State Ecosystem Partnerships - Ahmedabad

• Functional Area
  
  Sales / Business Development / Client Servicing

The Wadhwani Foundation is an entrepreneurial philanthropy focused on enabling large-scale job creation by strengthening entrepreneurship, skilling, and small business growth across the Global South. The Foundation builds systems-level solutions that combine AI-enabled platforms, structured programs, and deep ecosystem partnerships to drive measurable economic outcomes. Its work spans multiple geographies and engages governments, employers, industry bodies, financial institutions, and entrepreneurship enablers.

The operating model emphasizes scale, execution rigor, and collaboration across public and private ecosystems to deliver durable impact.

The role is accountable for building and sustaining a robust state-level partner ecosystem that enables the growth, productivity, and job-creation capacity of small and growing businesses, alongside effective delivery of the Foundation’s skilling and job connection initiatives. The role owns senior partnerships across employers, MSME clusters, industry associations, incubators, accelerators, and other business growth enablers, ensuring these relationships translate into tangible outcomes for enterprises and beneficiaries.

Operating at the intersection of ecosystem strategy and execution, the role ensures national partnerships are activated effectively at the state level while building locally grounded, high-impact collaborations.

• Strategic partnerships with incubators, accelerators, financial institutions, industry platforms, and advisory networks focused on business expansion, formalization, productivity improvement, and market access for small and mid-sized enterprises.
• State-level collaborations that enable growth-stage entrepreneurs and small businesses to access capability building, mentoring, and ecosystem resources beyond early-stage startup support.

• A focused portfolio of state-level academic and vocational institution partnerships (universities, VTIs, ITIs, and private training providers).
• Institutional partnership models that convert academic institutions into reliable talent and enterprise-readiness pipelines for employers and small and growing businesses, with measurable outcomes across placements, apprenticeships, and startups.

• Sustained employer and MSME participation in skilling, apprenticeships, placements, and workforce upskilling initiatives, with measurable engagement and outcomes.
• Deep partnerships with MSME clusters, sector hubs, and industry associations that enable access to small and growing businesses seeking productivity and scale.

• Effective state-level execution of national and multi-state partnerships, adapted to local contexts and enterprise needs.
• Clear partnership governance models ensuring accountability, continuity, and conversion of relationships into delivery capacity and outcomes.

• Strong representation of the Foundation across state-level academic communities, industry forums, MSME platforms, and economic development conversations.
• Co-created ecosystem initiatives with partners that enhance visibility, credibility, and participation across skilling and small business growth programs.

• Strong alignment with skilling and entrepreneurship program teams to convert ecosystem partnerships into delivery leverage.
• Actionable insights on ecosystem gaps, partner performance, and emerging opportunities shared with state and national leadership.

Ability to design, grow, and manage multi-partner ecosystems across employers, MSMEs, academic institutions, industry bodies, and enterprise enablers, ensuring partnerships are structured, active, and outcome oriented.

Ability to drive follow-through, accountability, and delivery in environments where outcomes depend on partners, alliances, and indirect execution channels.

Demonstrated ability to align senior external partners and internal teams toward shared outcomes through persuasion, credibility, and structured engagement rather than formal control.

Ability to work effectively with program, ecosystem, and central teams to align partnerships with program requirements.

Ability to understand and operate within interconnected systems spanning skill, small business growth, academic institutions, employers, and policy environments, identifying leverage points for scale and impact.

Ability to use data, ecosystem insights, and performance signals to prioritize partnerships, course-correct execution, and improve ecosystem effectiveness over time.

• Experience delivering outcomes through partnerships where success depended on influence, alignment, and shared accountability rather than direct managerial control.
• Experience working with, supporting, or enabling small and growing…