– Deputy Director, Strategic Partnerships

Organisation: The Association of People with Disability (APD)

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka (with travel to programme locations)

Function: Strategic Partnerships

About APD The Association of People with Disability (APD), established in 1959, is one of India's leading disability-focused organisations, working to create an inclusive society through education, healthcare, rehabilitation, livelihoods and equal opportunities.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and results-oriented Deputy Director – Strategic Partnerships to lead the identification, development and management of NGO partnerships that support APD's programme delivery and geographical expansion.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience building and managing large NGO partnership networks, with robust people management, interpersonal and relationship-building skills. The role requires someone who can identify suitable implementation partners, assess their organisational capabilities, lead due diligence and organisational development initiatives, and ensure that partnerships deliver measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

- Partnership Development & Expansion: Identify, evaluate and establish NGO partnerships across priority geographies to support APD's programme expansion and implementation objectives.
- Partner Identification & Needs Assessment: Assess regional programme needs, map potential NGO partners and evaluate their presence, capabilities and suitability to deliver programmes in target locations.
- Due Diligence & Partner Selection: Lead comprehensive organisational due diligence, including assessment of governance, financial stability, operational capability,



compliance and programme delivery capacity.
- Organisational Development: Identify capability gaps among partner NGOs and develop organisational strengthening plans to improve their governance, systems, leadership and programme effectiveness.
- People & Team Management: Lead, mentor and manage the Strategic Partnerships team, establish clear performance expectations, build team capabilities and ensure accountability for results.
- Stakeholder & Relationship Management: Build and maintain trusted relationships with NGO leadership, government stakeholders, donors and internal programme teams.
- Partnership Performance: Monitor partner performance, resolve implementation challenges and ensure compliance with agreements, quality standards and agreed deliverables.
- Planning & Budget Management: Develop partnership plans, budgets and performance dashboards, ensuring effective resource utilisation and timely reporting.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

- Minimum 12 years of relevant professional experience, with substantial responsibility for NGO partnerships, programme management or network development.
- Demonstrated experience establishing at least 100 NGO partnerships within a two-year period for an organisation, with accountability for partner identification, assessment and onboarding.




- Proven experience leading NGO due diligence, including governance, financial, compliance and operational assessments.
- Hands-on experience in organisational development (OD) and capacity building of partner NGOs to strengthen their institutional and programme delivery capabilities.
- Strong people management experience, including leading teams, developing talent, driving performance and managing accountability.
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage confidently with NGO leaders, government stakeholders and diverse teams.
- Demonstrated ability to conduct regional needs assessments, partner mapping and feasibility assessments to identify suitable implementation partners across geographies.
- Strong planning, negotiation, problem-solving, communication and budget management skills.
- Postgraduate qualification in Social Work (MSW), Development Studies, Management or a related discipline.

Ideal Candidate A confident, approachable and collaborative leader who has successfully built large NGO networks, managed teams and established effective implementation partnerships across multiple geographies.

The candidate should combine strong execution capabilities with excellent interpersonal skills, demonstrating the ability to assess partner organisations, strengthen their capabilities and build sustainable relationships.

Important: This is a senior partnership leadership role, not simply a relationship management position. Candidates must demonstrate experience in large-scale NGO partnership development, due diligence, organisational development and people leadership.

📌 Deputy Director -Strategic Partnerships (Bengaluru)
🏢 The Association of People with Disability (APD, India)
📍 Bengaluru