Venture Associate
Would you like to search, discover, and engage with India’s leading social entrepreneurs?
We believe that the most powerful force for social change is a new idea in the hands of a leading social entrepreneur. We search the country for men and women who bring in a fresh analysis and insight on how to fix a social problem and then relentlessly pursue this vision until it has become the established new reality, not just locally, but all across society. We discover their personal journeys and scrutinize their ideas and strategies.
Much like traditional business ventures, Ashoka’s Venture Program then takes the risk of investing in these individuals (or Ashoka Fellows) and their ideas at the launch stage. In Ashoka’s case, the investment is often small, and the social change it makes possible is remarkable. Ashoka also introduces all its Fellows to a global platform of social entrepreneurs that in turn opens doors for opportunities and collaboration. Once elected, Fellows benefit from this community for life.
Position description:
We are looking for people to join the Venture Program in Bangalore with at least five years of working experience (in any field). The position demands intrapreneurs with strong critical thinking, excellent communication and people skills. Responsibilities include:
• Mapping out India in search of key veins (individuals, organizations, sectors) where one is likely to find entrepreneurs;
• Reaching out to leaders in various fields, convene trends discussions, and develop relationships with potential nominators;
• Researching, screen and interview candidates for Ashoka Fellowship (travel is required);
• Writing profiles and prepare other materials to interviewers and to the global board of Ashoka;
• Shape learning from the selection process, identify gaps and connect the dots between the work of different candidates to route into our outreach/ communication channels, including writing for blogs, magazines, etc.
If you want to know more about the selection process of Ashoka fellows, please click here.
About Ashoka:
Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Over a 30-year span, we have elected and funded over 2,800 leading social entrepreneurs in more than 70 countries. Rather than building one school or clinic in one community, Ashoka Fellows work at the systemic level, transforming the way children learn or creating new healthcare delivery systems. Ashoka then distills action-principles that cut across the work of these social entrepreneurs and creates frameworks for collaborative entrepreneurship to author global change.
If you are ready to play a critical role in searching and supporting leading social entrepreneurs, please get in touch with Supriya Sankaran (ssankaran@ashoka.org).
Please note that this is a full time position based in Bangalore.
