Head/Director - Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships

Location: Delhi / NCR preferred; Mumbai may also be considered
Experience: 12+ years in fundraising, partnerships, resource mobilisation or a closely related function

About the Role

We are looking for a senior, execution-oriented fundraising leader to independently build and drive the organisation's fundraising and partnerships strategy.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can go beyond strategy and personally build relationships, develop the funding pipeline, convert prospects and close partnerships. The mandate involves strengthening the existing CSR base while significantly expanding the organisation's foundation, institutional and HNI donor portfolio, with an opportunity to build the partnerships function over time.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall fundraising and resource mobilisation strategy, aligned with the organisation's growth ambitions.
• Build and diversify the funding portfolio across CSR, foundations, institutional donors and HNIs, reducing dependence on any single funding source.
• Personally identify, cultivate and manage senior donor and partner relationships, from prospecting through proposal development, negotiation and closure.
• Build a robust fundraising pipeline and develop long-term, multi-year partnerships with strategic funders.
• Work closely with the Founder and senior leadership on high-value donor relationships, pitches, proposals and partnership conversations.
• Partner closely with the Programmes and Communications teams to translate programme impact into compelling fundraising propositions and donor narratives.
• Build and institutionalise fundraising systems, processes, tracking mechanisms and a strong donor management pipeline.
• Lead and develop the partnerships team, with an opportunity to grow the current team from approximately 1 member to a 3–4 member vertical over time.
• Contribute to broader organisational priorities beyond fundraising, including strategic partnerships, visibility and organisational growth, as required.

Ideal Profile

We are looking for someone who brings:

• 12+ years of relevant experience in fundraising, partnerships, resource mobilisation or institutional fundraising, preferably within the social impact / nonprofit ecosystem.
• A demonstrated track record of personally closing significant fundraising partnerships, rather than operating primarily in an advisory or strategic capacity.
• Strong experience across CSR and institutional/foundation fundraising; HNI/philanthropic fundraising exposure would be an added advantage.
• Strong senior stakeholder management and relationship-building capabilities.
• Experience building a fundraising pipeline and converting relationships into multi-year partnerships.
• The ability to work closely with founders and senior leadership while independently owning the fundraising agenda.
• Experience building and managing teams, with the ability to create processes and systems as the function scales.
• Strong commercial and strategic thinking, combined with a high degree of execution orientation.