Head - Strategic Partnerships & Fundraising

About the Organisation

Our partner organisation is a mission-driven nonprofit working to strengthen Indias public education system and ensure every child has access to high-quality learning opportunities. The organisation collaborates closely with government systems to support leadership development, teacher capacity building, and systemic improvements in government schools.

They are looking for a dynamic and experienced Head of Fundraising to establish and lead its organization-wide fundraising function.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for someone who enjoys building functions, developing fundraising strategy, and cultivating long-term institutional partnerships. The role requires a hands-on leader who can independently drive fundraising efforts while building systems, processes, and a high-performing team to support the organization's long-term growth.

The successful candidate will lead fundraising across domestic and international funding channels, including CSR partnerships, philanthropic foundations, family offices, and institutional donors.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Growth

• Develop and execute the organization's annual and long-term fundraising strategy.
• Build and maintain a diversified pipeline of institutional funding opportunities.
• Identify, cultivate, and secure partnerships with CSR partners, philanthropic foundations, family offices, and international donors.
• Drive achievement of annual fundraising targets while building a sustainable funding pipeline.
• Represent the organization at donor meetings, sector forums, and strategic partnership discussions.

Donor Engagement & Resource Mobilisation

• Lead the complete fundraising lifecycle—from prospect identification and relationship building to proposal development, negotiation, grant closure, and stewardship.
• Build long-term relationships with institutional donors and funding partners.
• Lead the development of compelling concept notes, grant proposals, presentations, and donor reports.
• Monitor donor priorities and funding trends to identify new opportunities for collaboration.
• Ensure timely execution of grant agreements, reporting commitments, and donor communications.

Team Leadership & Function Building

• Lead and mentor a growing fundraising team while fostering a culture of accountability and collaboration.
• Design and implement fundraising systems, processes, dashboards, and pipeline management mechanisms.
• Establish forecasting, CRM, and reporting frameworks to improve fundraising efficiency.
• Recruit, onboard, and build the capabilities of future fundraising team members.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with program and leadership teams to translate organizational impact into compelling funding opportunities.
• Support internal teams in strengthening proposal quality, donor readiness, and strategic positioning.
• Provide regular updates on fundraising performance, pipeline health, and strategic priorities to senior leadership.

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for a fundraising leader who combines strategic thinking with strong execution capabilities.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 12–15+ years of experience in fundraising, resource mobilisation, institutional partnerships, or business development within the social impact sector.
• Demonstrated experience raising significant institutional funding from CSR partners, philanthropic foundations, family offices, and international donors.
• Strong track record of independently managing donor relationships and successfully closing high-value grants.
• Experience designing fundraising strategies and building fundraising functions or systems.
• Excellent proposal writing, grant development, and donor communication skills.
• Prior experience leading and mentoring fundraising teams.
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, and relationship-building capabilities.
• Understanding of India's philanthropic, CSR, and institutional funding ecosystem.
• A hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to balance strategy and execution.