Position: Head, Global Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation
Location: Surat, Gujarat, with regular national and international travel
Employment: Full-Time
Experience: 10 to 15 years
ABOUT DHOLAKIA FOUNDATION
Dholakia Foundation was established in 1996 by Savjibhai Dholakia, founder and chairman of Hari Krishna Exports, on a simple premise: a business built on Gujarat's land and communities has an obligation to give back in ways that last.
What began as a local commitment is now one of India's more serious environmental and community organizations, working across water conservation, afforestation, river and lake restoration, rural skill development, and livelihoods. Its programmes, Mission 102030, Mission River, Mission 100 Sarovar, and Srujan, have restored more than 185 water bodies, contributed to planting 3.7 million trees, and touched the lives of over five lakh people across Gujarat.
The work is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and is gaining recognition within the international community working on climate, water, and community resilience. The Foundation is at a point where the quality of its programmes justifies a significantly wider reach, and the right partnerships, nationally and internationally, will determine how far this work can go.
THE ROLE
This is a senior leadership position for someone who knows how to build institutional relationships that produce real, lasting commitments. The Foundation's programmes are proven, and its impact documented; what this role adds is the external reach, the ability to connect the Foundation's work with the organizations, resources, and global networks that will allow it to grow in scale and ambition.
The person in this role will be the Foundation's primary presence in the world beyond its own programmes. They will report directly to the CEO, with the access and mandate that comes with that.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Your work is to extend the Foundation's reach and deepen its connections across three connected areas of focus:
- Build the right relationships. Develop long-term partnerships with national corporates, government institutions, international development agencies, UN specialized agencies, bilateral partners, and philanthropic foundations in India and internationally built on shared purpose, not transactional interests.
- Translate relationships into support. Secure funding through corporate partnerships, international mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility, and philanthropic collaborations. Bring in resources in kind, and pursue formal institutional recognition from bodies including UNEP, UN-Water, UNDP, IUCN, and the UN SDG Partnership Platform.
- Put the Foundation in rooms it hasn't been in before. International forums on climate and water, including UN Climate Conferences and the World Water Forum; bilateral agency conversations internationally; and government partnerships at state and national levels wherever India's experience in community-led environmental restoration deserves to be heard.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- Ten to fifteen years spent personally building institutional relationships that produced real, documented outcomes, not supporting others in doing so.
- The credibility to walk into a conversation with a corporate chairman, a UN programme director, or a government secretary and make a compelling case.
- Substantive experience engaging international organizations at a programme or partnership level and the ability to describe it in specific terms.
- A working understanding of how multilateral funding mechanisms, bilateral development agencies, and international philanthropic foundations make decisions: when we mention the Green Climate Fund or engagement with UNEP, you know what that involves in practice.
- Excellent written and spoken English and Hindi; proposals and concept notes that don't need external polish. Gujarati is a strong advantage for local stakeholder conversations.
This is a natural next step for professionals from international development organizations, senior fundraising roles at large foundations or INGOs, strategic corporate partnerships, government engagement with an institutional relations dimension, or INGO leadership. What matters most is the quality and scale of the external partnerships you have personally built and closed, rather than the specific industry you come from. This role is distinct from internal CSR compliance, ESG reporting, or programme implementation, which don't typically involve that kind of external relationship-building.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Senior leadership compensation benchmarked to sector standards, with performance recognition tied to meaningful outcomes.
- A direct relationship with the CEO and genuine influence on the Foundation's strategic direction.
- Real ownership of a partnerships portfolio built from the ground up, with national and international scope.
- A culture grounded in integrity and long-term thinking, led by a founder personally committed to this work for nearly three decades.
- The chance to place an Indian foundation with genuine, documented impact meaningfully on the global stage.
HOW TO APPLY
If this speaks to where you are in your career, write to us. Send your CV and a short note (half a page is enough) on what draws you to this work and one institutional relationship you have personally built that you consider significant.
Confidential expressions of interest are welcome. If you are currently in a senior position and would prefer an initial conversation before any formal application, please reach out directly.
Email [email protected]
Website www.dholakia.foundation
Office Hari Krishna Exports, Surat, Gujarat, India
Dholakia Foundation is an equal opportunity organization. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From ₹50,000.00 per month
Work Location: In person
