How to hire creative talent in Ukraine
Ukraine has one of the largest and most experienced creative and technology talent pools in Europe, with a long history of working for clients in Western Europe and North America. The war has displaced part of that pool without removing it, and many designers continue to work remotely from within Ukraine or from neighbouring countries.
What the creative pool in Ukraine actually looks like.
Deep across almost every creative discipline: motion design, 3D, illustration, product design and video post-production all have real depth, including at senior level. This is the most experienced remote-working pool in this list.
- Motion design
- 3D and CGI
- Illustration
- Product design
- Video editing
Language, hours, contracts and getting paid.
- Ukrainian, with Russian also widely spoken. English is common and often strong, particularly among people who have worked with Western clients.
- Two hours ahead of London, giving most of the working day in common.
- The individual entrepreneur scheme is very widely used and designed for exactly this kind of work, so invoicing tends to be straightforward. Wise, Payoneer and direct transfer are all common.
- Contractor engagements through the individual entrepreneur scheme are the established norm and require nothing on your side beyond a contract. This is the most mature freelance-contracting market in the region.
The boards people in Ukraine actually use.
Job hunting is local. The global boards you already know have almost no audience here, and the sites that do are not in English and mostly will not take a posting from a company without a local presence.
What catches foreign agencies out.
Air raid alerts and power interruptions affect working patterns. Agree on how deadlines flex before they need to.
Confirm where somebody is currently based, as a significant number relocated within or beyond the country.
Or skip all of it and post once.
Everything above is doable on your own. It takes a local number, a local entity on some boards, a translated description and somebody to read applications in Ukrainian. Elsewhere does that part for you. You write the role once in English, pick your markets, and upload examples of the work you want. We translate it, post it to the local boards, pay the posting fees, and score every applicant’s portfolio against your references before you see them.
- One job description in English, plus examples of the work you are looking for.
- Translation into Ukrainian, posting to the local boards, and the fees they charge.
- Applicants ranked by how closely their portfolio matches the work you uploaded.
Do I need a local entity to hire someone in Ukraine?
Not to engage a contractor. Contractor engagements through the individual entrepreneur scheme are the established norm and require nothing on your side beyond a contract. This is the most mature freelance-contracting market in the region. Employing someone on a local payroll is a different question and does normally require an entity or an employer of record.
What language should I write the job description in?
Ukrainian, with Russian also widely spoken. English is common and often strong, particularly among people who have worked with Western clients. Elsewhere translates your English description into the local language automatically, so you write it once.
Which job boards should I post on in Ukraine?
The boards that matter locally are Djinni, robota.ua, Work.ua. Elsewhere posts to them for you and covers the posting fees.
How much overlap will I get with my working day?
Two hours ahead of London, giving most of the working day in common.
How do I pay someone in Ukraine?
The individual entrepreneur scheme is very widely used and designed for exactly this kind of work, so invoicing tends to be straightforward. Wise, Payoneer and direct transfer are all common.