The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (U-MOD) continues the process of selecting candidates for independent members of the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) Supervisory Board. A total of 12 candidates from six countries will be invited for interviews. In addition to the four Ukrainian citizens, two candidates from the US, the UK, and Poland, as well as one from Germany and France, will take part in the interviews.

"Despite the military threats, the establishment of the agency's Supervisory Board is an important step towards increasing the transparency and efficiency of procurement procedures. The launch of the new monitoring tool will strengthen the confidence of Ukraine's partners in the defence procurement management during the fight against the aggressor," said Glib Kanevskyi, Director of the U-MOD Procurement Policy Department.

The Ministry of Defence has organised an open selection process to ensure compliance with international standards of corporate governance by state-owned enterprises in accordance with the practices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and NATO member states.

In March 2024, the DPA announced the selection of a professional recruitment company through the simplified procurement procedure on the Prozorro e-platform to help select independent members of the agency's Supervisory Board.

On 29 March, based on the results of the procurement procedure, Talent Advisors LLC (Odgers Berndtson) was contracted to find candidates for the positions of three independent members of the DPA Supervisory Board.

In order to save public funds, the recruitment company's services are being procured at the expense of a donor (funds were allocated as a part of the support programme of the Special Adviser on Defence of the UK Embassy in Ukraine).

As of now, Talent Advisors LLC has shortlisted candidates who will be invited for interviews with the U-MOD representatives. The competitive selection process will be completed after the appointment of three independent members to the Supervisory Board.  

The functions of the Supervisory Board members are to develop and monitor the implementation of the agency's strategy, create a corporate governance system, control management and align interests, audit, promote transparency, etc.

The required competencies of potential members of the DPA Supervisory Board include:

• procurement and logistics;

• business strategy and development;

• corporate governance and compliance;

• finance and audit;

• international relations;

• risk management.

For reference: Talent Advisors LLC is a part of the international group Odgers Berndtson. Talent Advisors LLC (Odgers Berndtson) provides recruitment services to Ukrainian and international companies, as well as government agencies. The company has 63 offices in 29 countries in Europe, America, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The company has a global Aerospace&Defence practice for executive search in the aerospace and defence industry.