IITM Foundation Development Director

Location: Bay Area, California.
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer, IIT Madras Foundation
Employment type: Full-time
Work authorization: Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States
Target start date: January 2027
Compensation: Base salary up to $200,000, plus standard benefits. No variable compensation tied to fundraising performance.

The Opportunity
IIT Madras is a pre-eminent institution of technical higher education in India. IIT Madras Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the US, working toward a $100M goal as part of IIT Madras's broader $1B global vision to join the world's top-tier institutions.

This is a ground-floor opportunity to build the Foundation's US fundraising program. The Director of Development will work directly with the CEO to establish a durable major-gifts pipeline, launch a broader alumni engagement and giving program, and put in place the systems and relationships a program at this scale needs to run for decades.

This is not a role that inherits an established book of business; it is a role that builds one, with direct access to the CEO and the board along the way.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree and at least five years of professional higher education development-related experience or related work experience.
• A proven track record of successful major gift fundraising or equivalent. This may include long-range strategic fundraising, donor development, and volunteer engagement in tandem with day-to-day operations.
• Experience building or significantly growing a fundraising program from an early stage is a strong plus, given this role's ground-floor scope.
• Demonstrated experience in university or higher education fundraising is required, including familiarity with alumni-based giving programs, reunion campaigns, and cultivating international or diaspora donor bases.
• Exceptional written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
  Proven ability to develop and foster relationships with people at all levels of an organization, and to collaborate and influence at a high level.
• Evidence of self-motivation and the ability to work both independently and in teams, with high personal standards.
• Ability to travel regularly for donor engagement and ties with IIT Madras' Alumni and Corporate Relations (ACR) office: about one week/month, plus nights and weekends as needed.
• Requires a 2- to 4-week onboarding immersion at the IIT Madras Chennai campus to integrate directly with ACR and institutional leadership.
• Strong strategic planning and project management skills necessary to set and monitor progress against goals, develop plans and timelines, and measure success toward goals.
• Ability to respond quickly to changing needs and priorities, handle multiple projects simultaneously, and produce high-quality, compelling work products under tight deadlines.

Fundraising Responsibilities

• Work closely with the office of the Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT Madras, to develop and manage a comprehensive fundraising program for IIT Madras in the US.
• Manage a portfolio of qualified potential donors capable of making gifts of $100,000 or more, including developing long-term fundraising strategies for each assigned donor or identified prospect.
• Establish and own a baseline annual giving and mid-level donor program, to build the broader pipeline that feeds major-gift prospects over time. This is a lighter-touch complement to the major-gifts portfolio above, not a full standalone program in year one.
• Organize regular in-person alumni donor events across major US regions, for community building, alumni engagement, and fundraising.
• Lead the annual establishment of solicitation goals and fundraising plans for reunion batches, including defining reunion giving goals and coordinating peer solicitations.
• Effectively represent IIT Madras and IIT Madras Foundation's mission and fundraising priorities to a variety of alumni supporters and stakeholders.
• As appropriate, engage colleagues and IIT Madras faculty, staff, and alumni in the process of cultivating and soliciting potential donors to IIT Madras.
• Assess the Foundation’s fundraising infrastructure and recommend how to build a scalable, repeatable development operation, not just close individual gifts.

Fundraising Targets

Because this role builds the US fundraising program rather than inheriting an established one, targets ramp over the first year:

• Months 1–6: Focus on pipeline construction — qualified prospect identification, first-touch cultivation visits, and establishing the systems (CRM, prospect research, event calendar) the program will run on.
• By Month 12: Establish a mature pipeline capable of generating $10M in net new, incremental commitments, complementing the Foundation’s existing base.
• Years 2–3: Scale and sustain an incremental $12.5M–$15M+ annual development operation, driving the Foundation’s total US run rate toward our $25M institutional ambition, alongside a minimum of 100 in-person donor visits annually.

Specific quarterly milestones will be set jointly with the CEO during onboarding and reviewed at each board update.

Governance and Reporting

• Reports to the CEO on day-to-day priorities, strategy, and performance against goals.
• Works closely with the National Grants Committee, chaired by a board member, on major-gift strategy and prospect coordination.
• Provides a fundraising update at the regular board meeting, held every two months.

Administrative Responsibilities

• Prepare well-written gift proposals, gift agreements, visit briefings, strategy documents, solicitation proposals, and stewardship reports, working both independently and with colleagues at IIT Madras Foundation and the IIT Madras Development Office.
• Maintain a comprehensive working knowledge of IIT Madras and the fundraising priorities of the institute, in partnership with IIT Madras Foundation.
• Write timely visit reports following each in-person visit with a donor or potential donor.
• Utilize metrics, reporting, and analytics to regularly communicate the effectiveness and progress of fundraising efforts, adjusting plans in real time to maximize results and return on investment.
• Own the data strategy and accuracy standard for the US alumni and donor database, partnering closely with the Director of Operations on donor engagement logistics, administrative support, and day-to-day database maintenance in sync with IIT Madras.

How to Apply
Please send a resume and cover letter to CEO@iitmfoundation.org. IIT Madras Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.