You will cover the EU accession process of Ukraine as well as the related reform process. Since the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014, Ukraine has made substantial progress in aligning with the EU. Since Russia’s full scale invasion of February 2022, this has accelerated significantly, which has resulted in the granting of EU candidacy status in June 2022 and the opening of the EU accession negotiations in December 2023. In the coming years, this will involve a vast amount of work for Ukraine.

You will monitor and analyse developments related to this, together with the First Secretary for EU Affairs and other colleagues within the Embassy. This entails following political discussions, legislative trajectories and the implementation of reforms, while being in constant contact with civil society and other stakeholders.

Because of the special importance the Netherlands attaches to the Rule of Law as a precondition for countries joining the EU, you will pay particular attention to developments in this field, such as the functioning of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. You might however also be covering other relevant policy topics in relation to Ukraine’s accession process, taking into account Dutch interests.

To support Ukraine with its reforms towards EU accession, the Embassy provides financing for dedicated civil society projects via the MATRA Programme. You will be responsible for administering these projects and will actively participate in the overall project management within the political cluster. You will also help to promote and administer Dutch participation in relevant accession projects via the EU itself (including Twinning and TAIEX).

• Pro-actively analysing and monitoring relevant developments in Ukraine’s EU accession and reform processes;
• Maintaining a broad network within government and civil society relating to these developments;
• Contributing to the promotion of Dutch priorities and support within Ukraine’s EU accession and reform processes;
• Administering and monitoring MATRA projects dedicated to supporting Ukraine’s EU accession and reform processes: assessing project proposals, drafting contracts, ensuring timely reporting, etc.
• Attending relevant meetings and reporting back to colleagues; organising relevant events on behalf of the Embassy;
• Contributing to coordination of projects within the Political Section, as well as project implementation via the Netherlands (including Twinning and TAIEX);
• Contributing to the organisation of incoming visits;
• Providing assistance where relevant, including as translator and interpreter.