Job Title: Senior Associate – Portfolio

Location: Lower Parel, Mumbai. This is a full-time, in-office position

No. of Positions Available: 1

Core Objective: The Senior Associate - Portfolio will strengthen Upadhyaya Foundation’s impact across Animal Welfare, Disability Inclusion, and Arts & Culture by leading our Monitoring & Evaluation efforts and building strong, trust-based relationships with NGO partners. The role spans the full grant-making cycle, from research and due diligence to partner support and capacity building, and requires sharp analytical skills, strong relationship management, and a systems-thinking approach to ecosystem development.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

• Lead and strengthen UF’s MEL systems and frameworks to track outcomes, build evidence, and support data-informed decision-making.

• Co-develop UF’s impact indicators and measurement tools with the UF leadership, ensuring they are context-appropriate and aligned with UF’s theory of change.

• Review reports from grantees; analyze data to identify trends, learnings, risks, and opportunities.

• Conduct field visits and partner check-ins to validate progress and strengthen relationships.

• Support internal learning cycles and generate insights for UF strategy refinement.

2. Grant-Making & Portfolio Development

• Support the strengthening of grant cycle process, internal due diligence, and recommendations for leadership.

• Assist in crafting grant agreements, defining milestones, outcomes, and reporting requirements.

• Conduct research to identify high-impact NGOs, social enterprises, and ecosystem partners aligned with UF’s strategic priorities.

3. Partner Engagement & Capacity Building

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with NGO portfolio organizations.

• Identify capacity-building needs for NGO partners (e.g., organization development, fundraising, MEL, communications, governance).

• Coordinate workshops, learning sessions, peer-learning circles, and access to experts as needed.

• Serve as a thought partner to NGOs, leveraging UF’s networks and resources to help them strengthen their impact and sustainability.

4. Sector Engagement, Advocacy & Knowledge Building

• Represent UF in ecosystem convenings, working groups, events, conferences, and sector platforms.

• Track emerging trends and policy developments within the animal welfare, disability inclusion, and arts & culture sectors.

• Contribute to the creation of thought leadership content, sector briefs, learning documents, and UF’s knowledge repository.

• Support the foundation’s advocacy efforts by identifying systemic gaps and opportunities for collective action.

5. Internal Collaboration & Culture

• Work closely with the Communications & Events team to amplify NGO partner stories and UF’s sector work.

• Contribute to a culture of humility, empathy, ownership, continuous learning, and self-management.

• Support leadership in planning and anchoring UF led projects, and internal development efforts.

*As we are in the foundational stage of the organization, this role will continue to evolve based on organizational needs.

Qualifications & Experience

• 2–4 years of experience in the development sector, ideally in roles related to grant-making, program management, research, M&E, consulting, or ecosystem strengthening.

• Experience working with NGOs, intermediaries, CSR or foundations. Prior exposure to philanthropy, donor relations, or ecosystem networks is a plus.

• Experience working in the areas such as animal welfare and disability inclusion (preferred but not mandatory).

• Strong conceptual understanding of impact measurement, theory of change, and outcomes tracking.

• Experience in conducting field visits and stakeholder consultations.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you! Please apply by sending your resume to contact@upadhyayafoundation.org before 11:59 PM on December 5, 2025 with the subject line ‘Senior Associate – Portfolio | <Your Full Name>’.

Job Title: Senior Associate - Communications and Events Location: Lower Parel, Mumbai. This is a full-time, in-office position

No. of Positions Available: 1 Reports to: Manager - Communications and Events

Core Objective: Position Upadhyaya Foundation as a leading philanthropic brand by driving digital visibility, thought leadership, advocacy campaigns, and consistent storytelling that communicates UF’s values and impact.

Key Responsibilities:

1. A. Brand Strategy & Communications

• Strengthen UF’s brand identity and ensure consistency in tone, messaging, and visuals across all platforms.

• Develop communication materials that reflect UF’s collaborative and inclusive approach to philanthropy.

• Work with leadership to refine UF’s narrative positioning and storytelling framework.

B. Digital Communications & Analytics

• Manage social media channels — plan and schedule content, engage audiences, and track performance.

• Oversee the website, ensuring timely updates with partner stories, event coverage, and new initiatives.

• Maintain and analyze the Quarterly Communications Dashboard to measure reach, engagement, and impact.

• Coordinate with creative agencies and designers for visual assets and digital campaigns.

C. Thought Leadership & Content Development

• Create original written content (blogs, newsletters, op-eds, and reports) that communicates UF’s philosophy of trust-based, strategic philanthropy.

• Capture and synthesize insights from UF’s convenings and projects for wider sector dissemination.

• Support leadership in preparing speeches, articles, and sector contributions that highlight UF’s perspective on philanthropy.

D. Media Relations & Advocacy

• Build and nurture relationships with journalists, editors, and sector media to strengthen UF’s visibility.

• Draft and distribute press releases, media notes, and feature stories.

• Plan and execute advocacy campaigns aligned with UF’s values and cause areas

• Track and evaluate campaign performance, documenting key learnings and outcomes.

E. Events, Representation & Collaboration

• Lead event-related communications, including invites, branding, on-ground coverage, and post-event storytelling.

• Ensure UF’s brand and messaging are consistently represented at events, summits, and convenings.

• Identify and coordinate opportunities for UF’s leadership to participate in sector forums, panels, and podcasts.

• Collaborate with the team to integrate partner stories and sector insights into UF’s external communications.

F. Systems & Internal Learning

• Maintain an organized archive of brand assets, templates, and content.

• Contribute to internal newsletters, reflection reports, and documentation to share learnings across teams.

• Support the development of communication systems that strengthen institutional knowledge and alignment.

*As we are in the foundational stage of the organization, this role will continue to evolve based on organizational needs.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Event Management, or a related field.

• 2–4 years of experience in communications, marketing, journalism, or digital media, ideally in the social impact sector. Prior exposure to philanthropy, donor relations, or ecosystem networks is a plus.

• Strong writing, editing, and verbal communication skills; ability to adapt tone for different audiences and formats.

• Experience managing social media accounts, content strategy, or digital campaigns.

• Familiarity with website management (Wix or similar CMS) and analytics tools.

• Video shooting and editing skills are preferred.

• Comfort working with design partners; basic knowledge of Canva, Figma, or Adobe Suite is a plus.

• Ability to conduct secondary research and synthesize insights to support advocacy efforts.

• Excellent project management skills and the ability to multitask across deliverables.

• Collaborative mindset, creative curiosity, and a genuine passion for social change.

• Willingness to travel as needed for events and partner support.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you! Please apply by sending your resume and any writing samples to contact@upadhyayafoundation.org before 11:59 PM on December 5, 2025 with the subject line ‘Senior Associate – Communications | <Your Full Name>’.