Development Specialist

International Centre for Theoretical Sciences; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru seeks a Development Specialist to drive donor engagement and stewardship within the Strategic Partnerships Office. You will support the Chief Resource Development Officer on donor cultivation, event execution, and sustaining relationships with existing donors.

The role emphasizes prospect cultivation, touchpoint management, personalised donor communications, and coordinating donor events with faculty, ensuring a professional donor

Qualifications

• Graduate degree required; postgrad/diploma a plus.
• 5–7 years of professional donor/stakeholder relationship experience.
• Experience planning and executing events for senior audiences.
• Strong written English for personalized donor correspondence.
• Comfort with CRM systems, record-keeping and standard office tools.
• Fluency in English; another Indian language is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Prospect cultivation support and donor outreach coordination.
• Support the Chief Resource Development Officer on cultivation and follow-through.
• Maintain touchpoints for prospects and update donor records.
• Prepare briefs and notes for donor meetings and follow-ups.
• Donor stewardship: updates, acknowledgements, and reporting on fund utilization.
• Coordinate donor events and faculty interactions taking care of logistics and follow-up.
• Maintain CRM records, pipeline stage information, and reporting-ready data.

Skills

Relationship management

Event planning

English writing

CRM systems

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Education

Graduate degree in any discipline

Post-graduate degree or diploma a plus

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Context Of The Role

The Strategic Partnerships Office is a function at ICTS-TIFR, responsible for building philanthropic and institutional support for the centre. The office is in its foundational phase, establishing the processes, systems, donor intelligence, and cultivation infrastructure that will support fundraising activity over the coming years.

The Development Specialist role will carry the day-to-day cultivation and stewardship work of the office, supporting the Chief Resource Development Officer on donor engagement, prospect cultivation, event execution, and the sustained relationship management that keeps existing donors engaged between gifts.

Key Responsibilities

• Prospect cultivation support
• Support the CRDO on the cultivation of prospective donors, including outreach coordination, meeting scheduling, briefing preparation, and follow-through on agreed next steps.
• Maintain the working rhythm of touchpoints for prospects in the pipeline e.g. meetings, calls, updates, invitations, under direction from the CRDO.
• Prepare pre-meeting briefs and post-meeting notes for prospect interactions, capturing decisions, next steps, and updates to the donor record.
• Donor stewardship
• Manage the ongoing stewardship of existing donors i.e. periodic updates, milestone acknowledgements, event invitations, and reporting on fund utilisation.
• Draft and manage personalised donor communication, including acknowledgement letters, impact updates, and per-donor reporting.
• Coordinate periodic donor engagement i.e. campus visits, meetings with faculty, participation in ICTS events, ensuring the donor experience is consistent and professional.
• Donor and prospect events
• Plan and execute donor-facing events e.g. dinners, campus visits, small convenings etc. including logistics, guest management, briefing packs, and post-event follow-through.
• Coordinate with the CRDO on event strategy and with faculty on participation and content.
• Maintain event records, attendee lists, and follow-up trackers as part of the office's operating record.
• Faculty coordination
• Coordinate with faculty on donor-facing activity e.g. briefings ahead of donor meetings, faculty participation in donor events, and follow-up on donor questions requiring faculty input.
• Manage the internal logistics between faculty availability and donor expectations, ensuring commitments are met on both sides.
• CRM and pipeline discipline
• Maintain donor records, activity logs, and pipeline stage information in the Donor Management System.
• Ensure the CRDO has an accurate and current view of the portfolio at all times.
• Support the office's reporting cycle with timely pipeline and stewardship inputs.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Graduate degree in any discipline. Post-graduate degree or diploma is a plus. Study areas relevant to communication, marketing, public relations, or social sciences are useful.
• 5 to 7 years of professional experience in a role with substantial client, donor, or stakeholder relationship responsibility. Backgrounds in non-profit fundraising, foundation or CSR roles, alumni relations, higher-education development offices, or premium client-facing roles are a major plus.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a portfolio of relationships with attention to detail, consistency, and follow-through.
• Experience in planning and executing events for senior audiences.
• Strong written communication in English e.g. able to draft personalised, appropriately pitched correspondence for senior donors and institutional audiences.
• Comfort with CRM systems, structured record-keeping, and standard office productivity tools.
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Working competence in a second Indian language is a plus.

Attributes

• Relational disposition
• High personal standards for written output and stewardship material.
• Self-directed but collaborative; able to work closely with the CRDO on ambiguous briefs.