Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations.
DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 800 staff in Ukraine and implements emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context.
DRC is currently looking for a Shelter and Settlement Manager in Kharkiv city.
About the job
DRC is managing its operations in Ukraine through its country office in Kyiv, and it has established offices in, Kyiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Sloviansk and Dnipro. The Shelter manager will be in charge of managing DRC Shelter operations in the East Area (covering the teams in Kharkiv and Sloviansk) including apartment and house repairs, upgrade of collective shelters, and repair of educational and/or health infrastructures. The position is based in Kharkiv with the reporting line to Area Programme Manager.
Your main duties and responsibilities will be:
โข Select the most appropriate modalities of Shelter interventions depending on the context.
โข Designing, coordination, and management of DRC Shelter actions in the relevant area.
โข Ensure the highest quality of the sectoral interventions.
โข Responsible for timely deliveries, narrative reporting and financial overview, close cooperation with donors, Government counterparts and coordination mechanism at field level.
โข Provide capacity building programs for Shelter staff in cooperation with Area/Base managers.
โข Provide inputs for monthly, quarterly, and annual donor reports.
โข Provide specific project budget management, financial management and expenses supervision for the program activities, including compliance with minimum DRC and donor requirements.
โข Management of field beneficiary databases.
Program development and strategy
โข Representation of DRC and active participation in local Shelter cluster and/or working groups.
โข Oversee knowledge sharing across teams and ensure that monitoring and evaluation results are understood and used to improve programs.
โข Drive the development and growth of the relevant programs within the DRC program objectives and feed into country-wide strategy development.
Accountability and reporting
โข Guided by the DRC Programme Handbook, continuously monitor and develop relevant accountability initiatives within relevant project program as well as strengthening the effort to document the impact of activities.
โข Ensure compliance with internal and external reporting requirements including procurement.
People Management
โข Lead and manage Shelter staff members including coaching, ensuring coordination, recruitment, and capacity development.
โข Provide on the job training as much as required and adapt trainings/coaching to specific staff needs.
Coordination
โข Ensure the coordination with relevant Shelter actors in the area of intervention.
As Manager the post-holder is responsible for the following:
โข Accountable for achieving DRCโs strategic goals and objectives within the area of responsibility.
โข Accountable for making significant decisions on what the unit does: its purpose, functions, and role, and for making commitments and decisions that require the expenditure of significant unit resources.
โข Accountable for people management of direct reports. This includes hiring & firing, objective setting, probation, performance appraisal, development of staff, managing performance, including poor performance, etc.
โข Accountable for making sound decisions based on DRC policies, MOPs, standards, and the advice of technical experts in DRC.
About you
To be successful in this role we expect you to have minimum 3 years of proven experience in Shelter projects in Non-governmental organizations. Moreover, we also expect the following:
Required:
โข Master or bachelorโs degree in Architecture, civil engineering, or related field
โข Proven experience in implementing Shelter activities in complex emergency contexts.
โข Proven experience in implementing Shelter activities in early recovery and development projects.
โข At least 3 years' experience with people management.
โข Experience in carrying out humanitarian interventions through and in coordination with implementing partner organizations is an asset.
โข English - not lower than C1.
โข Good knowledge of Ukrainianlan language.
โข Excellent writing and editing skills for external audiences (including governments and donors).
โข Experience in producing high-quality technical material (training material, program tools, proposals, strategic documents, etc.).
โข Experience in working with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
โข Excellent reporting skills
Desirable:
โข Calm and diplomatic in nature.
โข Ability to manage competing priorities and to meet deadlines.
โข Effective team-player โ problem solver.
โข Previous experience with DRC in emergency context.
In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRCโ five core competencies:
โข Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
โข Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
โข Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
โข Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
โข Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
We offer
Contract length: 3 months probation period, with the possibility of extension based on funding and satisfactory performance
Band: F.2
Designation of Duty Station: Kharkiv, Ukraine
Start date: as soon as possible
Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Councilโs Terms of Employment for employees on national contracts. Please refer to our website for more details.
Application process
All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English.
Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Closing date for applications: 15 October, 2025
We encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible, interviews might be conducted on a rolling basis. DRC reserves the right to select candidate before the vacancy close date once a suitable candidate has been identified.