Youth-led Humanitarian Action Inspirator

Location: Mykolaiv, Ukraine, with in-country travel (up to 10%)

Contract duration: 10 months, Starting 01/02/2026

Contract Type: Consultancy

Open to: National candidates

Salary: According to ActionAid’s salary grid – EUR 900,00

Reporting to: Social Movements Lead

Direct Reports: N/A

Recruitment: External candidates

About us:

ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice. ActionAid’s Regional Office for Eastern Europe was established in Kyiv in 2022 and is covering projects in Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Moldova and Georgia. ActionAid works through a wide range of local partner organisations in the nexus, prioritising young people’s leadership, civil society development, women’s rights and leadership, the protection of at-risk groups and minorities, as well as humanitarian assistance. 

The Role:

The role will support youth-led initiatives that have emerged from the humanitarian response to transition from ad-hoc, crisis-driven action into coordinated, rights-based humanitarian leadership. Building on young people’s roles as first responders, volunteers, and community organizers, the role focuses on strengthening collective organization, shared humanitarian principles, and youth-designed pathways for engagement in recovery and local decision-making. The Inspirator will help youth-led humanitarian initiatives document their impact, connect compassion to strategy, and advocate for inclusive, feminist, and youth-led recovery processes that centre dignity, equality, and agency. The role aims to transform fragmented acts of solidarity into a sustained youth-led force for resilience, demonstrating that humanitarian action can be both locally rooted and democratically transformative.

The role is based in Mykolaiv and reports to the Social Movements Lead. The role works closely with the Programs team, the Comms Senior Officer, the PQMEAL team, the Project Development & Implementation Coordinator, as well as other teams and support staff, as well as other colleagues based in Moldova, Poland, Romania, Denmark and Spain.

 Tasks and Priorities

1. Youth-Led Humanitarian Learning and Well-Being

• Facilitate learning sessions with youth groups on humanitarian principles, protection, inclusion, and feminist approaches to humanitarian action.

• Host reflection, peer-support, and well-being circles for young humanitarian responders, recognising the emotional labour and risks involved in crisis response.

• Provide ongoing support to young people engaged through Global Platform (GP) trainings and youth hubs.

2. Support to Youth-Led Humanitarian Initiatives

• Mentor youth groups to co-design and implement community-led micro-initiatives focused on protection, inclusion, or humanitarian access.

• Guide youth-led community needs assessments, prioritisation processes, and advocacy planning grounded in lived experience.

• Support youth initiatives to document their actions, outcomes, and learning in accessible and youth-friendly formats.

3. Youth-Led Advocacy and Coordination

• Support the co-development of a youth humanitarian action plan together with local youth groups and community actors.

• Facilitate linkages between youth-led initiatives and existing local humanitarian coordination and governance spaces, strengthening youth participation and representation.

• Accompany youth groups in producing advocacy, learning, and communication materials that reflect youth-led humanitarian practices and priorities.

4. Learning, Knowledge Sharing, and Partnerships

• Contribute to the development of advocacy and learning briefs documenting youth-led humanitarian practices, in collaboration with partner organisations.

• Support local partnerships and coordination efforts between youth groups, civil society organisations, and humanitarian actors.

5. Cross-Cutting Responsibilities for All Inspirators

• Support creative campaigning and organising efforts led by young people within GP youth hubs.

• Contribute to ActionAid- and GP-coordinated learning, advocacy, and campaign activities.

• Participate in digital knowledge-sharing communities and cross-country learning exchanges.

• Engage in personal learning and professional development through induction processes, trainings, and peer learning opportunities.

(The responsibilities of this position are subject to change as required by the rapidly evolving context.)

Who we're looking for:

• A university degree in a relevant discipline

• Strong background in humanitarian action, policy influencing, or civic participation.

• Demonstrated experience in supporting youth-led or feminist organizations to engage in structured advocacy and institutional dialogue.

• Demonstrated experience in supporting humanitarian iniatitives, local and/or national.

• Skills in facilitation, organizational development, and participatory strategy design.

• Experience producing policy briefs, position papers, or advocacy toolkits.

• Understanding of local governance, youth policy frameworks, and participatory decision making processes.

• Understanding of humanitairan coordination spaces

• Proficiency in English and Ukrainian.

Personal qualifications:

• Strategic thinker who can bridge grassroots energy with institutional engagement.

• Confident facilitator who can translate complex policy issues into accessible learning for youth.

• Politically astute, values-driven, and comfortable navigating power and bureaucracy.

• Committed to feminist and intersectional approaches — ensuring advocacy is inclusive, participatory, and transformative.

• Patient mentor and relationship-builder who values process as much as outcome.

In addition, we expect:

• A strong commitment to AA’s vision, mission, and values, especially the rights-based approach and the principles of equal opportunity as outlined in ActionAid’s Code of Conduct. 

• A strong commitment to embedding feminist leadership and ActionAid’s humanitarian signature

• A strong commitment to adhering to and promoting ActionAid’s approach to Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse and other Safeguarding concerns (including child abuse and abuse of adults at-risk)

 • A strong understanding of and commitment to women’s rights and cultural sensitivity. 

• A commitment to the importance of downward accountability to rights-holders and transparency in humanitarian response.

What we offer:

ActionAid is committed to providing a welcoming, supportive workplace where we recognize a job well done, encourage close collaboration and sharing power, and where safeguarding standards and feminist leadership are exemplified everywhere. At ActionAid, you can look forward to a fair compensation package and a flexible working environment, including.

• A workplace that embraces intersectional feminist principles

• Flexible, family-friendly working arrangements.

• Salary and conditions according to ActionAid’s policies

How to apply:

Please send your CV and cover letter as pdfs in English (no more than 2 pages each) to Відправити резюме with the reference Ukraine – Youth-led Humanitarian ActionInspirator by the end of day on 11th of January, 2026.

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This offer is contingent upon pending funding applications for the role.

ActionAid conducts thorough reference checks before making an offer. 

Due to high volumes of applications received, we can only correspond with short-listed applicants. Should you not have received feedback on your application within two weeks of the closing date, please consider your application as unsuccessful. ActionAid will not consider unsolicited candidates from recruitment agencies. ActionAid reserves the right to modify, re-announce, or withdraw any of our vacancies at any time.ActionAid is committed to recruiting candidates who promote ActionAid’s SHEA and Safeguarding policies and values and will only recruit candidates who are committed to SHEA and Safeguarding and ActionAid’s values, thereby helping to create safer working cultures.

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