Консультант/ка зі сприяння регіонального експорту
ЗАВЕРШЕНО
Location: Kyiv (hybrid)
Expected start date: 14.03.2026
Duration of assignment: 14.03.2026 – 30.10.2026
Number of working days: up to 94 days
Background
Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development, UCORD” implemented with the support of Switzerland via the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation by NIRAS Sweden AB.
UCORD aims for citizens, businesses, and public authorities to contribute and equally benefit from recovery actions and coherent regional development that fosters improved quality of life, resilience, peace, and social cohesion in Ukraine. The project currently supports six pilot oblasts of Ukraine: Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn and Odesa oblasts as the starting points, targeting capacity development and awareness-raising initiatives nationwide. UCORD consists of three components:
Component 1 embeds regional policy development in Ukraine by supporting and strengthening Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in pilot oblasts.
Component 2 seeks to improve public service delivery in the WASAW (water supply, sanitation, and waste management) sector, focusing on the environment.
Component 3 aims to construct social cohesion through culture, dialogue, and creative industries.
In 6 pilot oblasts, RDAs are taking on a more structured role in supporting regional economic development, including mapping strengths, facilitating cluster and industrial zone development, and supporting SMEs. However, businesses consistently highlight a lack of structured guidance on export processes and market-entry requirements. This initiative responds to that gap by positioning RDAs as focal points for stakeholder coordination, export mapping, and piloting structured export case-management. With technical support delivered through UCORD in cooperation with EEPO, RDAs will strengthen their capacity to fulfill this role, informing the expansion of regional export support in UCORD Phase 2.
To address these needs, UCORD is looking for an expert who will provide comprehensive export consultancy focusing on RDA SME Support schemes. This involves strengthening RDA capacity through effective stakeholder coordination mechanisms and building the competencies of RDAs and BSOs to support SMEs in developing export capabilities. Additionally, the expert will coordinate exporter mapping, review the regional export ecosystems, and provide recommendations on support instruments for each region. The assignment also includes delivering individual advisory support to businesses on access to international markets and providing ongoing mentoring to RDA teams to effectively respond to export-related requests.
In this context, under Component 1, UCORD is looking to engage Regional export promotion consultant, who is expected to perform the following tasks:
- The expert will contribute to the establishment of the Regional Coordination Mechanism in each priority region by bringing together key public and private stakeholders, including RDAs, Oblast Military Administration, Chambers of Commerce, Cluster organisations, Diia.Business centers, SME support organisations, local business associations.
- The expert will facilitate the development of practical competencies in export consultancy, including the application of standardized templates, methodologies, and the introduction of export case-management services.
- The expert will participate in working meetings and consultations, preparing necessary information and presentation materials related to regional export initiatives.
- The expert will conduct an ecosystem mapping exercise to identify organisations involved in business and export support, analyzing their services and identifying gaps or overlaps in the existing support landscape.
- The expert will provide structured mentorship and capacity-building support for regional development agencies in 6 pilot oblasts and selected Business Support Organizations (BSOs) to strengthen their institutional capacity to deliver professional export consulting services.
- The expert will coordinate the development of export catalogues in pilot oblasts, implemented in close cooperation with RDAs.
- The expert will conduct training sessions for SMEs in pilot oblasts on the topics of export readiness and development of export strategies.
Candidate Qualifications
Education & Knowledge:
A master’s degree in public administration, Economics, Law, Finance, or an associated field.
Experience:
- A minimum of 10 years of professional expertise in export promotion, SME development and business support activities.
- An understanding of the operations of Regional Development Agencies and previous experience in mentoring and implementing joint projects with RDAs.
- A proven track record in export consulting, implementation of regional development programmes and coordination of export support and export promotion projects.
- Minimum 5 years of training experience
- Minimum 5 years of project management experience
- Experience in supporting businesses in various export issues faced by Ukrainian SMEs
Skills:
- Deep understanding of project reporting and monitoring
- Excellent writing skills in Ukrainian
- Ability to organize and deliver consultative processes with a wide range of stakeholders, with special attention to subnational government entities and local self-government bodies.
- Deep understanding of the Ukrainian regional institutional landscape and familiarity with the trade environment
- Deep understanding of EU funding approaches.
- Fluency in English
The proposal should contain the following documents:
- A cover letter demonstrating the candidate’s suitability for the position and summarizing relevant experience.
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) detailing qualifications and professional experience, including a minimum of three contact references.
- The preferred daily rate.
- Note: Candidates must be registered as a Private Entrepreneur (PE), 3rd group, as this is required for contract signing.
- Interested applicants should send their proposals to [email protected] no later than April 11, 2026
