Opening for Director-Business Development & Partnerships
Purpose of the position / Why this role is important to us?
Gram Vaani is looking for an experienced & detail-oriented Business Development & Partnerships lead
and she will be a professional with a demonstrable record of success focusing on key relationships
that will help scale Gram Vaani’s footprint in targeted sectors & geographies. The role deserves a
motivated Business Development & Partnerships Lead who will help build commercial and strategic
partnerships with leading organizations in the social impact space, including: foundations, Not-for
profit & grassroot organizations, private sector (CSR, Sustainability and Marketing branches of
organizations, brands operating or looking to penetrate rural markets), Governments (Rural
Development, Health, Agriculture, Livelihood, Financial inclusion etc.), Multi-lateral agencies and large
third sector institutions. Over the past years, as Gram Vaani we have experienced great success in
growing our operations & impact, building new partnerships driven by social impact and serving our
mission as a sustainable social enterprise. Now we are ready to take our work to the next level and
we are looking for an experienced Business Development & Partnerships lead, who will be able to
leverage our current strategic positioning to bring value to the company and help us maximize our
impact working closely with communities, while contributing to achieve our company goals. You will
be part of the Core team & will be leading the Business Development function, reporting to the Chief
Executive Officer.
Expectations from the role
Basis your previous experience, you will be working with the Founders & the leadership team –
including the core Engineering, Product & Program management, Community mobilization teams and
would be taking the organizations growth & impact vision forward. You need to be passionate,
articulate, well networked within the ecosystem, engaging proactively with all key functions and importantly have excellent communication and analytical skills. Team player, self-
sufficient but also comfortable seeking help or guidance. To be successful as a Director of Business Development & Partnerships, you should be persuasive and have strong business acumen.
Ultimately, an exceptional Director of Business Development & Partnerships should be adept at
negotiating sound business deals through a long term & big picture perspective, as well as
demonstrate excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
What will you be doing?
- You will work with the management team and other key stakeholders towards u formulating GV’s
long-term product, technology, sustainability roadmap, goals – covering the overall growth &
impact strategy, based on relevant ICT4D market and sectoral insights.
- You will Interact, work closely and listen carefully to the organization’s clients, internal program
field, content & marketing teams, partners and communities we work with to identify and solve
key problem areas, keeping in line with the organizations impact first and mission led objectives.
- You will take on the role as the overall P/L lead, working closely with the core team in developing
suitable commercial/business models, pricing strategies, sustainability models, expansion
strategies (national & international) and will be responsible for driving the growth plans for the
core product/platform offerings of the organization.
- You will develop and execute strategies focusing on business growth and impact, through
partnerships and collaborations.
- You will work with the team to leverage our network-existing and new relationships to identify
and develop partnership opportunities through partner outreach and relationship management,
with the end goal of securing long term contracts and growing existing partnerships.
- You will identify and pursue new greenfield business opportunities, both at a national level and
also international markets (like Africa, South & SE Asia, LA etc.), targeting identified sectors –
through market research and analysis.
- You will network, build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including
philanthropic & innovation funders, clients, partners, and impact investors.
- You will develop, own and manage budgets for partnership initiatives.
- You will work with the grant & program teams to prepare all the relevant documentation required
for requests for proposals (RFPs) & client pitches
- You will negotiate contracts and agreements with partners.
- You will act as primary point of contact for selected strategic initiatives, coordinating strategic
partner engagements and internally liaising with Program implementation teams to ensure
successful execution.
- You will establish goals for each partner relationship. Update and maintain proper reporting
metrics and funnel management. Perform monthly and quarterly partner/project reviews of
established goals.
- Strategic planning, ensuring that business unit and unit level organic and inorganic activities are
aligned to the strategy, management of key strategy customer/partner accounts and the creation
of new strategic alliances.
- You will create tools to drive demand such as partner campaigns, collateral, concept notes,
webinars, and events. Represent GV at key events & forums, participating & contributing to the
organizations outreach, marketing and PR efforts. Conceptualize and work with the
communications team to build & update suitable business development collaterals & marketing
material, to help improve overall organizational visibility.
- You will provide regular performance readouts to the business, communicating
opportunities and escalating risks when appropriate.
- As a key member of the core team you will be responsible for the overall management of the
Business Development, Partnerships, Marketing function, with specific focus on progress against
the long-term strategy and key relationships. Will contribute to the achievement of org level KPIs
and company targets.
- You will be the primary point of contact for all business development, partnership building &
sustainability strategies & related activities of GV.
Experience and Qualifications
- 15+ years of ICT or related sectors – work experience in Business Development & Partnership roles,
and atleast 3-5 of these in leadership positions.
- Experience in technology (ICT4D) for development, social impact/social enterprise or related
sectors is preferable.
- Master’s degree in business administration, marketing, or related fields;
- Interest and familiarity with various themes in the development sector will be very valuable –
ICT4D, Gender, Health, Workforce, Media & governance, Agriculture, Livelihood, Climate and
public policy
- Proven track record of building partnerships & leading programsfrom the ground up, with a strong
business acumen and negotiation skills.
- Experience working within or with targeted marketplaces focusing on rural markets such as Micro
Finance, Fintech, Rural Healthcare, Agriculture, Payments, Telecom, Media etc.
- Strategic and analytical thinker who is able to blend technology and business strategy to develop
compelling vision and strategy for partner & organizations success.
- Experience in messaging and positioning the value proposition to internal stakeholders and to
partner stakeholders.
- Strong executive presence with proven ability to present in formal and informal settings.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast paced and dynamic working environment and build
excellent rapport with internal teams; strong teamwork is a must.
- Proven track record of achieving targets and driving revenue & business KPIs in a high-growth
environment – owning the org level P/L for the key revenue verticals.
- Ability to assess business risks by analysing financial, statistical, and economic data.
- Passionate about technology & its impact on communities.
- Willing to travel extensively, including internationally.
- You should be able to make decisions under ambiguity with an experimental and learning mindset.
- A strong desire to execute, drive impact, and demonstrate urgency with projects of any scale.
- You are a self-motivated, flexible, team player with solid multi-tasking, time management &
organizational expertise with the ability to manage multiple and often changing priorities.
Why join GV?
We are a lean company and growing quickly. This means the chosen candidate will need to be very
comfortable managing rapidly changing requirements and accordingly envision, build and deploy new
strategies and tactics to quickly respond. The person will need to make the most out of limited resources
and be able to work and act independently to lead the assignment. The upside to our methods is that
we are building a business that has never been seen before by providing highly desired services to
millions of people who have consistently been under looked by existing service providers. The position
will be at the vanguard of this transformative opportunity and working with us will be an amazing, highly
rewarding experience. Gram Vaani encourages diversity and is proud to be an equal opportunity
employer. Individuals are encouraged to apply regardless of gender, caste, sexuality, age, or
background.
Benefits
- Opportunity to work with a world-class team driving innovative tech-led solutions positively
impacting underserved communities around the world.
- Opportunity to lead a team and build new products from scratch
- Opportunity to influence the Company strategy. We are a small team and your say matters.
- Salaries at par with industry standards.
- Attractive employee stock options.
- Flexible working hours, work-from-home, and remote working options with prior approvals.
Write to us
While the position is based out of New Delhi, our flexible work from home policy does provide team
members with an option of working from location of their choice, while they stay connect to their teams
using virtual tools. We do strongly encourage team members across function to travel to various parts
of the country, to interact and engage with the communities they work with, helping build empathy and
a strong understanding of the user needs.
Please email your CV at [email protected]
