MSME Expert

Location: Kryvyï Rih

Deadline for submitting the application: 10/04/2026 

Start date: 15/05/2026 

Contract type: Limited 

Contract term (months): 34.00 

1. Background

The Government of Luxembourg, acting through the Luxembourg Development Agency (LuxDev) has launched a five-year, multi-component, project in support of the Kryvyi Rih Raion (“the Raion”) in Ukraine (Project UKR/002) in April 2024. Guided by the principle of “build back better,” the project goes beyond emergency response to address the root causes of disruption—laying the groundwork for sustainable socio-economic recovery while improving the lives of more than 700,000 residents of the Raion, including internally displaced persons and veterans.

The project takes a comprehensive, people-centred approach, focusing on four interconnected specific objectives:

1. Supporting employment and economic recovery through TVET, entrepreneurship education and access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;
2. Improving access to quality education for children aged 3–17, including children with special needs, by upgrading facilities, learning environments and teaching practices;
3. Strengthening local governance, enabling authorities to plan, manage and implement recovery initiatives more effectively;
4. Enhancing energy security and resilience to ensure continuity of essential services.

The project is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with a budget exceeding €57 million and is implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency, in partnership with PROMAN and the National Development Institution (NDI, formerly Business Development Fund).

This assignment aims to complement LuxDev’s team with dedicated expertise in MSMEs and private sector engagement. The expert will contribute to Result 1.1: Increased access to finance for MSMEs (result implemented by the National Development Institution), as well as Result 3.1: Strengthened project management capacity of the Raion administration.

2. Objectives

The objectives of the assignment are as follows:

• Ensure strategic coordination and monitoring of all MSME-related activities of the project by overseeing the interventions implemented by NDI and other contractors;
• Strengthen the capacities at Raion and municipality level on private sector engagement and development by designing, delivering and supervising technical assistance (TA) and capacity building opportunities for the authorities in the KR Raion;
• Boost the resilience and degree of innovation of the private sector in the Raion by assisting Raion authorities in the elaboration or revision of public policies and by identifying, (co-)designing and elaborating projects in the area of expertise of the expert. The aim is not to be substitutive but to transfer knowledge and skills to allow the Raion to improve their performance on the subject and the likelihood of obtaining financing from oblast, national and international sources.

3. Responsibilities

• Lead the execution of the project’s activities on MSMEs
• Conduct a mapping of key stakeholders supporting the private sector in the Raion as well as an analysis of existing programmes (local, national and international)
• Conduct a TA needs analysis of the hromadas in the Raion to illustrate the most burning needs related to private sector development and engagement
• Elaborate concept notes on recommended UKR/002 project interventions on private sector development and engagement
• Ensure the oversight of the implementation of the MSME financing implemented by NDI
• Implement post-financing monitoring of the enterprises having benefitted from UKR/002 project support, as well as networking opportunities which could lead to strategic projects in the Raion
• Ensure the oversight of the MSME observatory, supervising the external contractor conducting the study
• Capitalize on the results of the above study by advising the authorities in the Raion on key strategies and projects to be undertaken which should lead to the economic resilience of the hromadas
• Provide tailored technical assistance (TA) to the authorities of the Raion to enhance the alignment and quality of their strategic documents with national and international objectives and programming priorities, as well as the quality of local or inter-municipal projects. Upon request from the authorities, the TA could also support other key stakeholders which might be involved in joint public or public-private projects or might have a key role in developing or implementing strategic documents or projects.
• Provide guidance to the Raion and City in the linkage between their development strategies and projects that deliver the planned results of those strategies. The TA support should ultimately lead to more robust and ‘bankable’ private sector development or engagement projects developed by the Raion authorities.
• Design, plan and deliver capacity-building activities: Based on an analysis of existing private sector development and engagement policies in the Raion, relevant statistical data and studies, and ongoing MSME support initiatives led by public authorities and other donors, provide targeted training to authorities and key stakeholders on private sector development, private sector engagement, and related topics. Study visits could also be considered to provide inspiration and create knowledge-transfer partnerships. These activities should strengthen the capacities of local staff and policymakers, enabling them to design and implement effective policies and programmes that foster a level playing field for MSMEs in the Raion and contribute to a more diversified and sustainable local economy.
• Identify and manage external short-term expertise that may be required in support of key MSME development projects
• Foster partnerships and institutional exchanges that can help build knowledge and capacity
• Lead or participate in activities contributing to the visibility of the actions funded by the Government of Luxembourg

4. Profile

Formal Qualifications

Higher Education: A master’s level degree or above in a relevant field connected with economics, finance or business is preferred. However, this will not be a requirement if the candidate has a high level of demonstrable practical experience in MSME interventions.

Languages: Ukrainian C2 level, English C1 level.

Professional Experience

• prior experience in developing private sector development and / or engagement strategies and projects;
• prior experience of working with donors and international financial institutions;
• prior experience working with MSMEs, ideally in a direct consulting or financing role;
• previous project participation, where the role performed is similar to that set out in Sections 2 and 3 above;
• deep understanding of the legal and administrative environment of Ukraine at decentralised level, but also an appreciation of the key national frameworks within which the development locally has to fit;
• in depth knowledge of the management of projects at hromada and other local levels.