Mission and objectivesUNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPAโs strategic plan, focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. UNFPA has been operating in India since 1974. The India Country Office is now in its 10th Country Programme (CP-10). CP-10 envisions an India where every woman and young person, including those from the most vulnerable groups, enjoys gender equality, fully realizes sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, and fully contributes to sustainable development. The country programme was developed in consultation with national and State governments, civil society, United Nations organizations and other stakeholders, including women and youth-led organizations, based on the principles of inclusion, human rights and gender equality.
ContextThe 2025 Voluntary National Review (VNR) consultations, led by NITI Aayog and supported by the UN in India, prioritized 13 โLeave No One Behindโ (LNOB) groups, including Scheduled Tribes and Adivasis, highlighting the urgent need to build capacities, ensure access, and foster meaningful representation for youth from tribal communities. The consultations identified critical gaps in skills, leadership opportunities, and systemic support for youth from tribal communities, emphasising the need for targeted career pathways and inclusive development strategies. UNFPA works in partnership with tribal departments at both national and state levels to advance the health, rights, and wellbeing of tribal populations, with a strong focus on adolescents, women, and youth. UNFPA supports life skills education, sexual and reproductive health awareness, and gender equality initiatives among youth from tribal communities through community-based and school based programmes. In alignment with the UN Youth Strategy (Phase 2: 2025-2030) which places youth at the center of global transformation and SDG acceleration, the United Nations in India is launching a structured, first-of-its-kind initiative: the Adi Yuva Fellowship. This innovative programme will bring together the expertise of UN agencies to mentor and train youth from tribal communities to sharpen their knowledge and skills to enhance employment opportunities in the development sector , and also to create a more inclusive environment within the UN System in India. Young people recruited through the Adi Yuva Fellowship will have access to learning and professional development opportunities, including a suite of online learning programmes fostering their professional growth and contributing to inclusivity. Fellows will receive a paid 12-month assignment and valuable work experience, enabling them to build competencies for future leadership roles. By combining structured learning with practical work experience, the Fellowship not only accelerates the professional growth of young people but also creates a pipeline of diverse and capable talent ready to drive sustainable development and social impact. The Adi Yuva Fellows, located in impactful roles across ministries/departments and UN development programmes, will assist in the health and well-being programme management including planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation. He/she will be responsible for the effective programme support and management on access to age appropriate, gender sensitive and socially inclusive information and services and linkages with other programme areas.
Task DescriptionUnder the direct supervision of the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and in coordination with the Adolescent and Youth unit - UNFPA Country Office, the UNV will perform the following tasks: โข Assist in providing technical support for the implementation of innovative and effective strategies for advancing adolescent and youth centric policies and programming; โข Support in strengthening of EMRS and Aashram Schools to offer quality education and life skills for tribal adolescents. โข Assist in promoting and advocating for programmes that focus on availability and access to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) services, life skills education, youth leadership and empowerment, with special focus on young people from tribal groups; โข Data collections, analysis and report preparation for various tribal programs and schemes such as EMRS and Aashram schools aimed towards empowerment of young people โข Assist in analyzing bottlenecks at national and state levels to the delivery of information and services and suggest approaches to address needs and challenges of tribal adolescents and young people that are inclusive and innovative; โข Provide support in identifying innovative youth leadership interventions specifically on youth from tribal communities and adapt them to indian context for implementation by the ministry; โข Assist in providing technical support to key stakeholders including capacity building, feedback and regular review for effective programme delivery. โข Participate in the development and updating of guidelines, communication and training materials, briefing notes, and any other programme related documents as required; โข Support ad-hoc administrative and operational tasks. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: โข Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); โข Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; โข Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; โข Contribute articles/ write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/ websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; โข Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
Competencies and valuesโข Accountability โข Adaptability and Flexibility โข Building Trust โข Commitment and Motivation โข Commitment to Continuous Learning โข Communication โข Empowering Others โข Ethics and Values โข Integrity โข Knowledge Sharing โข Planning and Organizing โข Professionalism โข Respect for Diversity โข Self-Management โข Technological Awareness โข Working in Teams.
Living conditions and remarksNew Delhi and the surrounding National Capital Region is a large and bustling metropolis of some 14 million people undergoing rapid changes. The capital city is an administrative, cultural and commercial center with modern amenities and well connected by air. It is a safe place with large expatriate community drawn from embassies, UN agencies, MNCs and foreign businesses. It has short moderate winter and long hot summer. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. This position is based in New Delhi. The UN Volunteer will be stationed at the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in New Delhi. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions. The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. For information specific to your assignment, please see below: โข Monthly Voluntary Living Allowance (VLA): INR 25,984.60 โข Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 50 (equivalent in INR) โข Insurance: Comprehensive coverage for health, life and malicious acts for the UN Volunteer only. โข Annual leave: 2.5 days per month โข Learning: Access to UNV's learning and career development resources You can check full entitlements at https://app.unv.org/calculator. UN Volunteers will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.