The Nudge Institute - Head - Institutional Partnerships & Foundations

About the job:

Location: Bengaluru

About The/Nudge:

The/Nudge is an action institute building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. We work with women, farmers, tribals, and youth across rural development, agriculture, skilling, and economic inclusion, in partnership with 15+ central and state governments. Our economic inclusion journey towards serving 25 million Indians spans 10 states and currently reaches over 1.5 million people. Through our incubator, accelerator, and grand challenges, we have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs, including Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, Earthshot Prize winners, and nationally recognised changemakers. Founded with the support of 130+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates, and 15+ foundations, The/Nudge is working towards a poverty-free India within our lifetime.

About The Role:

We are seeking a senior leader, reporting to our Chief Development Officer, to build and scale our Institutional Partnerships vertical, focused on grant-making agencies, multilateral organizations and large foundations. This is a high-leverage, strategic role that will shape how we engage with global capital for social impact. You will be responsible for unlocking large, multi-year programmatic and unrestricted funding partnerships.

The Ideal Leader Brings a Strong Combination Of:

• Deep institutional donor relationships
• Strategic thinking and positioning
• Proven ability to close complex, high-value grants

What will you do?:

• Build and lead the institutional partnerships strategy across Multilateral agencies, Bilateral donors, Large global foundations
• Develop and own senior relationships with key stakeholders across institutions
• Identify, qualify, and pursue large, multi-year funding opportunities
• Lead the full grant lifecycle: 1. Landscape mapping 2. Strategic positioning 3. Proposal development 4. Negotiation and closure
• Translate programs into institution-ready, fundable propositions
• Work closely with internal teams (program, finance, leadership) to craft compelling proposals
• Build and manage a high-quality institutional pipeline
• Represent the organization in global forums and donor ecosystems
• Build and mentor a high-performing institutional partnerships team

Success Metrics:

• Total institutional funding secured (annual + multi-year)
• Number and depth of strategic partnerships
• Pipeline strength and conversion rates
• Share of multi-year and flexible/unrestricted funding
• Quality of engagement with priority institutions

Who are we looking for in this role?:

• 13+ years of experience in: Institutional fundraising, development consulting, global partnerships
• Strong track record of securing funding from: multilateral organizations, bilateral agencies, large global foundations
• Deep understanding of institutional funding landscapes and decision processes
• Experience engaging organizations such as: World Bank/IFC/GIZ, large philanthropies
• Exceptional proposal writing, storytelling, and negotiation skills
• Ability to engage senior global stakeholders with credibility
• Strong alignment with social impact
• High ownership, strategic thinking, and strong execution bias
• We value humility, agility & adaptability, passion and entrepreneurial drive, ownership & responsibility, high levels of honesty and integrity
• Good interpersonal skills coupled with critical thinking & problem solving

Nice to Have:

• Experience working in international development or large NGOs
• Advanced degree (MBA, MPA, or equivalent)
• Exposure to large-scale program design and impact measurement

Impact:

• Opportunity to shape and scale high-impact CSR partnerships
• Work closely with leading corporates and influential stakeholders
• Be part of a mission-driven, high-performance, highly credentialed team at a young and fast-growing nonprofit organization

Whats in it for you?:

• Own your growth: An impact-led learning environment encourages Nudgesters to invest in their learning and capacity building needs through initiatives and policies, including L&D wallet, individual development plan and internal role change opportunities.
• Find your tribe: Our hiring philosophy emphasizes intent, attitude, smarts and skills, in that order, to build a cohesive environment for Nudgesters. The organisation is committed to curating people-centric policies, enhancing how employees experience life at The/Nudge.
• Take big bets: Organisational initiatives are intended to facilitate Nudgesters with a view to the big picture, illustrated by our impact across 50000+ households, 15+ governments, 200+ social enterprises and Charcha: Indias largest social sector convening forum.
• Make it happen: A product-based approach in an action-biased environment empowers Nudgesters to implement audacious plans. Driven to fail fast, we endeavour to optimize resources in favour of programs that align with our scale ambition.

You can learn more about what we do and how we do it through this deck. We aspire to be an inclusive and diverse organization and encourage qualified individuals irrespective of their religion, caste, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or any other dimension of identity, to apply.