Job Opportunity for Associate, Acquisitions (Foundations) at Teach for India in Mumbai

Position Summary

The Development team’s mission is to build lifelong champions of Teach For India’s cause and acquire financial support for the movement. As one of the most external-facing teams, we build high-impact sustainable partnerships and strong champions for the movement via various engagement avenues and immersions with our Students, Fellows, Staff, and our Board. The Development team has repurposed fundraising efforts by building strategic partnerships, newer channels of giving, and strong teams and systems resilient to future threats.

The Associate, Acquisitions (Foundations) will support the Acquisitions team in building deep partnerships with new Foundations and strategic donors across Teach For India’s eight cities and strategically cultivating lifelong champions and partnerships for the movement to acquire new donors.

We are seeking a proven leader who possesses exceptional communication skills, a collaborative and proactive approach to working in teams and a deep personal belief in Teach For India’s vision and mission.

Team Overview

Teach For India embarks on a bold vision – to create a pipeline of 50,000 leaders by 2032 to develop their own leadership and work towards educational equity in India. This ambitious growth needs to be supported by financial resources, which the Development team will help secure in addition to building partnerships that go beyond providing only financial support to fuel this growth. 

Development is one of the critical backbones of the organization as the organization is entirely dependent on donations in its current form. The team raises funds from various sources – Corporate CSR will continue to be our mainstay for the immediate and medium-term. We are exploring HNIs as a critical bet while continuing to cultivate Foundations as our medium-term priority.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the Associate, Acquisitions (Foundations) will include, but are not limited to:

1. Raise funds by building new champions, and ensure 100% of the new funding goals are met

• Identify high-potential Foundation prospects and develop a strong cultivation strategy.
• Produce funding value propositions grounded in our vision and supported by compelling stories and robust evidence.
• Project manage the writing production process for key external Foundations and strategic audiences by generating clear and compelling written communications that target precise narratives and customized propositions, including donor proposals, concept notes, impact reports, high-stakes emails, PowerPoint presentations, and other collateral to inspire prospective donors.
• Support the Director, Development with rigorous research to build a portfolio of Foundations and strategic alternative sources of funding while also continuously refining and updating our value proposition to leverage the complete strength of our brand.
• Proactively service leads generated through the pull factor, and engage connectors to build a steady list of new prospects.
• Support the Director, Development in revising and building a comprehensive & adaptive Foundation funding strategy for the current and successive year.

2. Central Project Management

• Engage in bi-monthly spaces to share insights and learnings with the broader team, and drive for results.
• Support team members in curating essential collateral for new donors and support the curation and management of critical engagement events.
• Ensure that the content and context of all new partnerships are regularly updated on relevant donor and data management systems like Salesforce and Team Drives.
• Support the Director, Development to project manage the relationship management of the Board and develop their engagement for fundraising.
• Support in the creation and execution of immersion opportunities (events, program immersion activities) for the Board to leverage their network and keep them engaged with fundraising.

3. Build capacity in team members, thereby developing a world-class team

• To drive the maintenance and updating of repositories of new proposals, narratives, and learning documents.
• Engage in bi-annual open spaces to amplify voice and dialogues, surface barriers to execution, problem-solve, learn and share, celebrate, and collaborate.
• Create learning and development opportunities for the team, effectively leverage data to reflect on progress, and build rigor for Acquisitions for the wider team.

4. Additional Responsibilities

• Assist during the selection of new Fellows.
• Volunteering in classrooms is highly recommended to keep in touch with why we do what we do.
• Providing other administrative support and working on special projects on an as-needed basis.
• As a part of the Development team, you will make several external contacts. You will need to duly share these with the Recruitment, Alumni, and Communications teams who also deal with external stakeholders.

As a Development Team member, you will need to

• Partner with other Vertical Heads and teams (e.g. Recruitment, Alumni, HR, Training & Impact) to stay abreast of all essential programs and updates.
• Work closely with the Director, Development for planning and strategizing yearly fundraising goals and operations plan, team hiring and stepbacks. 

Minimum Qualifications, Experiences and Expectations

• Baccalaureate (in any stream) with 2+ years of full-time work experience, preferably in an external-facing role that requires writing proposals and reports
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent critical thinking skills and ability to analyze and draw conclusions, create narratives and communicate impact to external partners and the uninitiated
• Ability to manage time and thrive in a fast-paced environment requiring multi-tasking
• Mastery of Microsoft Office and Google Suite
• Excellent project and time management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills to build meaningful relationships with diverse stakeholders & ensure efficient collaboration across internal teams
• Commitment to Teach For India’s mission and values
• Commitment to excellence, innovation, accuracy, and attention to detail
• High on integrity, accountability, and drive

Preferred Qualifications, Experiences and Expectations

• Previous work experience in writing, editing, and drafting roles
• Entrepreneurial & innovative approach to work
• Teach For India Fellowship experience is preferred

Note: We want to hear your unique voice and perspectives through the process, hence all applicants are expected to personally author statements of purpose/essays in the application form. Any use of AI or Chat-GPT based tools may lead to disqualification from the process.