The case:

In the autumn of 2022, an international NGO needed to begin humanitarian work in Ukraine during wartime, when speed and compliance were vital. With Acvian’s EOR solution, the organization’s American management team gained expert guidance on Ukrainian labor law, payroll, and PTO rules, along with on-site administrative support. The NGO rapidly built a local presence, scaling to a large team, and later transitioned smoothly to its own entity.

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Key figures:

Project duration: 1 year

Local team built in: 6 months

Employees onboarded: 23

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The challenge:

An international NGO needed to establish an on-site presence in Ukraine in the autumn of 2022, when the country was already under martial law. Due to wartime administrative complications, establishing a local entity was not a sensible option. The organization’s priority was to start helping affected people without any delays, in line with their mission. On top of administrative and time-sensitive challenges, the NGO’s management team consisted of American nationals who lacked experience with Ukrainian labor laws.

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The solution:

The NGO sought Acvian’s support to enter the country using the EOR (Employer of Record) model and received comprehensive assistance at every stage. Our EOR service package included:

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• Consulting the management team on local employment regulations, payroll calculations, business-related expense processing, and PTO;
• Providing regular on-site support with paperwork and other recurring tasks in the NGO’s Kyiv office;
• Onboarding the first 6 employees and growing the client’s local team to 23 employees within the first 6 months of our cooperation;
• After 1 year of cooperation, supporting the organization as it established a local entity and needed to transition the existing team to the new employment model.

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The outcome:

‍The client successfully started operations under tight deadlines and acquired essential knowledge for managing an international NGO in Ukraine.

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In the autumn of 2022, an international NGO needed to begin humanitarian work in Ukraine during wartime, when speed and compliance were vital. With Acvian’s EOR solution, the organization’s American management team gained expert guidance on Ukrainian labor law, payroll, and PTO rules, along with on-site administrative support. The NGO rapidly built a local presence, scaling to a large team, and later transitioned smoothly to its own entity.

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EOR combines speed with compliance, both of which are critical factors when working under martial law or other exceptional conditions. NGOs can hire local staff, process payroll, and manage employment issues without building in-house HR capacity. This ensures the organization can focus on its humanitarian goals while an EOR provider handles all administrative tasks.