Programme Specialist, Adolescents and Youth

Job title:                                         Programme Specialist, Adolescents and Youth

Level:              NO-C

Position Number: 34492

Location: New Delhi, India
Full/Part time: Full-time

Fixed term/Temporary:  Fixed Term

Rotational/Non Rotational:             Non-rotational

Duration: One year (renewable)

The Position:

The Programme Specialist, Adolescent and Youth  manages UNFPA’s work on adolescents and youth, working to ensure every young person’s potential is fulfilled, to accelerate achievement of the ICPD Programme of Action and Agenda 2030. You will lead technical and policy advice in the area of adolescents and youth and ensure linkages with other UNFPA programmes in the areas of gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights and population dynamics.

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Representative, you will report directly to the Programme and Technical Support Coordinator.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

UNFPA has been a partner of the Government of India and People since 1974 and is now on its 10th five-year Country Programme. The Country Programme leverages large-scale government programmes to reach vulnerable and marginalized groups of young people. UNFPA remains a trusted and important partner to the Ministries of Health and Education to support the roll-out and institutionalization of the Comprehensive School Health Programme. UNFPA’s technical support to strengthen the School Health and Wellness Programme and the  Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (National Adolescent Health Programme) is well recognized. While taking advantage of working with national government programmes, the interventions have also been designed to demonstrate innovative ways of reaching out to vulnerable adolescents particularly adolescents with disabilities and those from marginalised groups such as the tribal communities.  

The position provides strategic and technical leadership to advance adolescents and youth priorities within the country programme, informed by foresight analysis, data and demographic intelligence to anticipate emerging trends affecting young people, particularly their sexual and reproductive health. The role promotes integrated programming that connects comprehensive sexuality education, the prevention of child marriage, and the reduction of adolescent and unintended pregnancy, recognizing their interlinked drivers and consequences for health, gender equality and human capital development. 

Working collaboratively across programme units—including sexual and reproductive health, gender, and population dynamics—and engaging with the UNFPA state offices, the incumbent supports the development and scaling of innovative, evidence-based approaches that leverage technology and digital solutions to reach adolescents and youth more effectively. Through strong partnerships with government, civil society, private sector youth networks and development partners, the role advances policy dialogue, strengthens systems, and supports coordinated action to empower young people to realize their rights and potential.

You would be responsible for: 

A.: Policy Dialogue and Technical Support

• Provide technical leadership on adolescents and youth, and position the rights and needs of adolescents and youth within the context of broader development dialogues and efforts.
• Represent UNFPA and promote the rights and needs of adolescents and youth as central to achieving the ICPD Programme of Action and Agenda 2030 in high-level meetings, conference and fora. 
• Keep abreast of policy and legal developments that affect adolescents and youth, including access to sexual and reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education, and prepare analysis for senior management on potential impacts to achievement of the UNFPA transformative results.
• Identify policy gaps in the areas of adolescents and youth in India, and translate knowledge gained from programming into concrete policy recommendations.
• Support the Country Office in conducting policy dialogue with Government, UN and other development partners to incorporate the rights and needs of adolescents and youth into national plans, strategies and polices, and within UN system initiatives and development frameworks.
• Represents UNFPA in technical forums of government, academic institutions as well as of other technical agencies; participate in technical networks related to adolescents and youth, including comprehensive sexuality education.
• Provide technical guidance to strategic positioning of adolescents and youth at the state level, including in relation to state policies and interventions.
• Ensure that state-of-the-art thinking and research is integrated within UNFPA’s adolescent and youth programmes, and applies an integrated approach to gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights and population dynamics.
• Provide technical guidance on inclusive programming for adolescents and youth. 

B.: Advocacy and Resource Mobilization

• Identify opportunities to position adolescent and youth development within broader development frameworks, including national conferences, fora, policy roundtables, and lead UNFPA’s participation.
• Advocate for increases in national/state budgetary allocations and expenditures for adolescents and youth to leverage financing for the ICPD agenda and to ensure sustainability of interventions.
• Contribute technical inputs to communications materials for advocating for adolescent and youth development, including addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and access to comprehensive sexuality education, as essential for sustainable development. 
• Represent UNFPA in inter-agency initiatives on adolescents and youth, positioning UNFPA’s work and mandate. 
• Provide inputs to content for visibility of UNFPA’s work and achievements on adolescents and youth, including for development of briefs, reports and social media.
• Identify potential funding opportunities, including from public and private sectors.
• Develop proposals for funding that are innovative and demonstrate potential for high impact. 
• Maintain partnerships with donors, keeping them regularly updated on implementation, in coordination with the Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Specialist.  

C. Programme Management and Coordination:

• Contribute to formulation of the gender component of the country programme, ensuring that selected interventions position UNFPA as a thought leader in the area of adolescents and youth. 
• Manage the adolescents and youth programme component work plans development, implementation and monitoring and ensure results-based reporting. 
• Work with implementing partners, experts, government counterparts and other UN agencies in the design and timely/efficient delivery of programme interventions, with a strong focus on ensuring approaches are grounded in reproductive rights and gender equality.
• Assist the Country Office in engaging with and representing UNFPA in relevant UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) Results Groups, particularly those focused on key issues affecting adolescents and youth.
• Coordinate and contribute to UN-wide and development partner dialogues, joint initiatives and programmes that promote evidence-based approaches to advancing the health, rights and empowerment of adolescents and young people.
• Promote disability-inclusive approaches in  programming, ensuring that young persons with disabilities are meaningfully engaged and have equitable access to comprehensive sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health information and services, and opportunities for participation and leadership.
• Support humanitarian response interventions in the area of adolescents and youth, ensuring adequate attention given to the needs of women and girls during emergencies.

D. Knowledge Management

•  Lead the documentation of lessons learned and best practices related to UNFPA’s work in adolescents and youth. 
•  Identify and participate in communities of practice related to the adolescents and youth and share new approaches with CO staff, national partners and consultants. 

Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership. 

Qualifications and Experience 

Education:  

Advanced degree in Public Health, Sociology, Gender, International Development, or related disciplines;

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Five years of increasingly responsible professional experience at the advisory/managerial level in managing adolescent and youth programmes;
• Demonstrable technical expertise in adolescents and youth development and participation, with knowledge of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and comprehensive sexuality education;
• Strong understanding of reproductive rights and gender equality dimensions in policy and programme formulation, implementation and monitoring;
• Proven experience in coordinating/managing a multi-disciplinary team of staff, experts and consultants;
• Familiarity in communicating in a clear and articulated manner, technical and/or complex issues to different types of audiences; 
• Proven ability to communicate and engage with adolescents and youth;
• Demonstrated ability to network within the adolescent and youth sector, including with youth networks;
• Demonstrated experience in coordination and liaison with government counterparts, nongovernment organizations, UN agencies, private sector, development partners and CBOs.
• Possess excellent interpersonal, negotiating, intercultural communication skills and political acumen;
• Experience in humanitarian response is an asset.

Languages: 

Fluency in English is mandatory. Working knowledge of Hindi is desirable; Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset. 

Required Competencies 

Compensation and Benefits 

This position is pegged at NOC-Step 1, offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary of INR 49,26,329 per annum plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.