Page 1 of 9

Programs Associate, Grants - Institutions

About us:

The Harish & Bina Shah Foundation (HBSF) is a philanthropic foundation committed to creating meaningful and lasting societal change by supporting high-impact nonprofits and institutions across India. Our work spans education, healthcare, livelihoods, environmental sustainability, and allied social causes, and is rooted in the belief that progress must be inclusive, grounded, and sustainable. Established in 2002, the Foundation works across diverse geographies and communities, partnering with organisations that are deeply embedded in the realities they serve.

At HBSF, we see ourselves not just as funders, but as long-term partners. We work closely with nonprofits, institutions, and ecosystem collaborators to strengthen organisational capacity, leadership, and systems — enabling impact that can endure beyond individual projects. Our approach is patient, professional, and collaborative, shaped by listening to partners on the ground and responding thoughtfully to both long-standing challenges and emerging needs.

As a team, we value discretion, integrity, empathy, and a strong sense of responsibility — both to the communities we work with and to one another. Joining HBSF means contributing to work that is purposeful, behind-the-scenes, and deeply human. It is a space for people who find meaning in enabling others, who care about getting the details right, and who want their work to quietly but genuinely matter.

Location: Mumbai BKC
Working days (and time): Monday - Friday (09:00am to 05:00pm)
Employment Type: Full-time
Experience: 3–6 years
Reporting To: Senior Leadership / Programs Lead

The opportunity:

This role is not about managing causes, and it is not about on-ground program execution. This role exists to ensure that grants made to large, formal institutions are well-designed, well-governed, and well-monitored — so that capital deployed by HBSF leads to meaningful, accountable outcomes.

At HBSF, we work with a range of institutional partners — including universities, research institutions, large nonprofits, and ecosystem bodies. These partners usually have established systems, governance structures, and multiple stakeholders. The complexity here is not absence of structure — it is coordination, rigor, and decision quality.

The Programs Associate, Grants – Institutions is responsible for managing the end-to-end grants lifecycle for institutional partners. The role focuses on grant evaluation and structuring, coordination with institutional stakeholders, monitoring progress against agreed milestones and outcomes, and synthesizing information to support leadership decision-making.

This role sits at the intersection of programs, finance, and leadership, and requires comfort working with formal processes, multiple layers of review, and documentation-heavy environments.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Grant Evaluation & Structuring

•Support assessment of grant proposals from institutional partners, in collaboration with internal teams and external experts

•Assist in structuring grants with clear objectives, milestones, budgets, and reporting expectations

•Coordinate inputs from subject-matter specialists to inform grant decisions

Ensure proposals and grant structures are decision-ready for internal review

Institutional Partner Management

•Act as a primary point of coordination between HBSF and institutional partners post-grant approval

•Navigate complex institutional structures and multiple stakeholders with clarity and professionalism

•Ensure shared understanding of grant objectives, timelines, deliverables, and expectations

Maintain clear boundaries around roles, responsibilities, and accountability

Monitoring, Reporting & Review

•Track progress against grant milestones, budgets, and agreed outcomes

•Review periodic reports and flag deviations, risks, or delays for internal discussion

•Support structured review processes, including mid-term and end-term assessments

•Ensure monitoring frameworks are consistently applied across institutional grants

Internal Coordination & Decision Support

•Work closely with finance and internal teams to align programmatic and financial tracking

•Prepare summaries, briefs, and notes for leadership and internal review forums

•Synthesize information across grants to support portfolio-level learning and decisions

•Contribute to board materials, internal reviews, and strategic discussions as required

Learning & Institutional Knowledge

•Capture insights, patterns, and learnings emerging from institutional partnerships

•Contribute to strengthening internal grant-making frameworks and processes

•Support documentation of best practices, risks, and lessons learned

•Help build institutional memory to inform future grant strategies

Experience and Qualifications:

•Master's degree in Management, Public Policy, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or a related field •3–6 years of experience in grants management, programs, research coordination, or institutional partnerships •Strong analytical and written communication skills •Comfort working with budgets, reports, and structured documentation •Ability to coordinate across teams, partners, and external experts •High attention to detail, judgment, and follow-through

What are we looking for?

We are looking for someone who

•Enjoys working with structured but complex institutions

•Can hold multiple moving parts without losing clarity

•Values rigor, documentation, and judgment over firefighting

Apply if you

•Have 3–6 years of experience in grants management, programs, research coordination, or institutional partnerships

•Are comfortable working with formal institutions and structured processes

•Can manage complexity without losing attention to detail

•Are able to translate detailed information into clear summaries for decision-making

•Prefer stakeholder coordination and analytical judgment over hands-on field execution

Do not apply if you

•Prefer working primarily in the field

•Are looking for a cause-specific or thematic specialist role

•Are uncomfortable with documentation, structured reviews, and multi-layered coordination

•Are looking for a role focused primarily on relationship building without accountability

•Prefer informal environments with minimal process

Please submit your CV, portfolio (less than 5MB), your portfolio and an accompanying letter explaining your experiences and ambitions, along with expected salaries. Please explain your exact role and contribution in your resume.