Health AI Governance and Regulatory Specialist – SAHI Secretariat (WHO SEARO)

Host entity: WHO IND

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Governance, elections, Legal affairs, Community development

Application deadline: 21/09/2026

Mission and objectives

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for directing and coordinating international health work. The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO), based in New Delhi, serves eleven Member States and supports them to strengthen health systems, advance universal health coverage, and protect populations from health emergencies.

Within WHO-SEARO, the Department of Health Systems Development supports Member States on digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) for health, in line with the Global Strategy on Digital Health, the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH), and WHO guidance on the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health. WHO-SEARO provides normative, technical, and coordination support to Member States seeking to adopt AI in health systems safely, equitably, and accountably.

In India, WHO-SEARO is a designated partner agency supporting the implementation of the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI), led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the National Health Authority (NHA).

Assignment context

The Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) sets out India’s national framework for the safe, accountable, holistic, and inclusive adoption of AI across the health system. Developed under the stewardship of the MoHFW and the NHA, SAHI is organised around five strategic pillars, fourteen thematic areas, and thirty-two recommendations spanning 2026–2030.
SAHI’s implementation phase is guided by the SAHI Implementation Roadmap Committee (Chair: CEO, NHA), a drafting Sub-Committee, and five pillar-level Working Groups. To provide the dedicated coordination, technical depth, and continuity that implementation demands, a SAHI Secretariat is being established, anchored at and hosted by the NHA in New Delhi. The Secretariat comprises a Manager and pillar-aligned teams recruited and deputed by designated partner agencies — including WHO-SEARO — but co-located and based at the NHA.

WHO-SEARO is the designated partner agency for Pillar I (Governance, Regulation, and Trust) and Pillar III (Workforce, Institutional Capacity, and Change Management). This assignment is one of two UN Volunteer positions through which WHO-SEARO will provide this dedicated technical capacity to the SAHI Secretariat.
Role of this assignment. To provide dedicated technical support to Pillar I of the SAHI Secretariat on governance and regulation for health AI, embedding trust through a risk-based, graded approach across the AI lifecycle, and to support the drafting, validation, and monitoring of the Pillar I implementation roadmap.

Reporting lines. The UN Volunteer will report technically to the Regional Adviser, Digital Health and AI, WHO-SEARO, and will work under the day-to-day direction of the SAHI Secretariat Manager at the NHA, in close support of the Pillar I — Governance, Regulation, and Trust Working Group and its lead

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Adviser, Digital Health and AI, WHO-SEARO, and the day-to-day direction of the SAHI Secretariat Manager, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Support the drafting, refinement, and finalisation of the Pillar I implementation roadmap actions on risk classification and tiering, regulatory pathways, accountability, and liability allocation for AI in healthcare, using the common NHA implementation template (LogFrame, Theory of Change, RACI, SMART, and Adaptive Management logic).
• Analyse and adapt relevant global normative instruments — including WHO guidance on Ethics and Governance of AI for Health, WHO guidance on Large Multi-Modal Models, IMDRF Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) guidance, the EU AI Act, and ISO/IEC 42001 — to the Indian regulatory and health-system context.
• Support the development of risk-classification guidance for health AI tools, together with the associated regulatory, oversight, and operational obligations at each risk tier.
• Coordinate technical inputs with and between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), MeitY / IndiaAI, the NHA, legal institutions, and State health departments on regulatory, accountability, and cross-sector governance mechanisms.
• Prepare technical notes, decision briefs, comparative analyses, and background papers for the Pillar I Working Group, the drafting Sub-Committee, and the SAHI Implementation Roadmap Committee.
• Contribute the Pillar I inputs to the Secretariat’s cross-cutting technical products, including the State SAHI Readiness Implementation Index and the lifecycle cost-and-value model for health AI.
• Support the planning, technical preparation, and documentation of the regional validation consultations (North, South, East, and West) for the Pillar I roadmap, and consolidate the resulting feedback.
• Track and report progress of Pillar I lead and supporting agencies against agreed roadmap milestones, and flag risks, delays, and cross-pillar dependencies to the Secretariat Manager.
• Support WHO-SEARO in linking the SAHI Pillar I work to regional and global normative processes on AI governance for health, including documentation of India’s experience for regional knowledge exchange.
• Perform any other related duties as required by the Secretariat Manager and the WHO-SEARO supervisor.


Results / expected outputs
• Pillar roadmap actions drafted, validated, and finalised to the standard of the common NHA implementation template and endorsed through the Working Group, Sub-Committee, and Committee process.
• Technical notes, decision briefs, and background papers delivered on time and to professional quality.
• Regional validation consultations technically supported and documented.
• Periodic progress reporting against roadmap milestones maintained and provided to the Secretariat Manager and WHO-SEARO.
• Age, gender, and diversity (AGD) perspective systematically applied, integrated, and documented in all activities and reports.
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilised, activities participated in, and capacities developed.

Skills and experience

• At least seven (7) years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in AI or digital-health governance, medical-device or SaMD regulation, health-technology policy, or health law and regulatory affairs; experience with the UN system or other international development organizations is an asset.
• Demonstrated working familiarity with Indian regulatory and research-governance bodies (CDSCO, ICMR, MeitY / IndiaAI, NHA / ABDM) and with international AI governance and standards frameworks.
• Proven ability to draft policy, regulatory, and legal instruments and to translate complex technical and legal material into clear, decision-ready guidance for senior government audiences.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills; accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing.
• Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder-coordination skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with government, academia, development partners, industry, and civil society at national and State levels.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a demanding, government-embedded environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of national and international personnel.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), collaborative document tools, and reference management.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work with minimum supervision and to deliver high-quality products to tight deadlines.
• Affinity with or interest in public health, responsible AI, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN system.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Respect for diversity
• Self-management
• Working in teams

Living conditions

New 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. 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.

The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents - except for UN Community Volunteers), as well as final repatriation (if applicable).

You can check full entitlements at https://app.unv.org/calculator .

For information specific to your assignment, please see below:
• Monthly Voluntary Living Allowance (VLA): INR 98,221.75
• Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 350 (equivalent in INR)
• Relocation costs: $175 at the beginning and end of the assignment if the duty station is outside of commuting distance (as determined by UNV)
• Exit allowance (paid on successful completion of the assignment): $120 for each month served, paid on completion of contract
• Insurance: Comprehensive coverage for health, life, and malicious acts
• Annual leave: 2.5 days per month
• Learning: Access to UNV's learning and career development resources

The UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Other remarks. Day-to-day direction is provided by the SAHI Secretariat Manager at the NHA; technical supervision and performance management rest with WHO-SEARO. The UN Volunteer will be provided with a workstation, ICT access, and a grounds pass at the National Health Authority by the host entity, in coordination with the NHA. Duty travel within India (including to the four regional validation consultations) is expected and will be covered by WHO-SEARO in accordance with WHO rules, with Daily Subsistence Allowance paid at the UN rate.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.