Job Title: National Head – Development Operations
Job Grade: Head of Department (HOD)
Department: Nirantar Trust
Job Purpose
The National Head – Development Operations leads Nirantar Trust’s integrated development functions across resource mobilisation, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and communications/strategic partnerships. The role is responsible for building coherence across fundraising, donor stewardship, evidence and learning systems, communication strategy, and external positioning so that Nirantar’s thematic work is supported by strong institutional systems, credible reporting, compelling public narratives, and sustainable partnerships.
The position provides strategic leadership to the Team Leads for Fundraising, MEL, and Communications, while ensuring clear accountability, non-duplication of responsibilities, and alignment with Nirantar Trust’s feminist politics, programme priorities, and organizational growth plans.
Duties and Responsibilities
Strategic leadership and integration
• Lead the overall vision, structure, and development of Nirantar Trust’s Development Operations function, covering fundraising, MEL, communications, and strategic partnerships.
• Develop annual and medium-term strategies for resource mobilisation, donor engagement, public-facing communication, reporting, learning, and development systems in alignment with Nirantar’s mission and thematic priorities.
• Ensure coherence and coordination across the Fundraising, MEL, and Communications functions so that they work as complementary pillars of organizational development rather than parallel silos.
• Clarify division of responsibilities, decision-making authority, and accountability across reporting positions to avoid duplication and strengthen full ownership of outcomes.
• Contribute to wider institutional strategy, planning, and leadership discussions as part of Nirantar’s senior management structure.
Leadership of fundraising and donor development
• Provide strategic oversight to fundraising and donor engagement efforts, including pipeline planning, donor mapping, proposal development, cultivation, stewardship, and renewals.
• Guide the development of income strategies that draw on Nirantar’s programme strengths in gender, sexuality, education, feminist leadership, research, advocacy, and knowledge production.
• Review and support high-value proposals, donor-facing presentations, funding concepts, and partnership strategies in coordination with programme leadership and the fundraising lead.
• Support senior-level donor relationships and represent Nirantar in strategic fundraising and partnership forums where needed.
• Strengthen internal systems for donor reporting, grant coordination, due diligence, and compliance in collaboration with finance and programme teams.
Leadership of MEL, evidence, and learning systems
• Provide strategic direction to Nirantar’s MEL function so that monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems are aligned with programme realities, donor requirements, and organizational priorities.
• Ensure that evidence generation, data quality, learning reviews, and reporting processes support programme improvement, donor accountability, public communication, and organizational decision-making.
• Guide development of organizational frameworks such as theories of change, results frameworks, indicators, learning agendas, and evidence-use practices across portfolios.
• Promote a learning-oriented culture through regular review processes, reflective practice, and use of evidence across teams and leadership structures.
• Ensure that MEL systems, dashboards, and outputs are usable, timely, and relevant for both internal and external stakeholders.
Leadership of communications and strategic partnerships
• Provide strategic oversight to Nirantar’s communications and strategic partnerships work, including communication planning, knowledge products, content pipelines, public visibility, advocacy support, and partnership development.
• Ensure that communication strategies are rooted in Nirantar’s feminist politics, current work, and future vision, and that they adequately support programme teams, donors, and public-facing accountability.
• Strengthen systems through which programme teams regularly contribute insights, evidence, stories, and learning to communications, fundraising, and dissemination processes.
• Guide coordination between communications, MEL, fundraising, and programme teams so that donor communication, advocacy materials, public narratives, and organizational visibility are mutually reinforcing.
• Support the expansion of imaginative national and international partnerships that strengthen Nirantar’s advocacy, funding base, and public positioning.
Systems, accountability, and operational strengthening
• Build and strengthen systems, workflows, and operating norms for proposal development, reporting cycles, donor coordination, evidence use, communications planning, and inter-team collaboration.
• Oversee tracking systems, review processes, and management information that support better planning, prioritization, accountability, and leadership decision-making across the Development Operations portfolio.
