ABOUT US

Avanti Fellows empowers students from low-income and marginalized communities across India by providing competitive exam preparation and resources to help them succeed. A core part of our mission is bridging the gender gap in education — ensuring every girl has the chance to achieve her potential.

This role sits within Avanti's Fundraising & Strategic Partnerships function, created to strengthen execution capacity across large institutional donors, HNIs, and multi-year strategic partnerships.

THE ROLE

This is a high-ownership role covering large donor management, grant execution, and institutional partnerships. You will manage a defined portfolio of donors and grants end-to-end — from relationship coordination and application tracking through to reporting, compliance, and renewal. You report to the Director, Fundraising (Strategic Partnerships).

What Success Looks Like

• Donors in your portfolio feel consistently well-managed — informed, engaged, and confident in Avanti's delivery.

• No missed deadlines, clean compliance records, and strong renewal positioning across your grant portfolio.

• Application windows are tracked proactively — no opportunities missed due to process gaps.

• The Director, Fundraising (Strategic Partnerships) focuses on strategy and stewardship, not production.

• A strong internal knowledge library reduces turnaround time and improves consistency across the team.

WHAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY DO

Large Donor & HNI Management

• Manage the donor engagement calendar — touchpoints, briefing notes, meeting packs, and impact updates.

• Run regular donor calls for reporting updates, relationship deepening, and scoping renewal or expansion opportunities.

• Support tailored donor journeys for HNIs from first engagement through to multi-year commitments.

• Ensure relationship continuity and smooth handoffs in coordination with the Director, Fundraising (Strategic Partnerships).

Grant Applications & Tracking

• Maintain a live tracker of application windows, eligibility criteria, and submission deadlines across target funders.

• Coordinate concept note and proposal submissions — ensuring materials are ready ahead of each window.

• Flag upcoming opportunities early and support prioritisation decisions with the Director, Fundraising (Strategic Partnerships).

Grant Lifecycle & Compliance

• Own end-to-end execution for assigned grants: milestone tracking, conditions precedent, and reporting timelines.

• Coordinate across Programs, Finance, Impact/Data, and Comms to gather, quality-check, and submit deliverables on time.

• Package and submit narrative reports, financial utilisation documentation, and compliance materials to funder specifications.

• Maintain clean grant records to support renewal conversations.

Proposals & Donor Deliverables

• Draft concept notes, proposals, and donor updates — translating program complexity into clear, credible narratives.

• Prepare decks, one-pagers, and diligence materials for high-stakes partnerships managed by the Director, Fundraising (Strategic Partnerships).

Internal Systems & Knowledge Management

• Build and maintain proposal modules, donor packs, reporting templates, and compliance checklists.

• Maintain version control and documentation standards across all submissions and donor communications.

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Experience

• 5–7 years in donor management, institutional fundraising, or grants management — ideally in education or the social sector.

• Demonstrated experience managing large donors or HNIs including engagement planning and multi-year stewardship.

• Proven ability to manage grant cycles end-to-end including applications, reporting, compliance, and renewal.

• Track record of coordinating across internal teams to produce time-bound, high-quality deliverables.

Capabilities

• Strong relationship management instincts — able to anticipate donor needs and build trust over time.

• Disciplined project manager: holds multiple parallel donor relationships and grant timelines without dropping the ball.

• Comfortable with financial inputs — budgets, utilisation tracking, and narrative-budget consistency.

Attributes

• Deep alignment with Avanti's mission and genuine commitment to educational equity.

• Low ego, high ownership — takes pride in getting the work done well, even behind the scenes.

• Warm, professional, and relationship-oriented — trusted equally by donors and colleagues.

• Comfortable with ambiguity, long diligence cycles, and shifting priorities.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience with international foundations, bilateral donors, or family offices in the philanthropy space.

WHAT'S HARD ABOUT THIS JOB

• Multiple donor relationships and grant cycles running simultaneously — each at a different stage, with different expectations. No quiet season.

• Getting quality inputs from Programs, Finance, and Impact on time requires persistence and strong internal relationships.

• You will often represent complex, evolving program work to donors without always having full context.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

• Near-term: Every grant you manage well directly funds access to quality education for students from low-income communities.

• Long-term: You are building the funder trust and institutional systems that will sustain Avanti's partnerships for years to come.

• Personal: You sit at the intersection of mission and strategy — close enough to the work to feel its impact, central enough to shape its growth.

COMPENSATION & LOGISTICS

• Package: Competitive with peer organisations in the education and development sector.

• Location: Remote; Mumbai-based candidates strongly preferred.

• Travel: Travel across India and within Mumbai for donor meetings and team meetings.

We are looking for someone who manages relationships with care, executes with discipline, and builds systems that make a mission-driven team more effective. If that is you — and you care about equity in education — we would love to hear from you.