to meeting the standards of the CARE International Gender Policy. Through this policy, CARE seeks to promote the equal realization of dignity and human rights for girls, women, boys and men in all diversities, and the elimination of poverty and injustice. Specifically, this policy seeks to improve the explicit incorporation of gender in programmatic and organizational practices.

How to apply

CARE values equal opportunities and diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

Please send your CV (in pdf format max. 4 pages) and a cover letter in English with the subject title of your Email: Program Development Lead CARE Ukraine by no later than 04 February 2026 to application@care.de

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

References will only be contacted after the interview.