US Program Director, Emergency Cash

GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the research to back it up. Our work has been covered by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post. We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026.

Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our values and hear from the people who do. If they resonate, this could be a great fit!

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Location: This role is fully remote but will regularly work on East Coast hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

As a Program Director leading U.S. Emergency Cash responses, you will expand our emergency responses capabilities, partnerships, and ambition. This role drives program implementation and in-the-moment partnerships for fast, dignified disaster responses (like our 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires and SNAP pause responses).

GiveDirectly’s emergency responses are technology-enabled, with in-house and partnership tools like satellite-powered damage assessments, anticipatory aid to support before a disaster strikes and AI-supported targeting. You’ll bring a product & technology-driven approach to scale build and scale these systems responsibly.

You will oversee improving and scaling up GiveDirectly’s ability to immediately respond to major disasters in the United States by leading key operational and technical improvements, pursuing and closing new partnerships, and managing and growing a team of dedicated and surge staff.

Other responsibilities include new business development and wider U.S. portfolio responsibilities, like supporting staffing and budgeting exercises and maintaining close collaboration with GiveDirectly’s global emergency response teams.

You are highly organized, have an excellent command of implementation and technical tools, and are able to spot and close promising opportunities at the speed at which disasters strike.

In 2025, we delivered more than $20M in cash transfers across four disaster events and expect to grow this number considerably in the coming years.

Reports to: U.S. Executive Director

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel approximately 3-5 times per year for team retreats, convenings, or programs visits. While we have a remote-driven emergency response model, disaster deployments on short notice are possible depending on situational needs.

Responsibilities

The Program Director should:

• Bring a high level of ambition, vision-setting, and follow through to scale up this work
• Understand and clearly communicate how GiveDirectly’s unique capacities, track record, and value proposition fit into the market/landscape
• Build and motivate teams and advocate for resources to sustain them (through proposals, budgets, workplans)
• With the leadership, partnerships, and communications teams, identify donors and set strategies for acquisition and management
• Oversee excellence in design and implementation, with a constant drive to improve, iterate, and learn
• Spot and evaluate technologies that can scale, and drive smart implementation of those tools within our wider delivery toolkit

Program design and implementation

• Oversee end-to-end design, planning, and improvements to U.S. disaster response capabilities, and identify, coordinate, and align external and internal stakeholders to ensure successful end-to-end execution
  • Identify and operationalize new geographic and damage targeting tools
  • Scope, develop operational process, and execute partnership agreements with 3rd-party platforms or governments to target pre-verified populations of low income households
• Oversee the design and execution of disaster response programs, including assessing trade-offs and risks of different design decisions (e.g. targeting, payments, customer service) and supporting a wider team to make day-to-day operational decisions
• Conduct operational diligence, feasibility, and risk assessments (including go/no-gos) for individual disaster responses
• Support goal-setting and programmatic prioritization by drafting and driving towards goals independently
• Oversee/ensure high quality management of partners, vendors, subgrantees, subcontractors, and other internal and external stakeholders to support implementation
• Assess project resource needs and drive the development of resource requests (funder budgets, internal staffing proposals) to ensure projects are resourced for success; monitor resource utilization (e.g. manage and monitor budgets), assessing areas of over and underinvestment

Team management and talent development

• Build team to enable GD to respond to all major disasters; maintain high standards for end-to-end talent development (hiring, performance management, offboarding, etc)
• Manage Senior & Program Managers, and support them to manage field teams (including full-time, part-time, and temporary staff)
• Work with direct reports to identify pathways for growth and development, with ultimate responsibility for retaining and developing more junior team members

New business, partnerships, and thought leadership

• In coordination with the U.S. Executive Director, U.S. partnerships manager, and broader fundraising teams, identify and pursue fundraising opportunities for individual disaster responses and general disaster funding, supporting end-to-end deal cycle from scoping/feasibility to diligence, contracting, and close of sale
• Establish and maintain high quality relationships with designated donors and operational partners
• Represent GiveDirectly at external and internal fora, including but not limited to conferences, media engagements, and Town Halls
• Drive communication and alignment across a variety of internal and external stakeholders including GD senior management, donors, operational partners, researchers, and payment providers

What you’ll bring:

We’re looking for an individual with a strong drive to take ownership, a desire to work in a fast-paced, evidence-driven team, and interest in maximizing GiveDirectly’s impact by building, managing, and scaling relationships and projects with GiveDirectly’s partners.

• 10+ years of experience managing large scale program delivery in complex funding environments. Prior humanitarian/emergency experience strongly preferred
• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.
• Strong technical skills and product sense, including data analysis and appetite for evaluating and stress testing third-party tech platforms and tools as well as building internally
• Fundraising: Preference for candidates with a strong partnership and relationship management background, especially on fast-paced sourcing and deploying cash
• Experience working cross functionally with finance, grants, and partnership teams
• Clear communicator who can work with state agencies, funders, and internal leaders
• Detail oriented without losing sight of program outcomes and timelines.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, with strong judgment and comfort managing complex risks
• Enthusiasm for fast-paced and surge work environments, which may lack pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing”
• An excitement and energy for the work we do and for collaborating with others
• A proclivity for giving and gracefully receiving direct, honest, and constructive feedback
• Language Requirement: English, additional languages like Spanish a plus

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to calculate what we believe to be competitive pay based on role, location, and cost of living. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

• The base salary for this role is $128,000. The bonus band is 15%.

Why work at GiveDirectly?

At GiveDirectly, we work to ensure that you have everything you need to excel in your role and on your team, including:

• A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement
• A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
• A competitive salary, including bonus
• A robust health benefits plan
• Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take!)
• Desk allowance and flexible work location

Read more about our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts here and about our decision to move our central support teams to remote first here.

Venue: We conduct interviews over Google Meet with camera on (unless communicated otherwise).

Accessibility: Closed captioning is available during all Google Meet interviews, and interviewers will also post interview questions in the chat box throughout the call. If you need assistance accessing either of these features, please let your interviewer know at the start of your interview!

We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible application process for all of our open roles. If there are questions or concerns you have about the accessibility of our hiring process, we warmly invite you to reach out to careers@givedirectly.org.

Working at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Flagging for US applicants: We invite you to "Know Your Rights" as an applicant.

Commitment to Safeguarding

As a global organization working with communities to eliminate extreme poverty, GiveDirectly takes the safeguarding of its recipients, staff, and partners seriously. To that end, GiveDirectly is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and will systematically check with previous employers about any abuse or misconduct related matters involving potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we work with, and prevent abuse to our recipients and staff.

**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect people and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance when it comes to preventing, reporting, or responding to any form of abuse or exploitation.” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**

Reasonable Accommodations

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at careers@givedirectly.org with the email subject “Accommodation Needed”. We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made to support your needs.

Want to put your best foot forward on your GiveDirectly application? Take a look at our Candidate Application Prep Guide!