UNICEF India is exploring scalable, demand-led remote employment models that create structured, income-generating, home-based work opportunities for rural young women (18–29 years)

Description

UNICEF India invites interested and eligible organizations to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the services outlined below. The purpose of this REOI is to identify organizations with demonstrated experience and capacity to design, implement, or facilitate such models and who are interested in participating in subsequent engagement with UNICEF in India. Introduction- UNICEF India is committed to enhancing young women’s economic participation and supporting pathways that enable equitable access to employment opportunities. While recent data indicates[1] Multiple systemic barriers continue to limit women’s participation in the workforce. These include poverty, mobility constraints, limited access to education and skilling, gender stereotypes, and social norms. In addition, the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work further constrains women’s ability to engage in formal employment.[2] Even when jobs are available, women are often unable to take them up due to lack of flexible options, rigid work hours, long commutes, or the absence of childcare support. In this context, emerging models of remote and digitally enabled work present a significant opportunity to address some of these barriers. By enabling decentralized, home-based work, such models have the potential to expand access to income-generating opportunities for women who are otherwise excluded from traditional labor markets. However, there remains a need for structured, demand-led approaches that ensure consistent work availability, fair compensation, and sustained engagement. There is a need to identify and strengthen structured, demand-led, cost-effective models where employment opportunities are directly linked to verified employer demand, tasks are systematically designed for remote execution, and workers are supported through appropriate systems, processes, and safeguards. In line with this, UNICEF India, through YuWaah, is exploring models where employment demand is anchored in employers (corporates, AI/tech firms, BPM companies, service providers, digital platforms), and work is systematically structured, modularized, and enabled through digital platforms, workflow systems, or other technological infrastructure to facilitate remote execution at scale. Objective:- The primary objective of this REOI is to identify organizations that demonstrate scalable, sustainable and cost-effective remote employment models for rural young women (18-29 years). These may include organizations that directly employ young women or act as accountable intermediaries that aggregate demand, structure work, and manage distributed workforces. The intent is to build a pool of organizations with proven or promising approaches that go beyond skilling and job aggregation to enable predictable, demand-linked employment outcomes. Scope of Interest:- UNICEF India is seeking Expressions of Interest from organizations that: Have established partnerships with employers generating recurring or predictable demand for remote work Structure and break down job roles into modular, distributed, or task-based formats suitable for remote or home-based execution Utilize digital platforms, workflow tools, AI-enabled systems, or other technological infrastructure to manage distributed workforces Provide onboarding, skilling, or capacity building that is directly linked to confirmed or anticipated work demand Ensure transparent payment mechanisms, defined earning benchmarks, and worker protection measures Demonstrate the ability to operate in rural and semi-urban geographies, including last-mile engagement and support Have the ability to provide 8000-1000 remote opportunities in an year Demonstrate the ability to provide consistent remote work to young women (18-29 years) Demonstrate cost-effective models with optimized cost structures that enable scalability and sustainability Please note: Models focused primarily on training delivery, job listing aggregation, or open gig marketplace acce