Job Description:
Job Title: Associate Director – CSR Partnerships – FLC
Reports to: Abha Thorat Shah
About The Convergence Foundation:
The Convergence Foundation (TCF) is an Indian philanthropic foundation established by Ashish and Manisha Dhawan in April 2021. TCF builds on their legacy of impactful philanthropy, including the founding of transformative institutions like Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation.
Our mission is clear: to transform the lives of all Indians through rapid, sustained economic growth and inclusive development. To achieve this, we focus on 3 pillars 1) Direct engines of economic growth that enable job creation, 2) Human capital development through education and employability, and 3) Development Enablers that strengthen the philanthropic ecosystem and improve state capacity.
In each area, TCF works on:
Building pioneering institutions to address India's most complex socio-economic challenges.
Shaping the larger ecosystem and sharing knowledge, insights and learning with other philanthropists, governments and key stakeholders
We believe that the government is the key actor for system change, and the role of philanthropy and nonprofits is to strategically support the government. The TCF Network includes 20+ organisations all working systemically with the government, committed to addressing specific areas of India's socio-economic development, across our three pillars. (1) Economic Growth & Jobs – enabling Indias direct engines of growth; (2) Human Capital – improving learning and employability outcomes & (3) Development Enablers – strengthening governance, state capacity, and philanthropy itself
About the Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)
The Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC) is a national platform anchored by The Convergence Foundation (TCF) to accelerate Indias progress on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) under the NIPUN Bharat Mission.
FLC works closely with the Government of India, state governments, philanthropies, and System Support Organisations (SSOs) to strengthen policy design, collective action, and political salience around foundational learning. The Collaborative focuses on systemic, government-aligned change—moving beyond pilots to impact at scale across states.
Position Summary
Indias CSR pool—over ₹32,000 crore annually—represents a powerful opportunity to support system-level reform in school education. FLC aims to help CSR funders move beyond fragmented, project-based giving towards strategic, long-term investments that strengthen public education systems and accelerate national learning outcomes.
The Associate Director – CSR Partnerships (FLC) will be the single point of ownership for CSR fundraising and partnerships for the Foundational Learning Collaborative. The role will focus exclusively on building, managing, and growing CSR partnerships aligned to FLN, working closely with FLC leadership, SSOs, and state-facing teams.
This role combines external relationship leadership, strong operational rigour, and strategic narrative-building—supporting CSRs to play a visible, credible role in Indias foundational learning journey.
Key Responsibilities
1. CSR Strategy for Foundational Learning
Design and drive FLCs CSR engagement strategy, positioning foundational learning as a national priority for CSR investment.
Develop a clear, differentiated value proposition for CSRs to engage in the FLC.
Translate FLCs systemic work (policy, governance, implementation support) into CSR-ready propositions that align with the CSR act and corporate priorities.
2. CSR Pipeline Development & Outreach
Identify, map, and prioritise CSR prospects aligned to education, children, human capital, and nation-building themes.
Manage structured outreach to CSR heads, corporate foundations, and leadership teams.
Support senior leadership in preparing for CSR meetings—developing briefing notes, decks, and follow-ups align with systemic support organisations (SSOs).
Maintain a disciplined CSR pipeline with clear next steps, timelines, and conversion tracking.
3. Donor Engagement & Account Management
Serve as the primary relationship manager along with respective SSOs for FLCs CSR partners.
Work with partner SSOs to ensure timely proposals, MoUs, renewals, and stewardship.
Coordinate with SSOs and implementation partners to source credible data, insights, and stories for donor communication.
Support planning and delivery of CSR roundtables, state visits, recognition events, and leadership engagements with respective SSOs.
4. Proposal Development & Coordination
Lead the drafting and refinement of CSR proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks with respective SSOs for FLC.
Work closely with policy, programme, and communications teams of SSOs to ensure proposals are grounded in implementation realities.
Work with SSOs to ensure consistency of narrative, outcomes, and metrics across all CSR-facing materials.
5. Systems, Tracking & Reporting
Own CRM systems for all FLC CSR partnerships, ensuring data hygiene and discipline.
Track commitments, renewals, and funding projections against FLC targets.
Develop simple dashboards and trackers for FLC and TCF leadership on CSR progress.
6. External Representation
Represent FLC in CSR forums, convenings, and education platforms.
Build trusted relationships within the CSR ecosystem as a credible voice on foundational learning and systems reform.
Experience & Qualifications
10–15 years of experience in CSR partnerships, fundraising, client relationship management, or corporate affairs.
Strong familiarity with Indias CSR ecosystem and compliance frameworks.
Proven experience engaging with CSR heads, corporate foundations, or senior corporate stakeholders.
Experience in education, philanthropy, consulting, or development sector preferred.
Skills & Attributes
Essential
Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills
Excellent written and verbal communication
High ownership, follow-through, and attention to detail
Ability to translate complex policy/systemic work into clear donor narratives
Desirable
Comfort engaging with senior corporate leadership
Strategic mindset with an ability to align CSR interests to public systems reform
Interest in education policy and large-scale government programmes