Individual Consultant (Local): Strategic Convergence & Coordination Specialist For Planning, Adaptation & Demographic Resilience

Hiring Office

Purpose of Consultancy

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead UN agency working to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA's India Country Office collaborates closely with the Government of India and various partners to advance the goals outlined in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action, Agenda 2030, and the UNFPA Strategic Plan 2026–2029.

In Odisha, UNFPA partners with multiple state government departments to advance its mandate on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality, adolescent and youth empowerment, and population dynamics. This includes the Department of Health & Family Welfare, NHM, Women & Child Development (WCD), Mission Shakti, Social Security & Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD), Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Castes Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare, Planning & Convergence, and the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA). These partnerships have been built and nurtured through effective technical support, policy advocacy, and strategic engagement.

In addition, UNFPA Odisha is strengthening and expanding its engagement with government departments to support planning and adaptation in response to Odisha’s ongoing demographic transition, including changing fertility patterns, migration, urbanisation, ageing, and increasing exposure to social, economic, and climate-related shocks. This work is aligned with UNFPA’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029, particularly Outcome 4 on building demographic resilience, which focuses on strengthening institutional capacity to anticipate, plan for, and respond to demographic change using population-informed, cross-sectoral approaches.

Effective convergence, coordination, and strategic alignment across departments and UNFPA-supported consultants is critical to ensuring coherent, efficient, and resilient responses to demographic transitions. This consultancy will provide strategic, technical, and coordination support to strengthen multi-departmental convergence and strategic partnerships, advance the use of demographic intelligence in policy and planning, and support the implementation of UNFPA’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 in Odisha.

Scope of Work

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

1. Strengthening Partnerships & Advancing Convergence

• Lead and advance UNFPA’s mandate on convergence across all existing government departments partners, identifying synergies and opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration to respond to demographic transitions and emerging population trends.
• Act as a technical liaison to ensure that programmatic interventions are integrated, mutually reinforcing, and informed by population dynamics, gender, and equity considerations.
• Develop and implement strategies to promote a unified approach to UNFPA’s mandate in Odisha aligned to the new strategic plan
• Alignment of UNFPA’s partnerships and support across departments with the new strategic plan.
• Advocacy with the government for advancing the outcomes in the new strategic plan with a focus on the fourth outcome on demographic resilience.

1. Multi-department Coordination and technical oversight

• Serve as the primary point of contact between UNFPA and the consultants placed within the 10 partner government departments, ensuring alignment with UNFPA’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and state priorities.
• Facilitate regular meetings and communication channels to ensure that all consultants are aligned with UNFPA's strategic priorities and work plans, including integration of demographic and resilience perspectives where relevant
• Monitor the progress of work and provide technical guidance and support to individual consultants against their assigned goals and provide regular feedback to the UNFPA Odisha team.
• Address operational and programmatic challenges faced by consultants in a timely manner, escalating issues to the Head of Office as needed.
• Ensure timely reporting and documentation from all consultants, consolidating information for internal and external communication and synthesising key insights to inform strategic decision-making, learning, and adaptive planning.

1. Capacity Building and cross learning within the team

• Support capacity strengthening of consultants through regular mentoring, training, and exchange of knowledge resources, with a focus on population dynamics, demographic transitions, and their implications for sectoral planning and programme implementation.
• Develop a mechanism for building collective capacity, cross-learning, and innovation among consultants.
• Review and provide meaningful inputs to strengthen outputs developed by consultants including reports, and policy notes to ensure alignment with UNFPA’s programme strategies and quality standards.
  
  
   

1. New Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation

• Strengthen existing partnerships with all government departments by fostering strong relationships and identifying areas for deeper collaboration to advance demographic resilience and adaptive governance.
• Explore opportunities for new collaborations with additional government departments, state institutions, research organisations, academia, development partners, and private sector actors in line with UNFPA’s mandate and the new strategic plan
• Support resource mobilisation by scanning for potential sources, preparing concept notes, and contributing to proposals aligned with emerging state priorities.
• Advance UNFPA’s agenda in neighbouring and other states using demographic intelligence aligned with the new strategic plan outcome 4 to forge new partnerships and resource mobilisation

1. Carry out any other related duties as may be requested by UNFPA

Duration and Working Schedule

Place of Assignment

Reporting and Deliverables

Monitoring and Supervision

Expected Travel

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Qualifications and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in any discipline.

Knowledge & Experience:

• Minimum 3-5 years of work experience, preferably in multi-stakeholder coordination, building partnerships & policy advocacy

• Experience working with state government departments

• Multi-stakeholder coordination experience

• Partnership building and resource mobilisation experience

• Experience in data analysis and application of demographic and/or economic analysis/modelling to inform policy, planning, or programme design

• Familiarity with Odisha context preferred

Languages:

Fluency in English and Hindi is essential; Odia desirable

Required Competencies

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

Working space will be provided at the UNFPA Odisha state office

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.