Director – Strategic Partnerships

Muskaan Dreams; Mumbai; Hybrid; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Muskaan Dreams in Mumbai seeks a Director – Strategic Partnerships to lead institutional fundraising and build scalable alliances with corporations, foundations, philanthropists, and government partners.

You will shape long-term fundraising strategy, mentor a partnerships team, and co-create multi-year, cross-sector collaborations that advance AI-enabled education in government schools, driving systemic change and impact for millions of children.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, institutional fundraising, CSR, business development, or related fields.
• Experience engaging with CXOs, CSR Heads, Foundation Directors, Trustees, Family Offices and senior decision-makers.
• Proven ability to build systems, processes and teams in a fast-growing organisation.
• Demonstrated success in securing high-value CSR and philanthropic partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage relationships with corporations, CSR leaders, philanthropists, foundations, family offices, and ecosystem partners.
• Own the complete partnership lifecycle from identifying opportunities to proposal development, budgeting, negotiations, onboarding, stewardship, and reporting.
• Translate client priorities into compelling partnership opportunities with measurable impact while delivering strategic value.
• Lead and inspire a team of strategic partnerships professionals and establish forecasting, CRM, and governance.

Skills

Relationship management

Storytelling & proposals

Strategic thinking

Narrative alignment

Job description

We believe where a child is born should never determine how prepared they are for the future. Everyday, millions of children walk into government school classrooms with the same curiosity, dreams and potential as children anywhere else.

But as technology and AI rapidly reshape how we learn, work and solve problems, access to the skills and opportunities needed to thrive remains deeply unequal.

We exist to change that.

At Muskaan Dreams, our work begins with children and teachers. We spend time in classrooms, listen deeply to teachers, understand the realities of government schools, and design solutions that can work in the real world, not just in pilots.

We don't believe change can be created by building parallel systems. We believe in strengthening the public education system itself. That means working alongside teachers, school leaders, district administrations and state governments so that solutions can be adopted, sustained and eventually reach millions of children.

Over the last decade, this belief has taken us from working with a handful of schools to reaching nearly 1 million children, 5000+ government schools and 15000+ teachers across six states.

But for us, scale is not simply a number.

• Scale means a teacher feels more confident in her classroom.
• It means a child in a government school beginning to see herself as a problem-solver and creator.
• It means an education system becoming capable of sustaining change long after a programme or funder has exited.

Our ambition is to ensure that children in India's government schools are not simply consumers of technology but become confident problem solvers, critical thinkers, creators and future-ready citizens.

Our Flagship Initiatives

Digital Shaala transforms government school classrooms into engaging, technology-enabled learning environments. Through Smart Classrooms, curriculum-aligned digital content, teacher capacity building, and academic mentoring, the programme improves learning outcomes in Science and Mathematics while nurturing students' curiosity, confidence, and interest in STEM education and careers.

AI-Saksham prepares students and teachers for an AI-enabled world. Through experiential, classroom-integrated learning, students develop foundational AI literacy, computational thinking, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and responsible AI practices.

The programme empowers young people with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the future of work while enabling teachers to integrate AI meaningfully into classroom teaching.

As India prepares millions of young people for an AI-driven economy, we believe government schools must become the foundation of this transformation and not be left behind.

Our Next Chapter

Today, we manage an annual budget of approximately ₹20 crores, supported by leading corporations, foundations, philanthropies, and ecosystem partners.

Over the next 2–3 years, we aim to grow this into a ₹50 crore annual portfolio through a diversified and sustainable fundraising strategy built on long-term institutional partnerships rather than transactional grants.

Our larger ambition is to reach and impact 10 million children over the next five years while building one of India's leading organisations working at the intersection of AI, education, and government system transformation.

Achieving this will require more than funding. It will require a coalition of corporations, foundations, philanthropists, governments, technologists, educators, and leaders who share our belief that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in an AI-enabled future.

That is where you come in.

About the Role

This is not simply a fundraising leadership role. It is an opportunity to help build the partnerships that could shape how millions of children experience education in an AI-enabled India.

