Legal and Regulatory Expert on Inclusive Youth Economic Self-Reliance, Kyiv, Ukraine

General

Description of assignment title: Legal and Regulatory Expert on Inclusive Youth Economic Self-Reliance

Assignment country: Ukraine

Duty stations: Kyiv

Work location: On UN premises

Expected start date: 07/01/2026

Duration: 3 months(with possibility of extension)Short-term benefits and allowances

Sustainable Development Goal: 8. Decent work and economic growth

Host entity: UNDP Ukraine

Modality: Onsite

Type: National

Volunteer category: Expert UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule: Part-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives:

• UNDP supports strategic capacity development initiatives to promote inclusive growth and sustainable human development. Together with national, regional and local authorities, civil societies, private sector, UNDP strives to support Ukraine in its efforts to eliminate poverty, develop people's capacity, achieve equitable results, sustain the environment, and advance democratic governance. UNDP is in line with 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to achieve national strategic capacity development.

Context:

• After more than three years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation (RF), the War is entering a new phase, marked by intensified mass attacks with drones and missiles on people and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Such massive and indiscriminate strikes on residential houses, health facilities, schools, and the energy sector across Ukraine inflict increasingly severe hardships on civilians, making Ukraine even more dependent on external support and undermining ongoing and future recovery efforts. The country is now facing an entirely new set of challenges requiring urgent and adaptive recovery measures.
• Building on Japan's extensive expertise and the strong Japan-UNDP partnership in advancing recovery and the HDP nexus in complex crisis contexts such as Ukraine, the provision of urgent, integrated, and multi-sectoral support is critical to address the cumulative damage from the protracted war and the imminent challenges resulting from intensified mass attacks on civilians in 2025.
• This project aims to catalyse urgent recovery and strengthen resilience in response to the surge in deaths, destruction, displacement by recent intensified mass attacks and cumulative suffering caused by the war in Ukraine. It seeks to promote Human Security by implementing immediate and coordinated responses to the interconnected and multidimensional threats that the country is currently facing, while strategically leveraging Japan's experience, technologies, and expertise to address challenges in recovery in Ukraine.
• The complex and compounded crises in Ukraine call for a holistic, multi-sectoral approach that transcends sectoral boundaries and prioritizes the needs of the most affected populations, requiring tailored and integrated forms of support with three strategic focuses on:
• i) Essential Basic Services and a Safe Living Environment;
• ii) Socio-Economic Resilience; and
• iii) Transparent and Accountable Recovery Process.
• The project intends to demonstrate a proof of concept for the 'Co-Creation' cooperation approach by strategically leveraging Japan's knowledge, technologies, and expertise to address urgent recovery needs in Ukraine and creating an enabling environment where the private sector, either domestic or international, including Japanese, can engage and take part in bringing and accelerating Ukraine's build-back-better recovery, particularly through public-private partnerships (PPPs) recovery.
• A significant challenge facing Ukraine is the limited access of young people, particularly young persons with disabilities, to education, skills development, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship support, and economic participation. To address these challenges, UNDP is supporting the development of a Model on Economic Self-Reliance of Youth, including Youth with Disabilities, aimed at creating an integrated pathway from education and skills development to employment, entrepreneurship, and sustainable economic participation. The Model should be based on strengthening inclusion, improving economic opportunities, and facilitating coordinated policy responses across relevant sectors and institutions.
• The development and institutionalization of such a model requires a coherent legal and regulatory framework that is consistent with Ukrainian legislation, international legal standards, principles of inclusion of people with disabilities, youth policy priorities and relevant commitments to European integration.

