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

Vision

Lead the Capacity Building Team-oriented (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

Working Place:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Department :

India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS)

📌 Head- Capacity Building Collaborative (Mumbai)
🏢 The Convergence Foundation
📍 Mumbai