Associate Director - Strategic Partnerships & Fundraising, Bengaluru

Ground Zero; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Ground Zero in Bengaluru seeks an Associate Director - Fundraising to lead strategic partnerships and resource mobilisation for its growing digital platform. You will shape a diversified funding strategy and cultivate long-term relationships with CSR, family foundations, and international funders.

The role focuses on multi-year, impact-driven investments, hybrid funding models, and persuasive investment cases across programs, technology and content to scale initiatives in India.

Qualifications

• 13–15 years of experience leading fundraising or strategic partnerships in the social sector, international development, or corporate development.
• Demonstrated success securing multi-year grants from CSR, foundations, or philanthropies.
• Experience with funding models for both traditional and technology-for-good products (SaaS, open-source, DPGs).
• Excellent public speaking and executive-level writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Fundraising & Diversification: Secure a balanced portfolio of programmatic and multi-year grants to invest in capacity, tech, and R&D.
• Partnership Management & Ecosystem Building: Craft value propositions and stewardship for long-term funders and diverse donor profiles.
• Team Leadership & Operational Excellence: Forecast revenue with finance, lead grant proposals, and mentor the fundraising team.

Skills

Track Record

Capital Sourcing

Hybrid Portfolio

Communication

Education

Post-graduate degree

Job description

Role: Associate Director - Strategic Partnerships & Fundraising, Bengaluru
Experience: 13+ years [13-15 years in Fundraising, Strategic Partnerships, or Corporate Development]
Salary: Up to 18-25 LPA

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About the role:

We are looking for a senior, strategic and relationship-driven leader to build the next phase of our institutional growth and resource mobilisation. As the Associate Director - Fundraising, you will shape and execute a diversified fundraising and partnerships strategy that enables the organization and its digital platform to scale their impact, deepen their work in India. The role will be responsible for building long-term partnerships across domestic and global philanthropy, CSR, family foundations, HNIs, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and other institutional funders.

our organization has evolved into an organisation with a distinctive portfolio spanning children’s publishing, access to multilingual books and digital reading experiences through our digital platform. The Associate Director will therefore play a critical role in articulating this evolving proposition to funders and partners - developing compelling investment cases across programmes, organisational capacity, technology and digital infrastructure, and enabling the organisation to move from transactional grants towards deeper, multi-year and strategic partnerships.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Fundraising & Diversification
   • Blended Funding Models: Secure a balanced portfolio of programmatic grants (for regional implementations) and multi-year non-programmatic/core grants to invest in organizational capacity, tech infrastructure, and R&D.
   • Crowdfunding Platform: Support and expand the reach of our Crowd Funding platform through strategic CSR partnerships.
   • DPG & Technology: Pitch our platform's growth as a premier global Digital Public Good (DPG) to international philanthropists, venture philanthropy funds, and multilateral institutions.
   • Content: Raise dedicated funds for creating content that is identified as a gap area in children’s literature, locally and contextually relevant content, mother-tongue, and hyperlocal content designed specifically to reach underserved, last-mile children.
   • Omnichannel Pipeline: Scale and manage high-value relationships across Corporate Social Responsibility funds, Family Foundations, UHNWIs, and bilateral development agencies.
2. Partnership Management & Ecosystem Building
   • Value-Proposition Crafting: Translate compelling, data-driven investment opportunities through diverse donor profiles.
   • Hybrid Ecosystem Advocacy: Effectively advocate for the blended value of print-and-digital (hybrid) models to institutional donors.
   • Donor Stewardship: Build structured retention and upgrade paths for existing multi-year partners, ensuring transparent reporting, deeper engagement, and alignment on impact metrics.
3. Team Leadership & Operational Excellence
   • Financial Forecasting: Partner with the CEO and Finance teams to build multi-year revenue projections, manage the fundraising budget, and meet annual targets.
   • Proposal Frameworks: Lead the creation of grant proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks.
   • Mentorship: Lead, coach, and build the capacity of the fundraising team to run efficient research, outreach, and grant compliance cycles.
   • Collaboration: Drive fundraising efforts by collaborating with internal teams to design and write persuasive proposals and pitches.

Skills & Qualifications

Required:

• Proven Track Record: At least 13-15 years of experience leading fundraising or strategic partnerships in the social sector, international development, or corporate business development.
• Capital Sourcing Network: Demonstrated success in securing large-scale, multi-year grants from institutional CSR, domestic/international foundations, or philanthropies.
• Hybrid Portfolio Experience: Familiarity with funding models for both traditional grassroots implementation (e.g., education, print) and technology-for-good products (SaaS, open‑source platforms, or DPGs).
• Communication: Exceptional public speaking and executive-level writing skills. Ability to converse comfortably with corporate CEOs, trustees, and visionaries alike.

Preferred:

• Post-graduate degree in Business Administration, Public Policy, Development Studies, Communications, or a related field.
• Direct experience raising funds for diverse programs, open-source, digital public goods, or edtech-for-impact initiatives.
• In-depth understanding of compliance, FCRA regulations, and corporate reporting landscapes.

October 13, 2026