Country Director, Kenya

About GiveDirectly

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, delivered cash to more than 1.5 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, together come from 21 different countries speaking 69 different languages. Team members bring experiences from the private sector, NGOs and government. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, former 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, fast moving 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 actively seek to recruit individuals from the communities we serve, and are constantly working to foster a workplace that supports diversity, and is truly inclusive in reality, not just intent. We support flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

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: Nairobi, Kenya 

Role Overview: 

You will be leading all aspects of the GiveDirectly Kenya country office. Your role will build, fundraise and execute the Kenya Country Strategy.  You will lead the projects teams, fundraising, and external relations to achieve both short-term goals (i.e. funding targets, annual KPIs) and drive long-term growth. You will be able to draw on resources from the partnerships, data & tech, finance and operations verticals, but will ultimately be accountable to both recipients and donors for delivering a gold-standard product. We are particularly interested in candidates with demonstrated success driving growth, as measured by dollars raised.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced professional, hungry for their next big challenge. The ideal candidate is motivated, big picture thinker, innovative, passionate about addressing poverty in Kenya, and not afraid to roll up her or his sleeves to get the job done. 

Reports to: Regional Director 

Responsibilities: 

Fundraising/Partnership Development

• Develop and maintain strong strategic partnerships with donors, including private foundations, government agencies, and individual donors, to secure funding for GiveDirectly programs
• Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy for the Kenya office as well as own revenue targets, drive opportunities and maintaining a robust pipeline to sustain year over growth
• Design ambitious cash transfer programs and accompanying budgets 
• Represent GiveDirectly to the public, media, government, and other stakeholders, and serve as a spokesperson for the organization in the Kenya office
• Work with the global fundraising team to develop compelling fundraising materials and messages that resonate with donors in Kenya
• Lead the country team in the development and implementation of fundraising activities, such as events and campaigns, to raise awareness and support for GiveDirectly's work
• Work with national and local government officials to secure permissions for maintenance and expansion of programs 
• Communicate about GiveDirectly to donors, the media, and other partners 

Team Management

• Motivate and coach a large team, including direct management of the country management team 
• Build capacity of managers at all levels by ensuring that they have clearly defined metrics for success, regular feedback on progress, and exciting growth opportunities 
• Promulgate practices and norms that animate GD’s core values 
• Take reasonable steps to ensure the safety and security of the GD team 
• Identify key areas in need of hiring / redundancy planning and buffer to increase the resiliency of the team 

 Strategic Planning and Program Management

• Lead strategic planning for GiveDirectly in Kenya 
• Set and manage towards country goals, that create a roadmap for our success in Kenya Ensure operational excellence across all programs 
• Backstop, manage, and guide an operations team in overcoming challenges, staying on schedule, and delivering quality results 
• Be accountable for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with recipients paid, recipient experience, and operational efficiency 

Internal Audit

• Create and maintain a strong culture of safeguarding across the country office and all project activities, including working closely with GD’s global safeguarding team to build best practices into project design and implementation
• Proactively mitigate fraud and operational risks through close coordination with the Internal Audit team to prevent misconduct and protect our recipients, including designing appropriate controls
• Lead coordination between program operations and GD’s risk management teams, including internal audit, compliance and safeguarding personnel
• If necessary, provide leadership and oversight of investigations of alleged misconduct, ensuring zero tolerance for fraud and best in class safeguarding standards.

 

Required Skills and Experiences 

• 10+ years of relevant experience - e.g. in non-profit country management, organizational leadership, partnership development, program management, social entrepreneurship or consulting - with a track record of demonstrated excellence and increasing responsibility 
• Experience leading government and external stakeholder partnerships 
• Proven track records of securing significant funding from major institutional and trust donors (e.g. USAID, FCDO, World Bank, or EU) and/or private sector sources
• Demonstrated ability to lead and set strategic vision at a national level 
• Enthusiasm for fast-paced, innovative environments whilst maximizing the long-term sustainability of the GiveDirectly country presence 
• Team management experience, including hiring and building teams 
• Outstanding relationship management abilities, including ability to represent GiveDirectly at the highest levels 
• Exceptional communications skills: written and verbal, including with senior audiences 
• Strong organizational and/or project management skills 
• A high degree of autonomy and resilience 
• Problem solver: you look at problems with an analytical and iterative mindset, with a strong framework for prioritization. You can run robust analyses to inform management and programming decisions 
• Alignment with GiveDirectly Values, including the ambition to pursue industry-changing success 
• Active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. 

 

Desired Skills and Experiences 

• Experience working in Kenya and understanding of the Kenyan context is highly desired 

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 - as well as candidates from under-represented genders, ethnicities, and other groups. You can read more about our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts here. 

 

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to ensure that staff’s total compensation package (base compensation + bonus)  falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles, at similar organizations. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. 

• The annual base salary for this role is $120,000 USD
• The bonus index 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 
• A monthly benefits allowance that covers health, dental, and vision monthly premiums
• Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take!) 
• Desk allowance. 

 

**GD is committed to observing all local, national, and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and the basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**

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.

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values the strength diversity brings to the workplace. 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.

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

 

Commitment to Safeguarding

As a global organization serving some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, 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 sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment issues relating to potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.

These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we serve, and prevent harm to our recipients.

 

Interview Venue and Accessibility

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

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. Please include the word "Accessibility" in the email title.

 

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