US Senior Program Manager

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving – and millions of lives – by providing cash grants directly to the world’s poorest. The Brookings Institution estimates that $70B of cash transfers would be required to eliminate the poverty gap; the aid sector currently spends $135B each year, much of it on evidence-free interventions. GiveDirectly wants to change that, establishing cash transfers as a benchmark for foreign aid – as the index fund is a benchmark for the financial industry – and in the process accelerating the end of extreme poverty.

GD has raised over $1B since launching in 2011 and delivered cash to more than 2 million people in 15 different countries. We’ve also supported large-scale, experimental research that indicates strong recipient impact of our programs. As a result, GD has been celebrated as one of the most innovative non-profit companies by Fast Company, while the growing cash transfer movement (and GD’s leading role within it) have been featured in the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.

Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical. Our global team of ~150, and country operations teams of ~650, span 21 different countries and 69 languages. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, management consultants to public servants, researchers to field operations -- it’s an incredible group of people.

Our values are central and deliberately opinionated. We genuinely center the people we serve in our decision-making, and strive to build an ambitious, dynamic and high-performing environment. We strongly encourage you to read through our values carefully, if they reflect how you like to work and energize you, this could be a great fit.

We work hard to create an environment in which all our team members can thrive, succeed, and grow. We support high ownership, flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

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

The Senior Manager drives program implementation for large-scale cash interventions in the U.S. As a senior member of GiveDirectly’s U.S. country team, you will serve a critical role in ensuring the U.S. team’s infrastructure and operations create the conditions for effective, high-quality programs. Working closely with the Grants, Finance, and Partnerships teams, the Senior Manager ensures that public and philanthropic funds are deployed with strict alignment to funder requirements while enabling fast, reliable program delivery across multiple communities. This role will also provide project-specific oversight and support to large scale cash programs as needed, including managing Program Managers and Associates.

This is a unique opportunity to drive impact and innovation on a $100M+ year portfolio alongside a creative, determined team.

Reports to: U.S. Country Director

Level: Senior Manager

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~3-4 times per year for team retreats, convenings, or programs visits

Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Fully own end-to-end design, planning, and execution of cash projects, and coordinate with external and internal stakeholders to ensure successful end-to-end execution
• Design and build operational models for new programs, including assessing trade-offs of different design decisions (e.g. targeting, payments, customer service)
• Manage partnerships with vendors, subgrantees, subcontractors, and other external parties to support implementation
• Define, track, and report operational and efficiency metrics
• Identify and de-risk operational vulnerabilities (e.g. fraud, brand risk etc)
• Motivate teams and directly manage team members (U.S. Manager/Associate) whose responsibilities include field team hiring and management, operations quality assurance, and business diligence support

Systems Design and Process Ownership

• Identify and advance macro-level improvements in U.S. operations, program management, and reporting processes
  • Ex: Ensure program design and operational decisions align with external constraints, including identifying and addressing process gaps and risk drivers
• Collaborate closely with the Grants team to develop processes that ensure U.S. project funding strategies are operationally viable and minimally burdensome to internal and external stakeholders
• Collaborate closely with the Fraud and Safeguarding teams to ensure projects always put Recipients First, bringing a systems lens to combating fraud and harm
• Establish internal controls, approval workflows, and documentation standards that ensure on-the-ground program operations are responsive to reporting requirements

External partner and funder engagement

• Establish and maintain high quality relationships with donors and operational partners
• Drive communication and alignment across a variety of internal and external stakeholders including GiveDirectly senior management, donors, operational partners, researchers, and payment providers
• Collaborate with U.S. Country Director and Partnerships team to drive donor conversations and position GiveDirectly as a leader in the US cash space
• Conduct operational diligence, feasibility, and risk assessments for pilots and proposals

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.

• 4 to 7+ years of experience managing large scale program delivery in complex funding environments, including restricted public funding sources
• 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.
• Proven ability to translate regulatory and contractual requirements into practical operational systems that center recipients
• 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 environments, which may lack pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing”
• Strong technical skills, including data analysis and appetite for evaluating and stress testing third-party tech platforms and tools
• 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
• A minimum of 3-4 years experience in a top private or public sector organization
• Language Requirement: English, additional languages like Spanish and Arabic 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 $109,200

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
• A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
• 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!