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(Senior) Director Research & Learning

London, UK

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 support flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa timezone by at least 3 hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

Priority application deadline: March 5, 2024

About this role

GiveDirectly is seeking a Research Director to lead the organization’s research strategy, team management, and prioritization of key learning initiatives. This individual will play a critical role in shaping GiveDirectly’s research agenda, ensuring that our work is informed by cutting-edge economic thinking, 

The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader with a strong grounding in economics, particularly macroeconomics, and a talent for team management and strategic prioritization. Rather than being a prolific academic publisher, the Research Director should be an effective people manager, negotiator, and communicator who can translate research insights into organizational strategy. They will work closely with GiveDirectly’s leadership, research partners, and policy teams to ensure that research efforts align with the organization’s mission and impact goals.

GiveDirectly’s Director of Research and Learning must:

  • Be deeply curious about the possible impacts of cash
  • Be practical, considering how we contribute both to the evidence base and how we drive toward increasingly impactful and cost-effective cash programs
  • Have strong interpersonal skills, demonstrating that they can both lead teams and engage stakeholders (internal and external) around a shared vision for learning and development

Reports to: VP Product

Level:  Director

Travel Requirement: 10-20% (~1 week every 2 months) preferred

What you’ll do:

  • Develop and execute research strategy: Define GiveDirectly’s research priorities and ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic goals for impact and fundraising.
  • Own organizational learning agenda: Identify relevant and important gaps in existing evidence research and determining effective ways to fill in the gaps (using mixed methods approaches as relevant); taking into account global trends in economic development, philanthropy, and political economy. 
  • Ensuring all GD programs draw on the best available evidence in their design and implementation - including actively contributing to proposal development and product design.
  • Leadership and team management: Build and manage a high performing, high output team of researchers and M&E staff to execute GiveDirectly’s learning agenda, support program design and development, and generate insights to drive program quality, innovation, and fundraising. 
  • Stakeholder negotiation & collaboration: Engage with academic partners, policymakers, and internal teams to drive forward impactful research initiatives, program design improvements, 

Fundraising and new business development: Sharing evidence with donors, contributing to proposal and pitch development, ensuring evidence summaries are available etc.

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.
  • Language Requirement: English
  • 7+ years of experience in research leadership, strategy development, or policy-oriented research.
  • Communication - be equally comfortable having a technical conversation with an academic as you are describing a study in straightforward terms to a donor who has zero context.
  • Expertise across research methods and strategies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches.
  • Translating research into actionable insights – Strong ability to synthesize and communicate complex research findings to diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, donors, and program teams, ensuring research informs strategic decisions and program design.
  • Experience working in international development, philanthropy, or a related field is preferred.
  • Masters degree or equivalent strongly preferred. 

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 United States base salary for this role is $128,000.
  • The Kenya base salary for this role is $101,221.

This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US or Kenya, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process. 

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 (exact details will vary by country)
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Allowances for desk set-up and learning and development

 

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.

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.

 

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

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