Senior Manager, External Relations

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.

Senior Manager, External Relations - GiveDirectly Malawi

Role Overview: The senior manager of external relations is a key managerial role in GiveDirectly Malawi’s leadership team. Alongside the Country Director, the External Relations Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing GiveDirectly’s government and external outreach and influencing strategy to create awareness of GiveDirectly’s work in Malawi and donor reporting, and increase political and policy buy-in for cash. The External Relations Manager is also responsible for understanding and tracking in-country external risks and developing mitigations. Some of the role will also involve working with our communications team to provide high quality recipient stories. The role rewards exceptional  understanding of local and national government in Malawi, a highly autonomous working style, and the ability to develop strategically advantageous relationships. 

Job Description:

Responsibilities of the Senior Manager, External Relations include

Fundraising, Policy/Sector influencing, and Partnerships management

• Support the Country Director to analyse and keep track of key policy developments at national Government level, and to actively engage upstream to influence these.
• Coordinate closely with the Global Policy Director to develop policy influencing goals aligned with and contributing to GD’s organisational influencing goals.
• Track priority and health of GD Malawi’s relationships and proactively design new strategies to improve our  engagement with stakeholders.
• Represent GiveDirectly at national events and meetings at the national and local level.
• NGO and UN Collaboration: Forge relationships with NGOs and UN to expand the pipeline for potential collaborative cash-based interventions.

• Develop high quality, brand-accurate core content for the organization, including one pagers, proposal FAQs, standard pitch decks, templates etc.  
• Develop pitch materials for management team outreach to potential funders.
• Contribute to GiveDirectly’s growing fundraising pipeline and track performance against ambitious fundraising goals.

National and local government relations

• Develop relationships with relevant national and local government officials to improve GiveDirectly’s cooperation with the government and build allies and champions for GiveDirectly. 
• Support GiveDirectly’s expansion into new areas through securing national and local government approvals.
• Develop concise reports for national and local government officials. 
• Ensure regular reporting to government partners, and communicate important issues and recommendations  from the government to GiveDirectly and vice versa. 
• Provide support to field teams that guarantees adherence to national and local government  guidance and protocols. 
• Identify possible future risks and areas of non-alignment and work with different teams to  implement preventative actions. 

External and Media Relations 

• Craft external media or government-facing talking points and messaging for various GiveDirectly  projects. Manage internal and external communication on sensitive issues relating to our program. 
• Develop strong relationships with key members of the local and national Malawian media,  including bloggers and other influencers. Pursue opportunities to drive GD Malawi’s influencing priorities through these relationships.
• Source story ideas from across GiveDirectly projects and translate them into compelling and  effective content for media pitches. 
• Serve as a liaison between the communications team in NYC and local  program team, both  proactively and reactively (i.e. regular calls and document sharing with the Comms team, as well as being the primary point of contact if an incident should occur which requires media outreach). 
• Work closely with the Senior Manager Operations to monitor Community relations risks and provide mitigation  alternatives that cushion GiveDirectly from reputational and existential risks.

Monitor social media and online media data to ensure that the right messaging around the  organization is being delivered. Liaise with the internal audit team on any risks flagged from field  investigations that have program or Government relations risk.

• International Media Engagement: Partner with international journalists to develop impactful, recipient-focused stories that highlight the transformative effects of cash transfers across themes and projects. 

Program Design and Implementation 

• Work with Partnerships and Programs teams to design cash programs tailored to recipient needs and aligned with the national development agenda and donor priorities, including climate resilience, loss and damage, and wealth creation initiatives. 
• Data and Policy-Driven Design: Leverage national data infrastructure including UBR, Integrated Household Surveys and National Population and Housing Census to support evidence-based project designs, ensuring that projects are credible, replicable, and defensible.
• Manage ongoing grant agreements (reporting and compliance requirements) in collaboration with the compliance team. 

Team Leadership and Development

• Team Oversight: lead the Storytelling & Content and Learning to amplify recipient voices and produce relevant evidence of cash impact.
• Inclusive Culture: Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment, setting clear goals and expectations, while fostering open communication and constructive feedback across teams.

Qualities we’re hiring for: 

• Deep ownership mindset (i.e. the default assumption that when you identify a problem, you’re likely going to be the one to solve it!) 
• Excellent representational and communication skills with national and international stakeholders, written and oral fluency in English, and preferably Chichewa
• Willingness to travel and work from differing working locations, some of which will be remote
• Passion for the role cash transfers can play in giving recipients choice & driving impact at scale
• A team player with strong leadership, interpersonal skills and professional experience;

• Ability to work at pace with a high level of autonomy; 
• Excellent past performance/job references.

In addition to the specific skills required for each role, we’re looking for candidates who are aligned with our Values, and who actively demonstrate our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in a relevant field
• 5-7 years experience in the development sector
• Demonstrated success in a high-performance, fast-paced work environment
• Strong interest in advancing the values and mission of GiveDirectly
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal), organizational, and analytical skills
• Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization. Experience with key donors such as USAID and FCDO is preferred
• Detailed understanding and demonstrated experience working with national level government officials in Malawi, and understanding Government policies and priorities 
• Experience working with and representing organizations to national and international media
• Ability to approach tasks with resourcefulness and to work in a highly self-directed manner

 #LI-REMOTE

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!