UNLA has identified the key stages in developing the professional standard for GR professionals
The Ukrainian National Lobbyists Association held a working meeting to develop the professional standard “Government Relations Professional.” The meeting marked the next practical step toward establishing clear professional guidelines for the field of government relations in Ukraine.
The working meeting took place on September 25, 2026, in Kyiv in a hybrid format—with both in-person and remote participation by members of the working group. The meeting was chaired by Yana Tsymbalenko, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Ukrainian National Lobbyists Association. Participants focused on organizing the group’s work and identifying priority actions necessary to develop the professional standard within the established timeframe.
Key issues include the approval of a general work plan, conducting labor market research at the regional and national levels, and preparing a survey of employers and representatives of state and local government bodies. It is precisely the analysis of actual demand, job functions, and competencies that should form the basis of the future standard, so that the document meets not only formal requirements but also the practical needs of the profession.
TheUkrainian National Lobbyists Association began work on a professional framework for GR specialists earlier this year. A working group was formed, comprising representatives from employers, the business community, academia, and labor unions. As the Association emphasized, the group’s composition remains open to further involvement of Ukrainian and international companies as well as relevant experts.
The working group included representatives of employers and their associations: Yaroslav Yermakov (PRO EDWIZERS LLC), Oleg Krykavsky and Maria Arshinnikova (ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC), Oleksandr Rudakov (Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Rail Active Management LLC), Roman Syvyi (OKKO), and Oleksii Shevchuk (Ukrainian National Lobbyists Association). The labor union sector is represented by Volodymyr Brazhevsky. The working group from the education sector includes: Lyudmyla Kozhura—Doctor of Law, professor, and director of the Law Institute at the Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University; Yana Tsymbalenko—Candidate of Sciences in Public Administration, Associate Professor in the Department of Theory and Practice of Management at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute; Viktor Shcherbina—Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Sociology, Professor at the Kyiv Institute of Business and Technology, and Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
A separate professional standard is intended to more clearly define the scope of a GR professional’s work, their qualification requirements, competencies, ethical principles, and scope of responsibility. This is particularly important for distinguishing between government relations and lobbying: GR involves systematic, transparent, and long-term interaction between organizations and government authorities, whereas lobbying is associated with influencing the adoption of specific laws and regulations.
For Ukraine, this kind of occupational clarity is important not only for the labor market. It lays the groundwork for high-quality education and professional training, the establishment of clear requirements for employers, the development of professional ethics, and responsible communication between the business sector and the government.
The next step will be to collect and review proposals for the draft professional standard. The consolidated results of the research and consultations will be taken into account when developing its content, after which the document will be presented for broad professional discussion.
