Deputy Director, Partnerships

Are you a change maker who wants to play a pivotal role in restoring vision for millions of people in low-income settings across India? Would you like to work for an organisation that is a pioneer in social impact practices?

We are seeking a highly motivated, dynamic, and self-driven candidate who would like to have a challenging and meaningful career path in institutional partnerships and the social sector. Institutional Partnerships is a key focus area at our organisation and requires a proactive and dynamic approach. The candidate must be dedicated and sincere towards their work and should always be open to learning new things. The candidate must have in-depth subject matter knowledge, expertise, and experience. Timely and high-quality delivery of goals would be essential and will be a key performance measurement criterion. S/he will develop and expand our partner network across India, foster and manage key accounts and other relationships, grow access to eyeglasses, and provide seamless stakeholder engagement. The Deputy Director, Partnerships, leads our programmatic implementation partnerships with mission-aligned eye hospitals and organisations and guides and supervises the team. S/he serves as a member of the institutional partnerships team and reports to the Director, Partnerships. S/he will be based out of Delhi NCR (Noida), India.

About You

• You are passionate about creating social impact and thrive in high-impact environments.
• You excel in institutional forging and managing programmatic partnerships within the development or healthcare sector with a proven ability to close relationships and nurture long-term collaboration.
• You are a strong relationship manager with a vision to create strategic partnerships.
• You have led high-performing teams, bringing out the best in others through mentoring and a performance-driven culture.
• You have extensive experience in working with institutional partners. You are equally comfortable in the boardroom and in the field, engaging confidently with senior stakeholders and opinion leaders.
• You are adept at negotiating win-win relationships and meeting goals as per the timelines.

About Us

• We are creating access to eyeglasses for low-income people. Clear vision creates opportunities for increased learning, work, safety, civic participation, and quality of life.
• As a social organisation, social change motivates us first. Our focus is on advancing our mission objectives - to increase functioning, productivity, and income earning potential for our low-income people by correcting impaired vision with eyeglasses.
• We are working to transform the systemic dysfunction which has failed to deliver eyeglasses - a 700-year-old technology - to approximately 55 Crore people in India in need of vision correction.
• We serve low-income people who are more than beneficiaries to us. The people (and the partners) we serve expect high-quality eye-screenings and eyeglasses.
• To efficiently scale, we must deliver each new unit at less cost.
• We run our operations on financial metrics and social impact measures. We leverage a range of processes and practices to get the work done.
• We believe in scaling our impact, not our organisation. We are a lean team of doers.

What You'll Do

Strategy and Access Creation

• Contribute to the organisation's three-year rolling strategy, currently focussed on penetrating underserved districts like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.
• Set and achieve annual goals through the team spread across India.
• Deepen relationships in priority geographies, especially in the underserved areas.
• Develop new partnership opportunities and collaboration frameworks to expand access to eyeglasses.
• Manage an annual partnerships budget and be accountable for achieving targets for partner onboarding and eyeglass distribution.

Partner Development

• Build and manage a robust partner network across India.
• Expand relationships with mission-aligned eye hospitals, healthcare providers, and institutions.
• Represent the organisation in forums, conferences, and networks.

Key Account Management

• Map and manage strategic accounts, ensuring long-term partnerships and program growth.
• Proactively identify high-potential partners, leveraging networking, referrals, and outreach.
• Organise workshops and partner events to recognise high performers and share best practices.

Leadership and Monitoring

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing pan-India team of professionals.
• Support recruitment, training, and career development of team members.
• Ensure accurate pipeline tracking, data management, and timely reporting.
• Lead by example, fostering a culture of accountability, ownership, and results.

Operations Management

• Work with supply chain and procurement teams for accurate forecasting, inventory planning, and seamless delivery.
• Incorporate partner and stakeholder feedback into eyeglasses design and development.

What's Required

• Master's degree, preferably in management.
• Minimum of 15 years of professional experience in institutional partnerships in a high-growth environment.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time within India.
• Proven experience and networks building partnerships across different regions of India, with deep experience in Northern and Eastern India being highly desirable.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Hindi.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary based on experience and education.
• Competitive benefits, including health insurance and generous vacation time.

To Apply

• We want to know more than just what you have done. We want to know who you are. What are the passions and talents that draw you to this role?
• Please submit an application, including a thoughtful cover letter and your CV/resume, to:
  
  . Please ensure there is a short description of each organisation on your CV/resume. Include your last name and "Deputy Director, Partnerships" in the subject line.
• Please note that only candidates to be interviewed will be contacted.
• Evaluation of qualified candidates will include an assessment exercise, which will be followed by a competency-based interview.
• We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.