• Work closely with finance and programme leadership to ensure alignment between budgets, grants, reporting obligations, institutional communication, and donor commitments.
• Develop internal guidance and processes that ensure ethical, accurate, and politically grounded use of programme data, stories, evidence, and donor-facing narratives.
Team leadership and cross-organizational collaboration
• Provide mentorship, strategic direction, performance support, and problem-solving guidance to reporting staff and relevant cross-functional teams.
• Work closely with National Heads of thematic portfolios (GTE, FGL , FDTL and TTE) to ensure that development systems are responsive to programme needs and that fundraising, MEL, and communications are grounded in substantive work.
• Build cross-functional collaboration between programme, research, finance, communications, and development functions.
• Contribute to organizational capacity-building on proposal development, reporting quality, communication planning, evidence use, and donor readiness.
Representation and organizational contribution
• Represent Nirantar in forums related to fundraising, learning, communications, partnerships, and organizational development, as required.
• Participate in broader organizational leadership, planning, reviews, and strategy processes.
• Take on additional institutional responsibilities relevant to organizational strengthening and growth, as required by the Executive Director
Qualifications
Education and degree
• Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, Social Work, Public Policy, Management, Communications, International Development, Gender Studies, Business, Sociology, or a related field is essential.
• Additional training or demonstrated experience in organizational development, fundraising, MEL, strategic communications, or nonprofit management is desirable.
Skills & abilities
•Strong strategic leadership and systems-thinking ability across fundraising, MEL, communications, and institutional development functions.
•Strong resource mobilisation, donor stewardship, and partnership-building skills, especially with institutional donors, foundations, CSR actors, and aligned philanthropic partners.
•Key understanding of monitoring, evaluation, learning, reporting, and evidence-use systems in nonprofit or development settings.
•Excellent communication, writing, editing, presentation, and narrative-framing skills, with ability to translate complex programme work into compelling public and donor-facing materials.
•Ability to integrate data, stories, programme learning, and strategic priorities into coherent development and visibility strategies.
•Strong coordination, planning, deadline management, and problem-solving skills across multiple workstreams and teams.
•Good people-management, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
•High attention to detail, ethical judgment, and commitment to feminist values, accountability, and organizational integrity.
•Proficiency in MS Office, collaborative work tools, presentations, donor documentation systems, and data/reporting tools; familiarity with CRM, dashboarding, and digital communication tools is desirable.
Language requirements
Essential: Professional fluency in English and Hindi, both written and spoken.
Desirable: Ability to work in additional Indian languages relevant to programme geographies.
Experience
Experience required:
• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience in one or more of the following areas: fundraising/resource mobilisation, monitoring and evaluation, communications, strategic partnerships, organizational development, or nonprofit management.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated functions or teams where fundraising, communications, reporting, and evidence/accountability systems intersect.
• Proven experience in institutional fundraising, donor engagement, proposal development, reporting, and partnership cultivation.
• Ground experience in building or overseeing MEL, reporting, review, or evidence-use systems that inform programme quality and donor accountability.
• Demonstrated experience in leading teams, managing cross-functional processes, and supporting organizational growth or systems strengthening.
Experience preferred:
• Experience working across multiple states, programmes, or partner ecosystems in India is desirable.
• Experience in integrating communications and public positioning with resource mobilisation and accountability systems is an advantage.
• Experience contributing to senior management, institutional strategy, or organizational design processes is desirable.
Experience in fundraising, proposal development, and partnership building is preferred
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:
• Regular travel for field visits, workshops, consultations, convenings, and partner meetings is expected.
• The role requires sustained engagement with internal reviews, organizational meetings, and cross-organizational responsibilities beyond the immediate portfolio.
• Physical demands are those of a standard programme leadership role, including travel and participation in in-person meetings, workshops, and public events
How to Apply :
Please send the following information to mkaur@procloz.com , indicating the position applied for in the subject line. Closing date for applications is <.Enter Date>
• Current Resume / CV in English (include mobile and email address).
• Cover letter stating reason for interest and previous experiences relevant to position.