U.S. Safeguarding Associate

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: This role is fully remote, but is based in the US. We are unable to sponsor visas at this time. 

About this role

The US Safeguarding Associate will own safeguarding for the US country program. They will be responsible for the operational execution of safeguarding policies and processes for our US programs, advise as the expert of safeguarding, and own safeguarding case management. Along with the rest of the Safeguarding team, their role is to ensure recipients and the communities we work in are safeguarded, their rights are protected, their choices are respected, and that they have the necessary support mechanisms to fully realize the impact of the transfers they receive from GiveDirectly. 

Reports to: Safeguarding Program Manager

Level: Associate

Job Type: Part-time. The number of hours will vary, ranging from 20-25 hours per week. 

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year, either domestically or internationally

Roles and responsibilities:

Advising on Safe Programming

• Work with our programs team to advise on safeguarding best practices, supporting to design programs that identify and actively avoid harm to recipients and community.
• Conduct safeguarding assessments to identify potential risks and develop appropriate mitigation actions.
• Safeguarding risks facing our recipient communities could include domestic violence, sexual abuse or harassment, discrimination, or other safeguarding harms.
• Support Programs in community engagement work, including community scoping before program launch, engagement with local partners, and proactive engagement with community members.

Safeguarding Case Management 

• Serve as a case manager for all safeguarding related cases
• Own systems that proactively collect feedback or identify concerns from program recipients (for example, recipient surveys, call center reports, whistleblower reports)
• Lead case investigations process
• Work directly with recipients and relevant stakeholders to resolve concerns
• Document and track all safeguarding incidents
• Use reports to understand safeguarding trends, identify risks, and design responses
• Generate reports to keep key stakeholders informed of cases and trends, and to maintain compliance with donors and partners
• Develop and maintain a referral network of partner organizations to refer recipients to for additional support

Safeguarding Policy and Training

• Implement and monitor global safeguarding and ethics policies for the US Program
• Lead Safeguarding Training for all US staff
• Training will be conducted annually for all staff, and on a rolling basis for all new staff.
• The US Safeguarding Associate will support in adapting global training materials to ensure that they are context-specific.
• Identify and participate in safeguarding stakeholder forums that help GD keep updated on sector standards and best practices 

What you’ll bring:

• 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.
• Empathy, honesty, and the highest standards of integrity. High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, especially with talking to people living in vulnerable communities. As a Safeguarding Associate, you will be required to work directly with recipients, including in times of crisis.
• Experience in Safeguarding. Experience could include social work, protection, acting as safeguarding focal point, or other relevant work in safeguarding and/or protection.
• Experience leading internal investigations
• Comfort and ability to work with individuals who have experienced SEAH, discrimination, abuse, conflict, or other challenging situations.
• Excellent critical thinking and decision making skills. Strong ability to show good judgment when resolving complex problems
• Technological literacy and comfort with understanding and analyzing data. The Safeguarding Associate will be required to use Google Suite, Excel, Salesforce, and other programs. (Advanced experience is not required, but candidates should be comfortable using technology). 
• Experience with end to end project management, from scoping to execution. Comfort creating reports and memos. 
• Language Requirement: English
• Language Preference: Spanish or other languages

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. 

The salary for this role is $39.00 / hourly.

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
• A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
• Competitive pay

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!