Senior Associate – Portfolio

Job Title: Senior Associate – Portfolio

Location:
Lower Parel, Mumbai. This is a full-time, in-office position

No. of Positions Available:
1

Core Objective:
The Senior Associate - Portfolio will strengthen Upadhyaya Foundation's impact across Animal Welfare, Disability Inclusion, and Arts & Culture by leading our Monitoring & Evaluation efforts and building strong, trust-based relationships with NGO partners. The role spans the full grant-making cycle, from research and due diligence to partner support and capacity building, and requires sharp analytical skills, strong relationship management, and a systems-thinking approach to ecosystem development.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

• Lead and strengthen UF's MEL systems and frameworks to track outcomes, build evidence, and support data-informed decision-making.
• Co-develop UF's impact indicators and measurement tools with the UF leadership, ensuring they are context-appropriate and aligned with UF's theory of change.
• Review reports from grantees; analyze data to identify trends, learnings, risks, and opportunities.
• Conduct field visits and partner check-ins to validate progress and strengthen relationships.
• Support internal learning cycles and generate insights for UF strategy refinement.

2. Grant-Making & Portfolio Development

• Support the strengthening of grant cycle process, internal due diligence, and recommendations for leadership.
• Assist in crafting grant agreements, defining milestones, outcomes, and reporting requirements.
• Conduct research to identify high-impact NGOs, social enterprises, and ecosystem partners aligned with UF's strategic priorities.

3. Partner Engagement & Capacity Building

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with NGO portfolio organizations.
• Identify capacity-building needs for NGO partners (e.g., organization development, fundraising, MEL, communications, governance).
• Coordinate workshops, learning sessions, peer-learning circles, and access to experts as needed.
• Serve as a thought partner to NGOs, leveraging UF's networks and resources to help them strengthen their impact and sustainability.

4. Sector Engagement, Advocacy & Knowledge Building

• Represent UF in ecosystem convenings, working groups, events, conferences, and sector platforms.
• Track emerging trends and policy developments within the animal welfare, disability inclusion, and arts & culture sectors.
• Contribute to the creation of thought leadership content, sector briefs, learning documents, and UF's knowledge repository.
• Support the foundation's advocacy efforts by identifying systemic gaps and opportunities for collective action.

5. Internal Collaboration & Culture

• Work closely with the Communications & Events team to amplify NGO partner stories and UF's sector work.
• Contribute to a culture of humility, empathy, ownership, continuous learning, and self-management.
• Support leadership in planning and anchoring UF led projects, and internal development efforts.

*As we are in the foundational stage of the organization, this role will continue to evolve based on organizational needs.

Qualifications & Experience

• 2–4 years of experience in the development sector, ideally in roles related to grant-making, program management, research, M&E, consulting, or ecosystem strengthening.
• Experience working with NGOs, intermediaries, CSR or foundations. Prior exposure to philanthropy, donor relations, or ecosystem networks is a plus.
• Experience working in the areas such as animal welfare and disability inclusion (preferred but not mandatory).
• Strong conceptual understanding of impact measurement, theory of change, and outcomes tracking.
• Experience in conducting field visits and stakeholder consultations.

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you Please apply by sending your resume to before 11:59 PM on December 5, 2025 with the subject line
'Senior Associate – Portfolio | '.