With over 16 years of experience in higher education and development sectors in India, I have had the opportunity to work with marginalised communities in close collaboration with the CSOs as well as with the students aspiring to make a mark in society. During my 10-year tenure as a Programme Manager at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, I successfully managed the programme execution of academic projects with a total value of approximately £1 million. In this role, I was engaged in a multi-stakeholder environment, handling donor relations, financial and narrative reporting, and ensuring seamless cross-functional coordination.In 2018, I began my development sector journey with Apne Aap Women India Worldwide Trust, a Kolkata-based non-profit, that works to empower trafficking survivors. My role involved developing partnerships, contributing to strategic plans, and advocacy and fundraising initiatives. During my stint with Praxis-Institute for Participatory Practices, I handled the Amplified Community Voices (ACV) project, empowering the resilient communities in the disaster-prone Sundarbans of India. As part of the ACV Consortium, I collaborated with partner organizations to address issues such as child marriage, gender discrimination and women’s empowerment, and climate-adaptive alternative livelihoods through participatory, rights-based approaches. I mentored grassroots organisations and the communities they work with, facilitated capacity-building for participatory tools, and provided research, evaluation, and knowledge resource creation support. I also played a key role in project coordination, ensuring seamless collaboration within the consortium.