Senior Associate - Partnerships

About ISDM

The Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) is a pioneering management school dedicated to strengthening leadership and management in social development work, producing the future CEOs and founders of impactful social purpose organisations. Since 2016, ISDM has worked across three strategic pillars: preparing talent, influencing practice, and building knowledge for Development Management.

With the rapid growth of India's economy and the rapid growth of development capital in the country, there is a huge opportunity to make a difference to over a billion people over the next couple of decades. However, this burgeoning development capital will need high-quality leadership and management talent to translate this possibility into real impact - talent that understands the complex nature of society and the complexities of driving social change, that can design interventions within these complexities, and that has the knowledge and skills to build and lead development organisations and translate their work into deep, sustained impact at scale.

Development Management needs to bring the head, heart, and hand together to engage with diverse communities, build on their agency, work with limited resources and divergent societal aspirations, and move towards a shared vision of a desirable society. India needs Development Management talent and capabilities across the Samaaj, Sarkaar, and Bazaar to translate this opportunity into reality on the ground, transforming the lives of over a billion people in the country, and eventually offering this discipline to countries across the Global South.

ISDM invites individuals who share its vision to join in creating a dynamic, catalytic ecosystem and positioning India as a thought leader in Development Management, ultimately enabling sustainable social impact at scale. Know more at www.isdm.org.in.

Job Role

The Senior Associate - Partnerships will be responsible for developing and stewarding strategic partnerships that advance the Global Knowledge Hub's (GKH) mission of strengthening Development Management through knowledge generation, systems strengthening, research, and capacity building. The role works across GKH's Centres of Excellence and Projects to identify, cultivate, and manage relationships with philanthropic, government, academic, civil society, research and ecosystem partners.

The position will contribute to co-developing partnership solutions, concept notes, proposals, partner engagement and resource mobilisation opportunities. The position requires strong relationship management, analytical thinking, proposal development, and the ability to translate institutional priorities into high-value collaborations.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Partnerships: Co-develop and steward a portfolio of institutional partnerships across GKH's Centres of Excellence by identifying opportunities, cultivating relationships, supporting negotiations, and strengthening long-term institutional engagement.
• Partner Stewardship: Manage the partnership lifecycle, including outreach, engagement planning, proposal coordination, internal alignment, implementation support, reporting, and relationship continuity.
• Partnership Solutions: Co-develop concept notes, proposals, partnership strategies, and resource mobilisation opportunities by aligning partner priorities with GKH's knowledge, research, and capacity-building capabilities.
• Research & Ecosystem Intelligence: Support the Centre through ecosystem scans, philanthropy research, stakeholder mapping, synthesis of sector trends, and development of knowledge products that inform strategic engagement.
• Knowledge & Coordination: Maintain partnership intelligence systems, pipelines, dashboards, documentation, and reporting while enabling cross-centre coordination and institutional learning.
• Inter collaboration: Co-drive internal collaborations on partnership, funding opportunities and knowledge sharing.
• Collaboration & Influencing: Builds trusted relationships with diverse stakeholders, aligns interests, and enables collaborative outcomes without relying on formal authority.

Educational Qualifications & Experience Required

• Master's/Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, Social Work, Public Policy, Management, Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Development, Communications, or a related discipline.
• 4-6 years of experience in strategic partnerships, institutional fundraising, business development, programme development, ecosystem engagement, or donor relations.
• Experience working with philanthropy, government, CSR, academia, multilateral agencies, or development organisations is desirable.
• Experience supporting research partnerships, knowledge initiatives, or institutional collaborations is an advantage.
• Experience working with philanthropic foundations or institutional donors/ CSRs.
• Experience in proposal writing and grant development.
• Familiarity with CRM or partnership management platforms.
• Experience contributing to research publications or knowledge products.

Skills Required-:

• Functional Skills
  • Partnership development and stakeholder management
  • Institutional fundraising and resource mobilisation
  • Proposal, concept note, and partnership solution development
  • Stakeholder mapping and ecosystem analysis
  • Partnership pipeline management
  • Research synthesis and insight generation
  • Project coordination, reporting, and documentation
  • Excellent written and verbal communication
• Domain Knowledge
  • Indian development and philanthropy ecosystem
  • Government and public systems
  • CSR Ecosystem
  • Research and knowledge partnerships
• Soft Skills
  • Relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
  • Strong analytical and synthesis capabilities.
  • Ability to translate ecosystem insights into partnership opportunities.
  • Strong planning, organisation, and project management skills.
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining quality and timelines.

Remuneration for this role will be commensurate with qualifications & experience. To learn more about us and apply, check out isdm.org.in/careers.

ISDM is an equal-opportunity organization with a particular emphasis on affirmative action. The culture of the organization is one of professionalism while also one that greatly values relationships.