Legal Advisor 3*E4U

“Strengthening Ukraine’s EU Alignment in the Rule of Law” (3*E4U) is a technical cooperation project commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union and implemented by GIZ in order to support the government of Ukraine in its efforts to align Ukrainian legislation with the Acquis Communautaire of the European Union, focusing on the negotiation chapters related to “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” (Chapter 23) and “Justice, Freedom and Security” (Chapter 24) that lie at the heart of the cluster called the “Fundamentals of EU Membership”. The project aims at enhancing the capacities of key actors within the Ukrainian government to steer and implement a cooperative and participative process of Ukraine’s EU alignment in the rule of law. The implementation partners are the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, the Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration located at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and other related institutions.

The advisor will be part of the project’s Legal and Policy Team which focuses on supporting key national actors responsible for the alignment to the EU acquis with the specialised expertise needed to work towards the implementation of key reforms that are necessary to align Ukrainian law with European law. Particular emphasis is put on measures related to Chapter 23 of the EU acquis which are included in Ukraine’s Rule of Law Roadmap. The advisor will work towards bringing together leading Ukrainian and international legal experts and providing needs-based, hands-on, tailored and structured advice and capacity building to key Ukrainian stakeholders.

Key responsibilities:

• Compiling analyses, memoranda, opinions, and recommendations and other on-demand legal and policy advice related to selected rule of law reforms to partners and donors to maximize the added value for the Ukrainian partners.
• Developing and maintaining good working relations with relevant partner institutions to advance the project’s objectives.
• Building up partnerships with leading European, international, and national legal and policy experts and think tanks in the field of EU alignment in the rule of law within and outside the project’s Expert Platform.
• Engage with the staff of the service provider which manages the projects expert platform as well as the relevant experts in the advisor’s thematic area of responsibility to ensure proper role-out of support offers such as provisions of analyses, trainings, seminars, conferences, etc.
• Carry out own capacity development activities which accompany the Expert Platform’s work, such as training of trainers, information sessions or consultations.
• Ensuring gender equality in the scope of the project’s activities and the recommendations of the network.
• Stay abreast with the overall strategic approach of the Ukrainian government and developments vis-à-vis the accession process as well as with progress of alignment in Chapter 23 of the EU acquis.
• Contribute to the project’s public relations, monitoring, and evaluation by preparing and sharing information from the areas of one’s responsibility.
• Pro-actively contribute to the advancement of the project’s policy and legal advisory work by taking up further, related tasks as required by day-to-day operations on an ad-hoc basis.
• Contribute to the success of the project in all areas through close collaboration with the project’s leadership and colleagues, promoting experience exchange, and dialogue, reflection, and learning.

Required qualifications, professional experience and personal competences:

• Master’s degree in law, EU Law or equivalent.
• 3 to 5 years of professional experience in legal reform in the area of rule of law or related fields.
• Sound understanding of the Ukrainian government’s reform agenda in the rule of law, the Ukrainian justice sector, and the EU acquis in Chapter 23.
• Familiarity with the structure and procedures of the European Union, in particular with regard to the EU enlargement processes.
• Access to a network of legal experts in the field of legal reform and EU alignment focusing on the rule of law.
• Excellent command of written and spoken Ukrainian and English; command of German would be a plus.
• Strong interest in EU accession policies and Ukraine’s reform agenda aligning Ukraine with the EU acquis.
• Engaged and proactive team player with excellent intercultural competences.
• Strong organizational, planning, and task management competences.
• Excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently, often under tight deadlines, and deliver at pace.
• Resistance to stress and ability to manage multiple workstreams under one’s responsibility.
• Good judgement, integrity, and sense of tone.
• Aptitude for assessing material and content of politically sensitive nature.

We offer:

• Official employment, salary fixed in EUR, performance-related bonuses and 13th salary.
• Medical insurance, 29 vacation days annually.
• Language classes, hard and soft skills trainings.
• Individual and group psychological support.
• Possible flexible and remote work (depending on projects’ needs up to 10 days a month within Ukrainian border).
• Meaningful and valuable work, international environment.

Employment conditions:

Full-time position with 40-hours working week. Place of assignment is Kyiv. Starting as soon as possible. For now, the contract duration is till the end of June 2026. As the programme is currently in the contracting procedure for its second phase, extension until September 2027 is highly likely.

GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and offers an attractive and challenging working environment with opportunities for skill enhancement.

Application:

We are looking forward to your application in English, comprising your CV and a Cover letter explaining your motivation to apply for the job to @email  until COB 04 February 2026, Wednesday. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stages of the recruitment process.

Candidates are requested to submit their documents with the following title:

•  Surname Name_CV

•  Surname Name_Cover letter

By sending the application you give the consent for the personal data processing for recruitment processes solely according to GIZ data privacy regulations. You can familiarize yourself with these regulations by the link Data protection | GIZ