Job Description Key Information Job Title: Local Recovery and Accountability Advisor
Sector: Local Governance
Position Type: Full-time
Duration/Level of Effort: Long-term
Location: Ukraine
Context: U-RESTORE is a five-year initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Cowater International in partnership with Ukrainian civil society and academic institutions. The project seeks to improve the resilience of women, groups in vulnerable situations, and communities in hromadas across two oblasts in government-controlled areas of Ukraine by fostering a collaborative and transparent local recovery process. U-RESTORE will increase the effectiveness of national ministries and hromadas in coordinating and managing gender-responsive and inclusive recovery, while strengthening Ukrainian civil society to better support recovery and hold government accountable. The Project will work with civil society organizations, especially those representing women and groups in vulnerable situations, to influence recovery decision-making in hromadas and foster inclusive and transparent governance. It will also implement social infrastructure reconstruction and small-scale economic development projects responding to priority community needs.
Description of Position: The Local Recovery and Accountability Advisor plays a critical advisory and technical support role in advancing the project’s objective to increase the effectiveness and accountability of hromadas and civil society organizations (CSOs) in implementing local recovery investments. The Advisor provides strategic guidance, technical support, and quality assurance to local partners—including CSOs, women-led organizations (WLOs), and hromadas—who are directly responsible for field-level implementation.
Rather than leading implementation, the Advisor provides technical guidance and support to partners and project regional teams by promoting inclusive, transparent, and gender-responsive processes with a focus on the project’s third component/outcome related to community-driven recovery. The Advisor also ensures technical oversight of the hromada capacity-building activities integrated in the project’s first component/outcome. The role involves aligning the work of the project and its partners, quality assuring partner outputs, offering tailored advice and capacity-strengthening support, and ensuring alignment with project objectives, donor standards, and community priorities. The Advisor contributes to the development of tools, learning frameworks, and advisory mechanisms to enhance performance, accountability, and sustainability in local recovery initiatives.
Responsibilities: 1) Advisory Oversight and Quality Assurance of Local Partners - Provide technical advice and quality assurance to local implementing partners (CSOs, WLOs, hromadas, and community actors) delivering Intermediate Outcome 3: enhancing the effectiveness and accountability of hromadas and civil society organizations in local recovery investments.
- Provide technical advice and quality assurance to project teams and partners supporting the organizational development and capacity building of hromadas to plan, manage, and report on gender responsive and inclusive recovery projects.
- Review and provide guidance on partner work plans, reports, and community engagement approaches to ensure alignment with project standards, timelines, and inclusion principles.
- Identify capacity gaps and recommend appropriate technical assistance, mentoring, or training to support partner compliance with gender equality, social inclusion, and accountability frameworks.
2) Advisory Support to Inclusive Recovery Planning and Governance - Provide technical leadership and strategic guidance on the design, facilitation, and monitoring of inclusive community recovery processes, ensuring they reflect the voices and priorities of women, marginalized populations, and groups in vulnerable situations.
- Advise on the inclusive establishment and functioning of Local Recovery Committees (LRCs), ensuring diverse representation from hromadas, CSOs, WLOs, and private sector actors.
- Support the development of frameworks and tools to guide equitable and transparent community consultations and participatory recovery planning.
3) Technical Guidance on Recovery Investment Management - Ensure technical oversight of the organizational development and related technical support and capacity building of hromadas focused on inclusive, gender responsive and environmentally sustainable recovery project planning, management, and reporting.
- Provide strategic guidance on the design and implementation of the pilot recovery investment fund, ensuring gender-sensitive, community-driven, and environmentally responsible standards.
- Advise hromadas and local actors on strategies to mobilize additional resources and align recovery financing with local recovery plans and community priorities, particularly for women and groups in vulnerable situations.
4) Strengthening Community Accountability and Transparency Mechanisms - Advise partners on the design and implementation of community-based monitoring and participatory evaluation mechanisms to strengthen accountability and transparency in recovery efforts.
- Promote adaptive learning and iterative planning through learning-by-doing approaches, peer exchange, and continuous improvement cycles.
- Support the documentation and dissemination of lessons learned, best practices, and scalable models for inclusive recovery.
5) Cross-Cutting Technical Advisory and Stakeholder Coordination - Ensure integration of gender equality, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability across all aspects of community recovery, through technical input and strategic advisory support.
- Ensure effective coordination and collaboration with the project’s civil society and gender equality and inclusion advisors to adequately mainstream participatory governance, gender equality and inclusion across all project workstreams. Facilitate learning sessions and knowledge-sharing among local partners, hromadas, and civil society actors to foster collective problem-solving and innovation.
- Coordinate and maintain strategic relationships with national and local authorities, donors, and stakeholders to ensure recovery efforts are aligned with broader development goals.
6) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) - Collaborate closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team to track and assess the impact of community engagement in recovery processes, ensuring progress toward gender-equitable and inclusive outcomes.
- Provide advisory support to local partners and project staff in establishing learning frameworks and using data to inform planning, implementation, and adaptive decision-making.
- Facilitate regular reflection and learning sessions with partners and stakeholders to integrate feedback, identify emerging needs, and adjust strategies to ensure responsiveness to evolving recovery contexts.
- Contribute to high-quality reporting to Cowater leadership, donors, and stakeholders on outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for scaling effective approaches.
Requirements - Advanced degree in Public Administration, Economics, Sociology, Gender Studies, Urban or Regional Planning, or related field.
- Must possess advanced professional proficiency in English and Ukrainian.
- Minimum 7 years of experience supporting local governance, inclusive recovery, or community-driven development.
- Demonstrated experience working with or overseeing the work of local governments, civil society organizations, WLOs, and local contractors in project delivery.
- Proven success in managing or quality-assuring public investment programs with accountability and transparency mechanisms.
- Experience working with hromadas and planning and implementing the related technical support and capacity building.
- Experience with gender-responsive planning, inclusive infrastructure development, and community-based monitoring.
- Familiarity with Ukraine’s local governance system and its hromadas, and how to ensure effective collaboration with civil society, with experience in the context of the recovery process highly valuable.
- Experience working with Global Affairs Canada or other major bilateral donors is an asset.
- Strong skills in partner oversight, quality assurance, and technical support.
- Ability to identify gaps in partner capacity and implement practical solutions or capacity-strengthening interventions.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and reporting skills.
- Knowledge of community-driven recovery processes, including social accountability tools (, scorecards, participatory audits) and intersectional gender equality integration.
- Commitment to human rights, gender equality, and social inclusion principles.
Employment Conditions: The ideal candidate will be a Ukrainian national currently residing in Kyiv or elsewhere in Ukraine.
Application Process The application deadline is July , 5. To be considered, please upload your documents using the following format: Last Name, First Name – Position Title. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from women, individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities, as well as Ukrainian nationals.
Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer. Employment is based on merit and qualifications relevant to professional experience and position requirements. Cowater does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, or any other status protected by law.
We thank all applicants; however, only those shortlisted will be contacted.
About Us Cowater International is a leading global development consulting company founded in 5. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and with corporate hubs in Montreal, Canada, Brussels, Belgium, and London, UK. Cowater International has successfully delivered a portfolio of over 0 projects and assignments in more than countries. We work with governments, private sector actors and communities implementing projects that support socio-economic development, institutional strengthening, environmental improvements, and advance equal opportunities for all. We are a diverse and experienced team committed to building a better tomorrow for the people we serve. Our adaptive approach to management has led to our yearly award-winning work and recognition as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies since 7.
We thank you for your interest in building a better tomorrow.