Partnerships Associate

Location: Bengaluru, India; Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Department: Operations

Karya’s mission is to leverage the AI revolution to create dignified earning and learning opportunities for low-income communities across the world. In India, our smartphone-based digital work platform has enabled over 120,000 people to build language datasets and evaluate AI models while earning fair wages. With pilots in Kenya and Ethiopia and partnerships with leading AI labs, we are advancing language technologies for underrepresented communities. By combining dignified digital work with frontier AI innovation, Karya hopes to build a new AI economy that is equitable, inclusive, and community-driven.

We are looking for a Partnerships Associate to build and manage institutional partnerships that expand Karya’s work across key domains: agriculture, health, education, and legal access. You will manage partnerships end to end, from identifying leads to onboarding, project updates, and closure. You will also bring in domain experts who regularly guide Karya’s work, and help extend our footprint across the country’s remote locations and languages. The role suits someone with a strong social sector background, a deep understanding of marginalised communities, and the ability to work across technology, operations, and ground teams.

What You Will Do

Partnership Development & Management

• Identify and research institutional partners across agriculture, health, education, and legal domains.
• Onboard domain experts across the above sectors who can provide regular inputs on Karya’s work.
• Manage partnerships end to end: lead generation, outreach, onboarding, ongoing project updates, and closure.
• Maintain strong, long-term relationships with institutional partners and ensure their expectations and Karya’s deliverables stay aligned.
• Track partnership pipelines, progress, and outcomes, and report them to the leadership team.
  
  

Training & Orientation

• Provide training and orientation to institutional partners and domain experts on Karya’s vision, project mission, and deliverables.
• Develop clear onboarding materials and communication resources for partners.
  
  

Cross-Team Coordination

• Act as the link between Karya’s internal teams (technology and operations) and the ground team.
• Handle on-ground tech trouble shooting.
• Relay partner needs and ground realities to internal teams, and communicate project updates back to partners.
• Work with internal teams to ensure partnership commitments are met on time.

Required Qualifications

• 3-4 years of experience in the social sector, working across domains such as agriculture, legal access, healthcare, and education.
• Previous experience in partnership building and onboarding relevant partners.
• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, business management, or a related field.
• Experience working with marginalised communities, with an understanding of their realities and needs.
• Experience working in tech for social good.
• Proven ability of working in a cross-functional role.

You Are

• A strong communicator and relationship builder, comfortable engaging institutions, experts, and community-level teams alike.
• Empathetic and culturally sensitive in working with diverse and marginalised communities.
• Organised and detail-oriented, able to manage multiple partnerships at different stages.
• Proactive and self-driven, with a problem-solving mindset.
• Adaptable and comfortable working in a fast-evolving, mission-driven environment.

What We Offer

• Flexible leave and vacation policy

• Remote / hybrid work options

• Insurance as per industry standards

• Access to leaders in technology and social impact

• Meaningful work at the intersection of AI, design, and equity

Karya celebrates diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected status.