Cultural Infrastructural Expert
Job Description: Employee of the Recovery Support Unit at the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
Employment Type: Full-time. Contract valid for the specified period.
Expected Start Date: October 2024
Host Organization: Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
Location: Ukraine, Kyiv, Ivana Franka St., 19
Duration: 8 months with the possibility of extension
Mission and Objectives:
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has deeply impacted resources and funding for the cultural sector. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, cultural institutions, art education establishments, and cultural heritage sites in Ukraine have been daily destroyed or damaged. Over 1,000 archaeological, historical, and art monuments and more than 2,000 cultural infrastructure objects (libraries, museums, theaters, clubs, and educational institutions) have been damaged or completely destroyed. The surviving sites remain under daily threat of bombing and destruction. The Recovery Support Unit at the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine will provide expert-analytical support, strategic guidance and project coordination for the development of models for the restoration and reconstruction of destroyed cultural heritage and infrastructures in Ukraine. This will promote the complete and systematic modernization and transformation of the cultural sector to ensure the provision of cultural services to the Ukrainian population, in line with international highest standards and their fulfillment, including UNESCO conventions. In line with international standards (in particular UNESCO Conventions and Recommendations), the Recovery Support Unit will help to develop the most appropriate operational approach to ensure that culture is mainstreamed into recovery plans, that actions are coordinated among different stakeholders, that relevant data are systematically collected and processed, that funding opportunities for local interventions can be identified in the spirit of decentralization, and that appropriate mechanisms are put in place for this purpose.
Additionally, the Recovery Support Unit will ensure the development of regulatory frameworks for national legislation on the restoration of cultural heritage and infrastructure, the digital transformation, the development and launch of registries; and lead projects on the development of comprehensive models for institutional and infrastructural recovery of cultural institutions.
Task Description
In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, the Cultural Infrastructural Expert works on providing a technical advice on issues of conservation, restoration and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed cultural institutions.
Job Responsibilities (non-exhaustive list):
- Organize a system for analyzing potential material cultural heritage objects conservation, restoration and reconstruction projects and provide relevant proposals and conclusions to the Project Manager in the Field of Restoration.
- Assist the Project Manager in the Field of Restoration in defining and implementing a unified approach to the conservation, restoration and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed cultural institutions, taking into account international best practices, quality standards and guidelines, as well as specific requirements for areas protected under the World Heritage Convention. Assisting the Project Manager in the Field of Restoration in developing project monitoring and evaluation methodologies to support their implementation; ensuring inter-ministerial cooperation and synergies to fully integrate culture into regional, municipal and community recovery and reconstruction plans, decentralization policies and the implementation of a harmonized approach to recovery and reconstruction.
- Assist the Project Manager in the Field of Restoration in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of restoration (conservation) projects of cultural heritage identified by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine,
- Advise on strategies, guidelines and protocols.
- Assist responsible individuals in developing project tools, plans, and budgets for funding restoration (conservation) projects identified by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, develop monitoring and evaluation methods to support the implemented projects.
- Position involves official business trips across Ukraine within project implementation.
Candidate Requirements:
- Ukrainian citizenship.
- Individual entrepreneur with the appropriate type of entrepreneurial activity.
- Fluent in Ukrainian and English.
- Practical experience in implementing construction projects in collaboration with international organizations, donors, and foreign partners.
- Excellent communication skills and skills in preparing and forming reports.
- Ability to troubleshoot, adapt to changing conditions, and attention to detail to achieve accurate and reliable results.