Task description:

• The Legal and Regulatory Expert on Inclusive Youth Economic Self-Reliance will provide high-level legal and regulatory expertise to support the development of regulatory provisions, legal mechanisms and supporting documentation necessary for the establishment and implementation of the Model.
• Under the supervision of the Project Coordinator, the Legal and Regulatory Expert on Inclusive Youth Economic Self-Reliance will perform the following tasks:
• A. Legal and Regulatory Framework Development
• Develop draft normative and regulatory provisions required for establishment and implementation of the Model on Economic Self-Reliance of Youth, including Youth with Disabilities.
• Develop legal provisions defining the concept, objectives, principles, components, implementation mechanisms, governance arrangements, financing mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation framework, and institutional responsibilities related to the Model.
• Develop regulatory provisions addressing key thematic areas of the Model, including youth employment, vocational orientation, skills development for employability, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, disability inclusion, inclusive labour market participation, economic accessibility, support for vulnerable groups of youth, and intersectoral coordination mechanisms.
• Develop legal provisions defining roles and responsibilities of central and local executive authorities, as well as mechanisms for interagency coordination required for implementation of the Model.
• Ensure consistency and alignment of proposed provisions with national legislation, international legal instruments, disability inclusion commitments, youth policy frameworks, and relevant European standards.
• Conduct legal review and analysis of existing legislative and policy frameworks relevant to youth development, employment, vocational education and training, entrepreneurship, disability inclusion, labour market participation, and socio-economic resilience.
• B. Development of Supporting Legal Documentation
• Prepare explanatory notes, legal analyses, comparative reviews, and other supporting documentation required for development and consideration of draft normative acts.
• Develop accompanying materials required for interagency review and approval processes, including financial and economic justification documents, preparation or contribution to financial and economic calculations required for consideration of draft normative acts, regulatory impact assessments (where applicable), and other supporting documents required under national procedures.
• Support preparation of consultation materials and responses to comments and recommendations received from relevant stakeholders during review and coordination processes.
• Ensure legal coherence, consistency, and quality of all developed regulatory and supporting documents.
• C. Expert Advisory and Policy Support
• Provide expert legal and regulatory advice on institutional arrangements, implementation mechanisms, and policy options supporting economic self-reliance of youth, including youth with disabilities.
• Identify legislative gaps, regulatory barriers, and opportunities for strengthening implementation of the proposed Model.
• Contribute legal expertise to multidisciplinary discussions involving youth policy, employment, entrepreneurship development, disability inclusion, labour market participation, and social policy.
• Formulate recommendations aimed at strengthening legal sustainability, feasibility, and practical implementation of the proposed Model.
• D. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination
• Participate in technical consultations, working groups, coordination meetings, and stakeholder discussions related to development of the Model.
• Collaborate with relevant government institutions, legal experts, youth policy specialists, disability inclusion stakeholders, academic institutions, and development partners.
• Support integration of stakeholder feedback into draft legal and regulatory documents.
• Contribute to dissemination of legal and policy findings relevant to development of the Model.
• Perform other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 7 years

Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience:

• 7 years

Languages:

• Ukrainian, Level: Fluent, Required
• English, Level: Working knowledge, Required

Required education level:

• Master's degree in An advanced university degree in Law is required. Additional education in Public Policy, Governance, Public Administration, or related fields is an advantage.

Competencies and values:

• Accountability
• Professionalism
• Strategic thinking
• Analytical thinking
• Judgement and decision-making
• Partnership building
• Knowledge sharing
• Self-management

Skills and experience:

• At least 3 years of demonstrated experience in drafting legal and regulatory acts, governmental resolutions, policy concepts, strategies, state target programmes, action plans, or other regulatory instruments developed for central government institutions at national level.
• Proven experience preparing explanatory notes, legal analyses, regulatory impact assessments, financial and economic justification documents, and other supporting materials accompanying draft legislation or governmental acts.
• Experience supporting the development of draft resolutions, regulations, concepts, strategies, or action plans submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of Ukrainian legislative drafting procedures and policy development processes.
• Strong knowledge of national legislation, international legal instruments, European standards, and human rights-based approaches.
• Experience related to youth policy, employment, entrepreneurship, disability inclusion, labour market development, social policy, or related thematic areas is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical, drafting, coordination, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work effectively with government institutions, technical experts, development partners, and multidisciplinary teams.

Area(s) of expertise:

• Development programmes, Economics and finance, Legal affairs

Driving license:

• -

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