Head- Capacity Building Collaborative

Head, Capacity Building Collaborative (CBC) – India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) - High Impact Visionary Social Sector Organisation

Vision

Lead the Capacity Building Collaborative (CBC), anchored by ILSS, to make capacity building (CB) the default practice for major funders and for nonprofits seeking systemic or population-scale impact. Today ~80% of NGOs cannot hire for leadership roles or miss fundraising opportunities, and ~74% cannot make critical organisational investments for lack of funding. The Head leads CBC’s execution – team, budget, operations and delivery against outcomes agreed with the ACE Foundation – in partnership with an Investment Committee of ~7 anchor donors.

10-year goals: a sector-wide norm shift

• ~200 nonprofits demonstrate tangible outcomes from their investment in capacity building

• ~50 funders dedicate at least 10% of planned funding to CB

• Sector-wide adoption of a shared standard for impact measurement on CB funding

Reports to

ILSS leadership; accountable for delivery against outcomes set by the ACE Foundation, a grant-making Section 8 entity, and its Investment Committee

Location

Mumbai; spends at least 2 weeks a month in Delhi

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• Lead the ILSS Centre of Excellence on Capacity Building, setting its direction and working closely in tandem with ILSS’s other Centres of Excellence (Leadership & Talent, Fundraising & Philanthropy, Board & Governance, AI & Digital Transformation)

• Lead the ACE Foundation’s grantmaking for capacity building: manage the grant cycle from funnel to tracking progress and outcomes

• Build a strong partnership with the Investment Committee (anchor donors, champion funders, sector experts) to shape the Collaborative’s strategic direction and translate it into a roadmap against the 10-year sector-wide goals

• Develop partnerships with intermediaries, knowledge partners, academic institutions and platforms across the sector

Governance

• Lead CBC’s execution – team, budget, operations and delivery– with rigour, transparency and accountability

• Reports to ILSS Leadership, Board, and Investment Committee

Team, Culture & Leadership

• Recruit and lead a high-calibre, mission-driven team, and working closely with ILSS central teams (Comms, Talent Acquisition, Finance & Admin, Outreach & Marketing)

• Build a culture of ownership, rigour and learning

Operations

• Identify and support high-potential nonprofits across the sector – diagnosing their CB needs and supporting their capacity building roadmap

• Support nonprofits with mentors, experts and a peer community, monitor progress and capture learnings

• Build the sector’s evidence base – capturing what works and measuring outcomes

• Produce knowledge artifacts, including the flagship CB report, that shape the sector’s vocabulary on capacity building

• Establish a shared standard for measuring capacity building impact that funders and nonprofits across the sector choose to adopt

• Convene funders, practitioners and government through summits, roundtables and media, positioning the CBC as the sector’s platform and a credible voice on capacity building

Funder Engagement & Advocacy

• Engage and grow the funder base (U/HNIs, CSRs, foundations) – building the case for CB and moving funders toward dedicating at least 10% of planned funding to it. The Head must personally drive a large volume of funder conversations, persuading funders to change how they fund

• Influence funders, CSR and government to invest in CB; build alliances with partners

Candidate Profile

• 15+ years of leadership; track record of building and scaling teams, programmes or organisations

• Deep alignment with the social sector; will inspire credibility with both funders and NGOs

• Proven ability to sell a new idea to skeptical funders – not just raise capital, but persuade large numbers of UHNIs/CSRs to change behaviour and allocate budget to CB; track record of high-volume, high-stakes outreach

• Experience in organisational capacity building and diagnosing nonprofit needs; grant-making or grant-management experience

• Strong execution orientation with ability to translate ideas into outcomes; comfort with evidence, MEL and knowledge products

• Experience in partnerships and stakeholder management, including working with donor committees and boards while operating within a host institution

• High integrity, judgment and ability to navigate diverse stakeholders

• Based in Mumbai and able to spend at least 2 weeks a month in Delhi

Success in the Role

• A strong pipeline of nonprofits diagnosed, supported and funded, with ~200 demonstrating tangible outcomes from CB investment

• Growing adoption of CB as a funding norm, toward ~50 funders dedicating at least 10% of planned funding

• A shared standard for measuring CB impact, and a flagship CB report and evidence base the sector draws on

• ILSS recognised as the sector’s platform and credible voice on capacity building

• A high-trust partnership with the Investment Committee and ACE Foundation, with capital deployed tracked transparently against the 10-year goals

• A strong, aligned CBC team delivering across CBC’s operations