Programmes Manager – Ukraine Response

Choose Love is a compelling international organisation doing whatever it takes to identify, close and prevent gaps in services and protections for refugees and displaced people globally. Choose Love is pioneering a new movement in humanitarian aid: fast, flexible, transparent and accountable. They are a lean, passionate team driving a fast-paced global movement across 15 countries, and have raised millions to support refugees and created a movement of people putting love into action around the world.

Following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24th 2022, Choose Love was one of the first funders in, working quickly to assess needs, build on their network of first responders and release funding fast and flexibly to the most effective local organisations. Within days of the invasion, Choose Love had a team on the ground assessing the needs and meeting potential partners for due diligence.

Choose Love responded with two complementary strands of strategic humanitarian support: (1) emergency response and (2) longer-term support and capacity building. They were working to ensure that both of these strands reach organisations and communities in Ukraine and the surrounding countries. They use their strategic communications and narrative strengths to counter misinformation and mobilise a network of influencers – driving more funding and awareness of the situation.

Prospectus was mandated to help Choose Love in the search for a Programmes Manager – Ukraine Response, at a crucial time.

Reporting to the Head of Programmes Operations and the Director of Programmes, the Programmes Manager needed to support the organisation’s programmatic efforts relating to the crisis in Ukraine including needs assessment, identifying and onboarding new partners, grants management and donor reporting. The Programmes Manager would develop and maintain effective and productive working relationships with stakeholders to enhance cooperation and coordination. Choose Love needed someone who understood the context in Ukraine and neighbouring countries and could maintain up-to-date information on the needs in the region, as well as conduct continuous needs assessments using Choose Love’s framework, to make recommendations for the most effective use of funding.

After a meticulous recruitment search, Prospectus was delighted to have appointed Alexandra Kutas, a multilingual international development professional with thorough experience of the Ukraine geographical area, as well as a solid track record of Programmes and Grants management, fundraising, and rapid humanitarian response. Throughout her career, Alexandra has shown excellent interpersonal skills and the capability of building and nurturing key relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels. She will now draw on her understanding of the region and sector to deliver exceptional support to refugees and displaced people across the Ukrainian region.