Mission and objectives

UNFPA 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. UNFPA’s 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.

Context

The 2025 Voluntary National Review (VNR) consultations, led by NITI Aayog and supported by the UN in India, prioritized 13 “Leave No One Behind” (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 Description

Under the direct supervision of the State Programme Analyst - Madhya Pradesh, the UNV will perform the following tasks: • Assist in providing technical support for the implementation of innovative and effective strategies for advancing adolescent and youth centric policies and programming; • 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; • Provide support in implementation of RKSK and Life Skills Education program in schools managed by the labour department. • Data collections, analysis and report preparation for various tribal programmes and schemes aimed towards empowerment of young people; • Support mobilisation, raise awareness, facilitate access to government programmes and schemes for the adolescents and youth in tribal communities; • 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; • 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; • Coordinate with government nodal officials and assist in providing technical support to key stakeholders including capacity building, feedback and regular review for effective programme delivery; • Support in improving access to correct and comprehensive information, life skills and services for young people from tribal communities; • Participate in the development and updating of guidelines, communication and training materials, briefing notes, and any other programme related documents as required; • Support ad-hoc administrative and operational tasks. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • 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); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/ write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/ websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • 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 values

• Accountability • Adaptability and Flexibility • Building Trust • Commitment and Motivation • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Communication • Empowering Others • Ethics and Values • Integrity • Knowledge Sharing • Planning and Organizing • Professionalism • Respect for Diversity • Self-Management • Technological Awareness • Working in Teams.

Living conditions and remarks

Bhopal is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal district and Bhopal division. Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes for its various natural as well as artificial lakes and is also one of the greenest cities in India. Bhopal has a humid subtropical climate, with cool, dry winters, a hot summer and a humid monsoon season. Summers start in late March and go on till mid-June, the average temperature being around 30 °C (86 °F), with the peak of summer in May, when the highs regularly exceed 40 °C (104 °F). The monsoon starts in late June and ends in late September. The winter peaks in January. The UN Volunteer will be stationed at the UNFPA state office in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions. For information specific to your assignment, please see below: • Monthly Voluntary Living Allowance (VLA): INR 25,984.60 • Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 50 (equivalent in INR) • Insurance: Comprehensive coverage for health, life and malicious acts for the UN Volunteer only. • Annual leave: 2.5 days per month • 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.