Legal Advisor for EU Accession and Legal Approximation in Labour Market Policy, Social Policy and Digital Systems

The Sustainable Economic Development (SED) Cluster of GIZ Ukraine comprises various projects implemented on behalf of the German government supporting Ukraine to develop a resilient and competitive economic sector. Partners of the projects are Ukrainian ministries on the national level, administrations on regional level, stakeholders on the municipal level, and private sector companies. 

The “JobConnect” project supports the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture (MoEEA), the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity (MoSPFU) and the State Employment Service (SES) in developing an integrated, digital and data-driven labour market approach that complies with EU standards, at the interface with social policy. This is achieved through (1) better coordination of labour market and social policy (and stakeholders), including with regard to EU requirements, and capacity building for the political partner; managing the Secretariat of the Gender Alliance; (2) strengthening, modernising and integrating relevant labour market institutions in line with EU frameworks, in particular the SES; and (3) testing digital and data-driven approaches. “JobConnect” is being implemented for integrated delivery by a cross-project team in conjunction with the SIGA project “REYOIN”. REYOIN enhances the employability of the working-age population in Ukraine through active labour market policy measures and support for labour market policy processes, particularly at the (4) local level in selected regions (Lviv, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Odessa, Ivano Frankivsk) and with regard to SES services. Implementation takes place in close cooperation with the World Bank and other international organisations.

Legal Advisor for EU Accession and Legal Approximation in Labour Market Policy, Social Policy and Digital Systems will be part of the team facilitating and quality-assuring the projects' legal approximation work in the domain of labour market- and social policy. This entails the transfer of legal approximation expertise to MoEEA, SES (and where relevant MoSPFU) staff, enabling partner institutions to sustain and advance the legislative alignment process independently. It also encompasses guiding and reviewing the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis under Chapters 2, 3 and 19. Next to this, your focus will be on supporting the legal compliance framework that digital labour market systems must meet under EU data protection, AI governance and other EU standards / legal requirements. This position will be working as part of a team of international and national experts in a sensitive and complex environment which is highly dynamic. 

This position foresees demand-based travel to implementation partners and stakeholders within Ukraine as well as occasional travel to EU countries.

Key responsibilities:

• Support the line-manager with the strategic direction, management and successful implementation of the abovementioned workstreams. This entails inter alia, 
• Providing input for communication and cooperation with the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (GOCEEI) on legal approximation matters in the labour market and social policy domain, and preparing and coordinating responses to accession-related requests, policy briefs and other technical legal documentation,
• Implementing targeted capacity building to MoEEA, SES (and where relevant MoSPFU) staff on the topic of legal approximation to the EU acquis under Chapters 2, 3 and 19.
• Designing and delivering capacity building measures for MoEEA and MoSPFU legal and legislative staff on legal approximation methodology, concordance table production, legislative drafting standards and EU acquis interpretation,
• Facilitating and quality-assure all legal approximation work in the domain of labour market-, social policy and related digital systems, including the review and assessment of inputs delivered by external service providers such as gap analyses, tables of concordance, legislative drafting support and other legal approximation documents required for Ukraine’s EU accession process,
• Ensuring the provision of support to the Ministry’s strategic planning and implementation of Ukraine's EU accession process in the areas of labour market, employment, social policy from a legal perspective. This may entail the assessment of the legal approximation work contained in the NPAA with a view to identifying actionable items and advice on the design of implementation roadmaps,
• Supporting the establishment of the legal compliance framework that digital labour market systems must meet under EU data protection, AI governance and other EU standards / legal requirements and advising SES (and where relevant MoEEA) on the legal and regulatory framework conditions required for the introduction of EU-compliant digital and data-driven processes, including data protection, data exchange between institutions, algorithmic systems, and digital service delivery,

In close coordination with the other team members under (1):

• Ensure the build-up, and maintenance of relevant expert networks, in particular with national and international legal and policy experts and technical assistance projects relevant for EU acquis chapters 2,3 and 19.
• Support preparation of terms of reference, procurement and steering of external service providers and other implementing partners,
• Establish and maintain internal knowledge resources including portfolio overviews, overview of activities, activity trackers and EU accession reference materials and ensure timely preparation of briefing materials, presentations, analytical notes, and reporting documents for internal and external stakeholders,
• Coordinate and support the preparation of workshops, high-level meetings, consultations, donor coordination formats, and international exchange activities.

Required qualifications, professional experience and personal competences:

• Master's degree or equivalent in law, with specialisation or proven expertise in EU law, public law, digital regulation, or a related field,
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in legal advisory, legislative drafting or regulatory reform in the Ukrainian legal system, preferably in the fields of labour market, social protection or digital public services,
• Solid understanding of EU accession processes and relevant EU legal frameworks, in particular Acquis Chapters 2, 3 and 19, GDPR, EU Data Governance Act, EU AI Act, EU Open-Source Strategy, etc.,
• Working experience with Ukrainian public institutions, preferably ministries or central executive authorities. Experience in technical assistance projects is considered an asset,
• Familiarity with digital public service regulation, data protection law, or e-government frameworks is considered a strong asset,
• Strong analytical and drafting skills, with ability to translate complex legal content into actionable recommendations for non-legal audiences,
• Ability to perform under pressure, including timely delivery of high-quality results, Strong communication and team skills, including cooperation with people of different backgrounds and cultural backgrounds,
• High proficiency in written and spoken Ukrainian and English is mandatory; knowledge of German is considered an asset,
• Very good working knowledge of digital office applications,
• Readiness and ability to take on new topics and/or tasks and upskill, if necessary,
• Willingness to travel locally and abroad (depending on the security situation).

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.
• Working in a team of highly committed, motivated and engaged colleagues.

Employment conditions:

Full-time position with 40-hours working week. Place of assignment is Kyiv. Starting as soon as possible. The contract duration will be 12 months with the possibility of extension.

GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic.

We particularly encourage veterans and people with disabilities to apply.

Application:

Application comprising of the candidate’s CV and a cover letter in the English language explaining the motivation to apply for the job is to be sent to @email until COB 17 August 2026, Monday. 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