Job Opportunity for Vice President, Partnerships at Medha

• Build and lead a team that generates the resources required for Medha to impact one million youth in the next five years.
• Develop and strengthen strategic partnerships with global foundations, corporations, and multilaterals that go beyond transactional ‘funding.’
• Set strategic goals and priorities as a member of Medha’s senior leadership team. 

About Medha:

Medha better prepares youth for life after school. Our combination of 21st-Century skills training, career counseling, and alumni support propel young people on career paths of their choice. Since 2011, we have improved workplace engagement, income growth, and female workforce participation for 85,000 students across more than 600 educational institutions. And we are currently partnering with multiple state governments to bring our programming and approach to millions more. 

We are proud to be supported by leading corporations and global foundations such as Accenture, JP Morgan, and The Mulago Foundation. We have been fortunate to receive numerous awards and recognitions for our work and impact.

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and being a truly equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. Medha is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices.

For background information on Medha and our impact, please visit 1) Our website  2) 2021 Impact Report  3) Program Materials  4) Three Year Strategy Growth Plan Deck

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY – VICE PRESIDENT,  PARTNERSHIPS

Medha   has an audacious vision – an India with equal career opportunities for youth; irrespective of gender, class, or caste.  

To realize this dream, we are scaling our solutions to a million young people across the ‘Hindi Belt’ in the next five years. 

In partnership with education departments, industry, and like-minded organizations, we are bringing our unique mix of 21st-Century skills training, workplace exposure, and alumni support to thousands of under resourced educational intuitions.   

It’s a collaborative effort, that will require long-term strategic partners and significant financial support, >150 Cr. We are looking for a Vice President, Partnerships to lead this effort. 

You will be responsible for building and implementing a fundraising, relationship management, and communications strategy that enables us to achieve our strategic objectives. You will manage a team of professionals who are equally driven by Medha’s mission and vision. And you will be part of the senior management team that drives key decisions.  

What you will do: 

This position requires you to excel in a number of different domains. Some of the main areas of work include: 

• Relationship Development & Management – Develop and build relationships with existing and potential partners. Primarily funders and employers, from time to time other stakeholders we collaborate with.
• Strategy & Planning – Develop and execute (with your team) a partnerships plan that completes the lifecycle from lead generation and scoping, proposal writing, and query responses, to final agreements and associated milestones.
• Reporting & Communication – Design, develop, and execute an effective reporting, communications, and engagement plan with current and potential partners. From your standard regular updates to high-touch relationship-building engagements.
• Team Building –  Lead a dynamic team of professionals to perform at a high level. Enhance the capacity of the team, plan hiring needs, and grow the team based on future requirements.

What your day might look like:

No two days are the same, but some may look like:

• You start by firing off a few emails to a couple leads in the pipeline. Foundations or companies you have been talking to for a while. You share our latest quarterly report and some updates from the field you know are of interest to them.
• You check in with the team to help them troubleshoot a couple of issues that have come up with some funders and brainstorm some ideas they have. A budget reallocation is required, a field visit needs to be planned, a potential lead wants a proposal ASAP, the usual!
• You have a call with one of our long-term partners to discuss progress and talk about next year. You speak with the programs team first to understand the current challenges on the ground and what future opportunities they are exploring/excited about. You jot down some notes for the call and think about ‘the asks,’ next steps you are looking for.
• You interview a candidate for a new position you are looking to hire.
• You drop in on a pre-placement talk one of our large employer partners is holding for polytechnic students in Eastern UP.
• You take a look through Medha’s Insta feed and share some ideas with the MarComs team about messaging for funders. 

Things we are looking for:

• An effective storyteller, who connects with Medha’s vision and can communicate the work and impact in a powerful way. Both verbally and in writing!
• An ‘entrepreneur.’ Someone who has built something on their own (however big or small) and experienced the ups and downs of trying to bring an idea to life.
• Someone who hates the ‘chalta hai’ mentality as much as we do.
• A flexible, team player who is just as comfortable in an ITI classroom in Sitapur as they are in a board room in BKC.
• A manager who believes in building a team and giving them space to grow and learn on their own.

And some prior experience…

We believe in diversity of thought and experiences and are open to candidates with varied backgrounds. If you believe the skills you have built from the experiences you have had in the past can be applied to this work, please communicate how and why in your application.

Why should you work for Medha?

• A passionate team that is committed to a shared mission.
• Grassroots ethos is connected to its student community (no ivory towers here).
• Audacious goals and vision to impact millions of young people and India’s growth story.
• New initiatives and exciting projects to get involved in and learn from.
• An informal and fun work environment that doesn’t compromise on performance.
• Space to explore and find your own solutions and path (no micromanaging). 

Whom will you work with?

These are some people you will be closely working with as a member of the Partnerships team and senior leadership. 

The descriptions indicate the team member’s ‘superpower,’ not their designation 🙂  

Unique insight finder, researcher, and relationship builder (Partnerships): Poornima Bhagwat

Impact investigator, survey whiz, and painter of ‘big pictures’ (Data & Impact): Komal Sharma

System engineer and champion of excellence (Core Programs): Sanjul Ashok Bhakri

Natural leader, connector, and chaos tamer (Ecosystem Engagement): Shubhra Gupta

Our hiring process:

Our goal is to be transparent and respectful of your time during the recruiting process. We use a technology platform to ensure the hiring process is comprehensive, efficient, and well documented.