Chief Executive Officer

About Raintree Foundation

Raintree Foundation, founded by Leena Dandekar and her family, works at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity, and community resilience - building sustainable, living landscapes.

Our work began in Velhe (Western Ghats), where we have developed an integrated model across 2,100 hectares covering 9 villages, focused on water security, clean energy, livelihoods, and biodiversity conservation. Building on this, we are now scaling to the Shastri River Basin (209,800 hectares) - a largely undammed and unpolluted ecosystem - with a vision to impact 400+ villages.

Our approach follows a micro-to-macro model, starting at the household level and expanding to communities and wider regions, integrating ecological restoration with human development including mental health, inclusion, financial resilience, and livelihood creation. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we aim to enable long-term systems change through research-driven, collaborative, and scalable interventions.

Role Overview

The CEO will provide strategic, programmatic, and operational leadership, translating the Foundation's vision into a focused, high-impact strategy. Working closely with the Founders and Board, this leader will build a high-performing organisation, steward philanthropic capital with discipline, and strengthen Raintree's credibility and influence in the social sector.

This is a deeply hands-on, field-intensive leadership role. The successful candidate will spend substantial time in field operations and on the ground across geographies, understanding implementation realities, supporting teams, and driving accountability across the organisation.

his is a pivotal institution-building role for a leader who combines the ambition to build something significant with the orientation to do so collaboratively, in close partnership and with mentoring from the Founders.

Key Context

This is not a conventional CEO opportunity. Raintree Foundation is seeking a leader who understands that capital is power, narratives shape action, and institutions must serve both people and planet.

Key Responsibilities

1. Launching & Leading a New Geography:

The immediate priority for this role is leading the expansion into the Shastri River Basin. This requires building from the ground up:

• Establish systems, processes, and organisational infrastructure for a new operational geography
• Build and manage a multi-disciplinary field team from recruitment through to performance
• Develop relationships with all key stakeholders — communities, government bodies, NGOs, and partners
• Design and execute training and capacity building programmes for field and operational teams
• Drive corporate partnerships and CSR relationships in the region
• Solve for organisational challenges that arise at the point of scaling

2. Change Management & Organisational Professionalisation:

Raintree Foundation is transitioning from a family-funded initiative to a professionally structured organisation with a multi-layer capital stack. This leader will drive that shift:

• Lead the cultural and operational transition to a systems-driven, accountable, and professionally governed organisation
• Bring in stronger processes, clear accountability frameworks, and decision-right structures across teams
• Balance the Founders vision and values with institutional rigour and operational discipline
• Champion a culture of learning, performance, and responsible stewardship

3. Operations & Scaling:

The CEO will own end-to-end operational responsibility across all geographies and programmes:

• Build and maintain operational infrastructure capable of supporting significant scale
• Oversee programme delivery across all geographies with a strong field presence
• Ensure quality, efficiency, and impact across all operational functions
• Translate strategy into execution-ready plans with clear milestones and accountability

4. Fundraising & Resource Mobilisation:

The CEO will play a critical role in building and diversifying Raintree's resource base:

• Lead fundraising efforts across individual philanthropists, institutional foundations, CSR partners, and multilateral organisations
• Work with the Founders and Board to develop and execute a resource mobilisation strategy
• Support innovative and blended funding models including pooled funds and co-creation partnerships
• Cultivate and maintain long-term, values-aligned relationships with donors and capital partners
• Position Raintree Foundation as a credible partner for long-term philanthropic capital

5. Financial Management & Budget Oversight:

This role carries direct accountability for the organisation's financial health:

• Own and manage the organisation's budgets and P&L with rigour and discipline
• Ensure philanthropic capital is deployed with depth and a long-term lens, avoiding fragmented grant-making
• Oversee audits, financial governance, risk management, and reporting
• Make informed trade-offs between scale, innovation, risk, and depth of impact

6. Team Management & Leadership Development:

Building a strong team is central to this role:

• Recruit, develop, and retain high-quality leadership and programme teams
• Establish clear roles, performance expectations, and team accountability structures
• Invest in the capacity and growth of all staff, particularly field teams
• Foster a culture of integrity, inclusion, care, and high performance

7. Systems Change, Partnerships & Ecosystem Leadership:

• Design and support interventions that address root causes and strengthen institutions, not just deliver outputs
• Build and steward partnerships with NGOs, social enterprises, academic institutions, multilaterals, and peer philanthropies
• Engage selectively with government and policy platforms where alignment exists
• Enable co-funding arrangements, collaborative platforms, and ecosystem initiatives that amplify collective impact

8. Brand, Narrative & Public Trust:

• Own the Foundation's public narrative across brand, communications, media, and digital platforms
• Translate complex ground-level work into credible, compelling stories
• Position Raintree as a thoughtful, trusted voice in sustainability and philanthropy
• Represent the Foundation at media engagements, conferences, and sector platforms

Experience & Qualifications

Experience:

• 15–20 years of progressive leadership experience in philanthropy, sustainability, development, climate, social impact, or adjacent purpose-driven institutions
• Demonstrated experience launching a new operational geography or programme — including building systems, teams, and stakeholder relationships from scratch
• Prior experience in a CEO, COO, Executive Director, or equivalent leadership role with enterprise-wide responsibility
• Proven track record of building institutions, managing complex portfolios, and scaling operations
• Strong understanding of the Indian social sector; international exposure is a significant advantage
• Hands-on field experience, this leader must be comfortable spending significant time outside of offices and in communities

Capabilities & Skills:

• Strategic thinking combined with strong execution discipline and willingness to operate at the ground level
• Demonstrated ability to lead change management — moving organisations from informal to professional, and from single-source to multi-layer capital structures
• Financial and governance acumen — experience managing budgets, P&L, audits, and risk at an organisational level
• Strong fundraising and stakeholder management skills across donors, partners, and institutional bodies
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to represent the organisation publicly with credibility and nuance
• Experience building and managing multi-disciplinary teams including field-based staff

Leadership Attributes:

• Deep commitment to sustainability, social equity, and ethical leadership
• Comfortable with ambiguity, able to provide clarity and direction while building structure over time
• High integrity, sound judgement, emotional intelligence, and resilience
• Long-term orientation with the patience to build enduring institutions
• Deeply collaborative, with the ability to build trust across diverse stakeholders

Why This Role Matters

This is an opportunity to build and shape a purpose-driven institution from the ground up, one that contributes meaningfully to India's environmental and social future through disciplined capital, strong partnerships, and enduring impact.

The successful candidate will inherit a strong foundation of values, community relationships, and ecological work, and will have the mandate, and the mentorship, to grow into full independent leadership of the organisation over time.

Success in this role will be defined by measurable impact, the strength of partnerships built, operational excellence in the field, and the Foundation's ability to establish itself as a respected institutional voice in India's sustainability ecosystem.