As Director – Strategic Partnerships, you will work closely with the Founder & CEO and Leadership Team to bring together corporations, foundations, philanthropists, family offices, governments, and ecosystem leaders around a shared ambition: ensuring that children in India's government schools are not left behind as the world becomes increasingly technology and AI-driven.

You will lead Muskaan Dreams' institutional fundraising strategy, but your role will go far beyond raising capital.

You will help partners understand the problem deeply, imagine what is possible, and co-create long-term partnerships that combine philanthropic capital, technology, expertise, government systems, and on-ground execution to create sustainable change.

You will also build the team, systems, relationships, and institutional capabilities required to take Muskaan Dreams from a ₹20 crore organisation towards ₹50 crore in next 2-3 years and from reaching nearly 1 million children today towards 10 million over the next five years.

We believe the strongest partnerships are not transactions. They are built on trust, shared purpose, evidence, and a long-term belief in what is possible together.

Key Areas of Focus

50% – Corporate CSR Partnerships & Revenue Growth

Lead Muskaan Dreams' corporate fundraising strategy by building long-term partnerships with leading Indian and global corporations.

Develop a strong pipeline of high-value opportunities, engage senior CSR leaders, and secure multi-year partnerships that enable sustainable organisational growth.

30% – Foundations, Philanthropy & Institutional Grants

Build and deepen relationships with Indian and international foundations, philanthropists, family offices, bilateral agencies, and institutional donors.

Lead grant strategy, proposal development, stewardship, renewals, and portfolio diversification while identifying funders aligned with Muskaan Dreams' long-term mission.

20% – Strategy, Leadership & Institutional Growth

Work closely with the Founder & CEO to shape Muskaan Dreams' long-term fundraising strategy, strengthen systems and processes, mentor the partnerships team, represent the organisation nationally, and identify new opportunities that strengthen institutional credibility and sustainability.

What You Will Do

You will build and manage relationships with some of India's most influential corporations, CSR leaders, philanthropies, foundations, family offices, and ecosystem partners aligned with Muskaan Dreams' mission.

You will own the complete partnership lifecycle from identifying opportunities and initiating conversations to proposal development, budgeting, presentations, negotiations, contracting, onboarding, stewardship, reporting, and partnership expansion.

You will engage senior decision-makers to understand both their business priorities and social impact goals, translating Muskaan Dreams' work into compelling partnership opportunities that create measurable impact for children while delivering strategic value to partners.

Co-creating Partnerships for Scale

This role goes beyond fundraising. You will work closely with our Program, Government Partnerships, Product, Finance, Communications, and Leadership teams to translate India's most pressing education challenges into ambitious, fundable, and scalable partnerships.

You will have the opportunity to bring together philanthropic capital, technology, government systems, and Muskaan Dreams' on-ground capabilities to help millions of students and teachers become future-ready.

These partnerships will span:

• AI Literacy, Computational Thinking & Future Readiness
• STEM Learning & Innovation
• Teacher Capacity Building & Leadership
• 21st Century Skills, Life Skills & Student Agency

The ambition is not simply to fund programmes, but to build partnerships that demonstrate what works, create meaningful change for children and teachers, and scale sustainably through government systems.

You will also identify opportunities for consortium funding, strategic collaborations, innovation partnerships, employee engagement, technology partnerships, and ecosystem alliances that unlock long-term institutional growth and impact.

You will lead and inspire a team of strategic partnerships professionals by setting ambitious goals, building strong execution systems, and creating a culture of ownership, collaboration, excellence, and continuous learning.

You will coach team members to independently build relationships, develop compelling proposals, manage donor portfolios, negotiate partnerships, and close meaningful opportunities — while developing future fundraising leaders within the organisation.

You will institutionalise strong forecasting systems, dashboards, review mechanisms, CRM discipline, proposal processes, partner stewardship, and fundraising governance that improve productivity, predictability, and decision-making across the function.

The goal is not only to deliver today's fundraising targets, but to build a partnership function capable of powering Muskaan Dreams' growth for the next decade.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will mean:

Drive sustained year-on-year institutional fundraising growth, contributing significantly to Muskaan Dreams' journey from a ₹20 crore to ₹50 crore annual portfolio within 2–3 years.

Build and maintain a high-quality, qualified fundraising pipeline of at least 3–4× the annual fundraising target, providing strong visibility on conversions, renewals, and future revenue.

