Manager – Partnerships & Operations

Title: Manager - Partnerships & Operations

Location: Mumbai, India (On-site)

Employment: Full-time

Industry: Sustainable Textiles & Carbon Markets

Experience: 3–7 years in in Agri-tech, Agri-finance, Climate-tech, or related fields

About CottonGuru

With over 120 years in operation, CottonGuru is a brand of trust in the global textile industry. We work at the intersection of agriculture, climate, and textile supply chains - partnering with global apparel brands to implement sustainable cotton sourcing programs, carbon removal projects (biochar, regenerative farming, and so on), and build ethical and traceable supply systems.

We are the voice for the marginalized smallholder farmers. We have created a 100,000+ community of cotton-growers as our members. With 250+ progressive Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) enrolled as shareholders under our national federation, we are driving sea-change across India with our focus on low-impact and high-productivity farming.

Learn more at www.cottonguru.org

About the Role

Manager – Partnerships & Operations

You’ll lead implementation and task execution in the real world. This role is ideal for someone who can lead change-making projects independently, managing a multitude of challenges across functions. He/She must want to work alongside a mission-driven, collaborative team trying to solve larger-than-self problems for a better collective future.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Development

• Create strategies to identify and prioritize high-potential partners, including apparel brands, NGOs, FPOs/FPCs, and Farmer co-operatives
• Engage with targeted partners to scope collaboration opportunities and co-develop impactful projects
• Manage ongoing communication, follow-ups, and reporting to ensure timely progression and transparency across partnership pipelines

Program Operations

• Work alongside the C-suite to design and develop implementation strategies for CottonGuru’s on-ground programs
• Independently lead execution, management, and scaling of these strategies across regions and partner networks
• Oversee project staffing and implementation across sustainable cotton and various carbon programs in coordination with field teams and local stakeholders
• Manage and support field officers employed by FPOs to ensure consistent on-ground performance and reporting
• Supervise internal field executives based at the central office, ensuring alignment, accountability, and timely action on field priorities
• Drive project expansion across project areas, ensuring timely farmer onboarding and partner coordination

Monitoring & Reporting

• Lead the data strategy critical to the integrity and credibility of sustainable projects
• Track project KPIs, lead field visits, prepare dashboards, and ensure timely documentation for internal and external reporting
• Ensure timely and high-quality data, proactively resolving delays and inaccuracies
• Design and implement data validation protocols to minimize rejections and ensure alignment with project audits and registry requirements

Stakeholder Engagement

• Liaise with rural collectives, farmer leaders, certification bodies, and government institutions to ensure project compliance and smooth delivery
• Build trust and maintain consistent communication with partners such as FPOs to secure timely and complete data inputs and field cooperation

Strategic Initiatives

• Support the development and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) to generate actionable insights for decision-making
• Research and recommend strategic partnerships, providing clear, well-reasoned insights to support proposals
• Assist in preparing materials for board and shareholder meetings, as well as executive presentations

Requirements

• 3–7 years of experience

  in large-scale project execution in high-complexity sectors such as agri-biz, agri-tech, agri-finance, rural development, climate-tech, or other related verticals
• Leadership in past roles independently working with large project data in Excel, Airtable, and similar tools
• Expertise in managing end-to-end project execution, including resource planning, hiring, risk management, and delivering results under tight timelines and budgets
• Demonstrated success in working with smallholder farmers and NGOs to drive adoption of regenerative practices and foster effective collaboration
• Proven experience coordinating with local government departments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and other institutional stakeholders
• Fluency in English and Hindi is required; working knowledge of Marathi or Telugu is a plus
• Willingness to travel frequently to project sites across India

Why Join Us

• Work directly with the COO on solving real-world business challenges in agriculture and climate
• Get a front-row seat to learning across regenerative agriculture, carbon markets, and experience of scaling-up strategies and execution
• Gain access to a global ecosystem of customers, financiers, policymakers, researchers, and hands-on changemakers in the textiles and climate space
• Be part of a fast, familial, and purpose-driven culture that lets you thrive with like-minded people

Why CottonGuru?

At CottonGuru, we are building a workplace where diversity, inclusion, and purpose are at the core of how we operate. We believe that bringing together people from different backgrounds—rural and urban, technical and grassroots—drives deeper innovation and more impactful solutions.

Joining CottonGuru means being part of a mission-led team that is passionate about regenerating the cotton economy, improving farmer livelihoods, and tackling climate change through real, scalable projects. If you're looking for a role that challenges you, grows you, and lets you create tangible, lasting change—consider applying to our teams.

Additional Information

This job description provides a broad outline of the role but is not exhaustive. Responsibilities and expectations may evolve based on organizational needs and business priorities. CottonGuru reserves the right to modify duties or reassign responsibilities at any time, with or without notice.

CottonGuru is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Hiring, promotions, and personnel practices are conducted without regard to race, gender, religion, disability, age, or any other status protected by applicable law.