Deputy Country Coordinator at Médicos del Mundo, Ukraine

Médicos del Mundo (Doctors of the World) is hiring a Deputy Country Coordinator to lead its program departments in Ukraine. This is a Senior Management Team position, placing you at the top table of the country mission.

The deadline is 30 November 2026, and the vacancy was posted on 15 October 2026. If you have five to nine years of experience managing humanitarian programs or projects, this role deserves your serious attention.

What this role actually involves

The Deputy Country Coordinator carries overall responsibility for the mission’s Program departments: the Programs unit, the Advocacy and Communication unit, the Health unit, and the MHPSS unit, which handles mental health and psychosocial support. In plain terms, every project the organisation runs in Ukraine passes through this person’s leadership.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, you do more than run projects. You guide several departments at once, make sure their work fits into one coherent strategy, and represent the program side in senior decisions. It is a coordination role, not a clinical one — your tools are planning, team leadership, and judgement, in one of the largest humanitarian emergencies in the world.

Key details at a glance

Are you the right fit?

This is a senior role with a high bar, so check yourself honestly before spending time on an application. The posting states the experience level plainly, and screening will be strict.

You are a strong fit if you:

• Have five to nine years of experience managing programs or projects, ideally in humanitarian or emergency settings.
• Have led teams across more than one department or technical sector.
• Are comfortable with health programming and mental health and psychosocial support work.
• Can make decisions under pressure in a difficult emergency context.
• Communicate clearly with senior colleagues, partners, and donors.

Who should not apply:

• If you have less than five years of program management experience, this is not the right level.
• If you have never worked in a humanitarian or emergency setting, the learning curve at this seniority would be very steep.
• If you are looking for a medical or clinical position — this is management and coordination, not clinical work.

If Ukraine-based senior humanitarian leadership is your target, compare the Deputy Country Director position with People in Need in Kyiv to see how similar roles are structured.

One note on the location: the listing names Ukraine as the duty station, although the ad text also contains the letters “NES”, which appears to be a copy-paste error in the original posting. Go by Ukraine as stated, and confirm the exact base location directly if you reach the interview stage.

How to apply

Applications go through the official Médicos del Mundo employment portal using the link below. Read the full vacancy notice there first and confirm you meet the five-to-nine-year experience requirement.

Prepare a CV that makes your program management experience impossible to miss. The hiring team will look for proof of leadership — teams led, budgets managed, results achieved — not just years on paper. A short cover letter connecting your background to the four units in this role (Programs, Advocacy and Communication, Health, and MHPSS) will strengthen your application. Submit well before 30 November 2026, since senior roles attract strong candidates early.

What happens after you apply

Recruitment for a Senior Management Team role usually runs in several stages. First, HR screens every application against the experience requirement — this is where most candidates are filtered out, so your management years must be visible at a glance. Shortlisted candidates are then invited to interviews, often including a technical discussion on program strategy and sometimes a practical exercise.

Reference checks with previous employers are standard at this level. The full process can take several weeks, so apply early and stay patient after submitting.

Why this role is worth a serious look

Deputy Country Coordinator is one of the most influential positions in any humanitarian country mission. You shape what the organisation actually does — which health services keep running, how mental health support reaches people, and where advocacy is directed. Few roles offer this much scope to affect a crisis response.

It also builds serious professional credibility. Experience at this level, in this context, is recognised across the humanitarian sector and is a natural stepping stone toward Country Director roles — it is worth studying postings like the Country Director position at Première Urgence Internationale to see what that next step requires.

An honest note for international readers: the posting does not mention visa sponsorship or work authorisation. Senior international roles like this are normally filled through expatriate contracts, and organisations at this level normally arrange work authorisation for the person they hire — but that is not stated on the official page, so raise it early in the recruitment process rather than treating it as a guarantee.

Frequently asked questions