Head

Job Description: Head of Marketing & Communications

Location: Bangalore (flexible)

Reports to: President & CEO

Experience: 20+ years, 5+ years in Leadership Positions

About Maker Bhavan Foundation

India stands at a turning point. We are building world-class digital infrastructure, launching rockets, powering global tech, and fueling deep-tech innovation - yet our engineering education system has not fully kept pace with this ambition.

Students learn theory but rarely learn by making. Laboratories exist, but often without a true culture of experimentation. Faculty want to modernize teaching but need tools and support. Industry wants job-ready engineers but continues to see a widening gap between curriculum and real-world skills.

This is the problem Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF) is solving.

Founded by IIT Bombay alumni, MBF is committed to transforming engineering education in India - one maker space, one faculty cohort, and one student project at a time. We partner with leading STEM universities to build high-quality maker spaces, strengthen project-based learning, and nurture the curiosity, creativity, and practical engineering confidence that young engineers need.

Our ambition is bold:
To spark a national movement where Indian engineers learn by building, experimenting, and innovating - and where the country's top 100 STEM institutions become hubs of future-ready talent.

We are early-stage but high-velocity, with strong partnerships, a growing community, and a mandate to shape how the next generation of engineers learn and build.

And now, we are looking for a seasoned Marketing & Communications leader who can take this mission to the world - with clarity, warmth, and conviction.

The Role: Head of Marketing & Communications

This is a role for a senior leader who loves building narratives, building systems, and building movements. You will work directly with the CEO and leadership team to shape how India understands the future of engineering education - and MBF's role in advancing it.

This is not a maintenance role. It's a builder role.
You will set up the function, craft the brand, create national visibility, and help shape a category that doesn't yet exist.

What You Will Lead

1. Brand & Narrative

Craft a clear, inspiring narrative for MBF and the future of engineering education in India.

Shape a brand identity that feels trusted, human, and rooted in student and faculty stories.

Refresh our website and digital presence to reflect the brand's purpose and energy.

2. Communications & PR

Position MBF as a national voice in engineering, manufacturing, and education innovation.

Build relationships with key journalists and secure consistent, meaningful media coverage.

Develop thought leadership for the CEO and senior leadership (articles, op-eds, panels).

Create communication that resonates with academia, government, corporates, and donors.

3. Digital, Content & Community

Strengthen presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and other channels.

Build communities around students, faculty, innovators, and partner institutions.

Lead content strategy: videos, stories, impact showcases, campus narratives.

4. Partnerships & Fundraising Communication

Create compelling partner stories, donor decks, case studies, and campaign narratives.

Support a growing network of HEIs, industry partners, and government counterparts.

5. Building the Marketing Function

Mentor and grow a small internal team.

Set up simple, effective systems for planning, approvals, content production, and reporting.

Co-create an annual marketing calendar and measurement rhythm.

What Success Looks Like (First 6-12 Months)

Within 6 Months:

A refreshed brand strategy and messaging framework adopted across the organization.

Website rebuilt with clear storytelling, value proposition, and conversion paths.

MBF's first structured PR rhythm live - with 20+ journalists mapped and early coverage secured.

A strong digital pulse across platforms, with consistent, high-quality content.

Baseline awareness metrics and audience segmentation documented.

Partnership-driven communication initiatives launched.

Within 12 Months:

30%+ growth in brand awareness across target audiences (students, HEIs, donors, industry).

10+ strong media stories with meaningful positioning (not transactional mentions).

LinkedIn: 5,000+ followers

Instagram: 3,000+ followers

Website engagement up by 30%

A two-member in-house marketing team functioning with clarity and stability.

A KPI dashboard established and reviewed quarterly with leadership.

What You Bring

20+ years of experience in marketing, communications and 5+ years in leadership

A track record of building or shaping brands in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Comfort with both strategy and hands-on execution.

Strong storytelling instincts - ability to turn program insights into compelling narratives.

Experience working with senior leadership and influencing at the ecosystem level.

Ease in environments that are early-stage, evolving, and mission-driven.

Experience in education, nonprofit, manufacturing, or technology sectors is helpful, but not mandatory. More important is your ability to communicate with warmth, clarity, and conviction.