3. Strategic & Multi-Year Partnerships

Secure and grow multiple large, multi-year CSR and foundation partnerships while maintaining a strong 80%+ partner renewal/retention rate.

Success will be measured not simply by the number of partnerships but by their quality, longevity, scale, and potential to deepen over time.

4. Diversification & Strategic Value

Build a diversified funding portfolio that reduces dependency on a small number of funders while deepening important relationships beyond grants into government collaboration, technology, employee volunteering, knowledge, innovation, and ecosystem partnerships.

Build a high-performing partnerships team and institutionalise strong CRM, forecasting, proposal development, stewardship, reporting, and governance systems, enabling team members to independently manage a significant share of Muskaan Dreams' fundraising portfolio.

Who We're Looking For

We are looking for a leader who combines the relationship orientation of a partnership builder, the ambition of an entrepreneur, and the discipline of an institution builder. Someone who can sit across the table from a CEO, CSR Head, Foundation Director, philanthropist, or government leader and have a thoughtful conversation about not simply funding a programme, but what it will take to create lasting change at scale.

Experience

• 10–15+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, institutional fundraising, CSR, business development, consulting, enterprise sales, or corporate engagement.
• Demonstrated success in securing and managing high-value CSR and philanthropic partnerships.
• Experience engaging with CXOs, CSR Heads, Foundation Directors, Trustees, Family Offices, and other senior decision-makers.
• Proven experience leading high-performing teams and contributing to organisational growth.
• Experience in education, technology, development, or social impact will be an advantage.

Capabilities

• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder-management skills.
• Strong storytelling, proposal writing, presentation, and negotiation abilities.
• Ability to translate complex education and technology challenges into compelling partnership opportunities.
• Strategic thinker with strong execution capability.
• Ability to connect mission, impact, evidence, and partner priorities into a compelling narrative.
• Comfortable engaging with senior government officials, corporate leaders, philanthropists, educators, and ecosystem partners.
• Strong commercial acumen with a partnership-first mindset.
• Ability to build systems, processes, teams, and capabilities in a fast-growing organisation.

Personal Attributes

• Deep commitment to educational equity and creating opportunities for every child.
• Genuine respect for teachers and belief in their role as the most important agents of sustainable classroom change.
• Belief in working with and strengthening government education systems to achieve scale and sustainability.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build from first principles.
• High integrity, humility, empathy, and professionalism.
• Resilient and persistent in navigating long and complex partnership cycles.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and working in a fast-growing, evolving organisation.
• Passionate about building institutions that create lasting social impact.
• Motivated by both ambitious outcomes and the human stories behind those outcomes.

This Role May Not Be Right For You If

• You are more comfortable managing existing grants than building new strategic relationships.
• You see fundraising primarily as a transaction or a numbers game.
• You prefer short-term funding conversations over building relationships that may take months or years to mature.
• You thrive only in highly structured environments and are uncomfortable building new systems.
• You are unwilling to travel extensively or spend time understanding our work with children, teachers, schools, and government partners.
• You are looking for a role focused only on fundraising targets rather than institution building and national-level impact.

Build the Future with Us

There are fundraising roles where success is measured by the size of the portfolio you build.

We believe this role can be about something bigger. It is about finding people and institutions who believe that a child's future should not be limited by the school they attend. It is about helping a teacher feel more confident using technology in her classroom.

It is about enabling a child who may never have imagined herself working with technology to become a problem-solver, critical thinker, and creator. It is about bringing together philanthropy, technology, government, and educators to solve problems that no organisation can solve alone.

And ultimately, it is about ensuring that as AI transforms the world, millions of children and teachers in India's government schools have the skills, confidence, and opportunity to be part of that future.

If you want to build more than a fundraising portfolio — if you want to help build an institution, a movement of partners, and a more equitable future for millions of children — we would love to build it with you.

Location: Mumbai | Hybrid | Travel across India and internationally, as required

Reports to: Founder & CEO

Member of: Leadership Team

Required Skills

Trust Grant Teamwork & Collaboration Fundraising Strategic partnership Productivity Integrity Customer Satisfaction FCRA