Program Director, Kyiv | Ukraine

Program Director, Kyiv | Ukraine

Reports to Executive Director - Europe | Full time | July 2023

Hello Hello! Alight is recruiting a Program Director for our program in Ukraine. So, you’re interested in joining us? Welcome, we’re happy you’re here.

When you Join Alight, you’ll find…

A team with deep experience in co-designing solutions that create new value around the world. We know we need to always be better, and we believe in the power and abundance of everyday people, everywhere, to change the world with us.

A culture of radical accountability to our customers –as we help build a meaningful life for and with the displaced, we ask them what they want and then deliver on it.

An organization that refuses to settle for anything less than delivering human-worthy services.

If you are looking to be part of a living, breathing, ever-changing organization full of disrupters and doers, then read on!

The Role

Alight began a humanitarian response in Ukraine in February 2022, and we are now scaling the program. Even in the face of massive crises like the war in Ukraine, small actions will always make a difference. Alight has been doing the doable since our team hit the ground in Poland. To date, we have reached more than 510,000 people with quick-impact projects in Ukraine and Poland. Alight has funded 72 different projects to support Ukrainians since February 2022. A total of 46 of these projects were implemented directly in Ukraine.

As Program Director, you’ll oversee all the program functions it takes to build and implement a strong, growing program in Ukraine. You’ll be guided by and receive support from the Executive Director of Europe. Simply put, your purpose will be to provide leadership and coordination to ensure our new programs are well-managed, reaching targets, and has world-class program quality and effectiveness.

You’ll know you’re doing well if:

• The new Ukraine program grows to become fully functional with all systems in place to implement a strong and stable program.
• Ukrainians displaced by the conflict feel supported and well-equipped in their displacement journey.
• You have helped change the standard for what a humanitarian response to mass displacement looks like.

We are proud to work on borderless teams. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds and specifically encourage members of refugee, immigrant or other displaced communities to join us.

Building a shared organization takes time and intention. We will always be becoming Alight, which means your work will evolve as well. For now, here’s how you could anticipate spending your time:

Find Others – It’s going to take all of us to provide a human-worthy experience to families seeking refuge. You will work to bring in a variety of groups who believe in a shared value to achieve great outcomes, all while staying true to ourselves and being guided by Ukrainians themselves.

Bravely Be Better – You understand and recognize the gaps in the current system and aren’t afraid to serve the customers in a better way, no matter what it takes, while being a team player in a larger resettlement effort.

Be Human Centered – You will work to keep our customers at the center of all that we do and keep yourself and the team accountable to the human-centeredness of our activities.

As the Program Director, your priorities will include:

**Strategy and Goal Setting –**Design and implement a system that supports the new Ukraine program, ensuring that all functions are moving together during a rapid start-up phase. Collaborate with Executive Director - Europe, Europe Program Leads, Regional Finance Controller and HR Lead to co-create systems that serve our customers best while finding consistency and efficiency in our set-up. Oversee the design and implementation of a brand-new ambitious program, co-created with a variety of partners, centered around Alight’s mission and the people we serve. Coordinate amongst partners, including community-based organizations and other international organizations. Collaborate with the Executive Director on aligning the Ukraine programming, and the Guides methodologies with Alight’s newly rolled out strategy. Oversee scaling efforts of the program.

**Leading–**Build and lead a programs team that supports Alight’s Ukraine programming, working to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, donors and partners. Serve as a role model for how Alight can have robust systems while remaining nimble to best serve our customers. Lead discussions and initiatives on program re/design and expansion, with internal teammates and relevant partners, in close collaboration with the country leadership team. Actively participate in Senior Leadership Team meetings, contributing to problem-solving and decision-making on strategic direction. Conduct performance management, including mentorship, capacity building and growth planning for direct reports. Provide regular feedback and ensure accountability. Create a place of belonging for the team.

Program and Operations Management– Oversee start-up activities and structure, working closely with the program and operations team leads. Coordinate activities with Alight’s global support team and platform services team as needed, ensuring that the Ukraine team has the support it needs and is in compliance with Alight’s global rules and regulations. Monitor and pivot when needed to realize scale.

Strengthening Alight’s Networking and Coordination: Coordinate and communicate with key actors: donors, host government, international agencies, and I/NGOs on Ukraine programming development and execution. Attend relevant program coordination, briefing and similar meetings in coordination with senior program leadership. In coordination with the program managers and technical advisors, strengthen Alight’s technical relationships with relevant line Ministries, donors and partners through regular meetings, consultations and updates on Alight programming. Facilitate clear and timely links between technical/coordination discussions, ensuring that Alight staff remain informed and adequately prepared for program implementation.

External Communications – In collaboration with the Executive Director and Business Development Lead, build visibility around this work, helping secure a seat at the table for Alight. Collaborate with the Communications team, contributing to written materials and feeding content to bring this work to light for all involved. Regularly collaborate with donors. Participate in or identify team members for interviews, speaking engagements, etc.

Qualifications

These are “must-haves” when you join Alight:

Open heart and open mind. You start by listening. You believe another person’s truth and it changes you. It unlocks your way of thinking in that moment, it opens your world.

Curiosity. You are always learning. You ask why and why again. You know that change (big and small) is constant, which means your curiosity to learn is matched with adaptability to evolve.

Trust. You believe that people do their best, are disciplined, and care about this as much as you do. You take responsibility for your part and know how to step back and give others the space to shine.

We’re also looking for folks with the following skills and experience:

• Industry experience – you have deep experience in the humanitarian space and you have a strong desire to jump into reimagining co-creating solutions with our customers.
• You have demonstrated success at improving the status quo.
• You’re proactive. You can’t help but think five steps ahead. If you don’t have the answer, you take initiative to figure it out. You see areas for improvement and dive in to make things better.
• You have maturity.
• You are service orientated at your core. You have demonstrated experience supporting humanitarian activities and working to support teams around the world on service delivery.
• You’re a natural organizer. You enjoy making complex tasks simple. You believe in administrative systems and can make tedious processes feel seamless for you and your teammates.
• You have a high attention to detail for your and others’ work. You pay attention to all the moving parts and their implications.
• You thrive in a fast paced, complex, high pressure, and dynamic environment. You have clear processes to manage work but are able to shift and adapt as opportunities and needs emerge.
• You know the importance of proximity and getting close. You are willing and able to travel to program locations up to 25% of the time.
• Fluent English.

Benefits

Borderless Team of 2,500 staff worldwide that sees possibility, celebrates moments of abundance, shares new ideas, and strives to do a better thing every day.

Family Friendly – We know that you are a whole person with a life and a family. We honor this. In return, we expect that you will take ownership of your work and follow-through on your commitments; sometimes that means flexing your schedule and we’re good with that.

Learning & Development – Access thousands of free online learning courses to take at your own pace and tailor to your professional goals.

Alight

We are on a journey to build Alight, a new platform of amazing people and organizations providing lifesaving services and creating breakthrough solutions for and with the displaced. WeAreAlight.org

Alight is an Equal Opportunity Employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status. Alight complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.

We strive to represent the diverse communities we serve. Applicants who contribute to this diversity and those who bring lived experience with displacement are strongly encouraged to apply.

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