Key Expert 2 - Improvement of legislation, control and awareness in food safety, animal health and welfare and phytosanitary in Ukraine (ILCA III) (m/f/d)

The project aims to support the government of Ukraine in adopting the EU acquis in the fields of food safety, animal health and welfare, and phytosanitary measures. It will contribute to raise the capacities of both the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (MAPF) and the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) in designing and implementing key reforms in these sectors and enhance the functionality of Ukraine’s services, control and infrastructure system in a gradual alignment with relevant EU and other international standards. The project will notably continue supporting the approximation of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation in sanitary and phytosanitary areas, build the risk assessment and control capacities of competent authority and contribute to the digitalization of its services.

The project is expected to commence in September 2025 and will have a duration of 40 months.

Objectives:

The main objectives are to enhance the functionality of food safety, animal health, and welfare services, as well as the control system. This will be achieved by gradually aligning with EU and other international standards, ensuring health guarantees for animals in different regions of the country, and implementing a comprehensive state prophylactic program against specific infectious diseases and zoonoses.

Your tasks:

• Provide expert guidance and support in aligning Ukrainian legislation, policies, and institutions with EU acquis in food safety, animal health, and welfare.
• Design and implement training programs, workshops, and knowledge transfer initiatives to enhance the capacities of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and its executive agencies.
• Support the development and implementation of risk assessment and control plans for food safety, animal health, and welfare.
• Foster strong relationships and effective communication with EU representatives, local authorities, and project partners.

Your qualifications: 

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in food safety or sciences, or veterinary medicine, or science, or animal husbandry, or phytosanitary, or agronomy/agricultural engineering, or a directly related discipline
• Education in veterinary medicine or plant health will be considered an asset
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Working knowledge of the Ukrainian language will be considered an asset
• At least 10 years of professional experience relating to the definition, implementation or review of legislation, regulatory frameworks, institutional set up, and related capacity building in fields related to agriculture and rural development
• At least 5 years of professional experience relating to legislation and regulatory development in the SPS sectors
• At least 2 years of professional experience in the legal alignment with EU legislation of national legislation (of EU candidate countries or non-EU countries at the time of the assignment)
• Recent experience (i.e., within the past 10 years) of participating in the implementation of technical assistance projects, each project of a minimum 12 months duration and each assignment in each of these projects of a minimum 6 months duration, in support of the implementation of the EU acquis 

Experiences considered as advantages: 

• Experience in a senior management position in a relevant public service of an EU member state
• Experience in project implementation of EU-funded projects in potential and/or candidate countries in the veterinary area

Your application:

Please send your CV with the subject line "Key Expert 2 Ukraine ILCA III" to Ms. Sandra Bieberbach, s.bieberbach@iakleipzig.de.