Olena Panasenko

Olena Panasenko (Ukraine)

Small Grants Associate, UNDP Ukraine

Olena has been working for more than four years with UN agencies in humanitarian assistance and on development programmes for Ukraine’s conflict-affected regions and population. Prior to joining the UNDP team, for more than two years Olena worked as a project assistant at the International Organization for Migration (Emergency and Stabilization Department) in Kyiv.

In April 2019, Olena began her work as a Small Grants Associate with UNDP, working in Severodonetsk for the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme in its “Community Security and Social Cohesion” Component. Olena’s responsibilities include supporting the implementation of grant selection processes, advising NGO partners, and monitoring the smooth and timely implementation of supported projects.

Olena holds a Master’s Degree in Management from Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, and a Specialist’s Degree in English Language and Literature from Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University. Before joining the UN, she worked in the privet sector as an export manager with Aquarodos, one of Ukraine’s largest furniture companies.

UNDP and me

“What motivates me at work is the people, who are making every effort to change their homeland for the better. I really appreciate the opportunity to work with a great team that is 100 percent – and sometimes even more than that – dedicated to its work.”