Internal Audit Field Officer (USA)

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.

About this role

The Internal Audit Field Officer (IA FO) is a member of the Recipient Safeguarding and Advocacy team. Their role is to ensure eligible recipients 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.

The IA FO will be responsible for conducting recipient surveys and associated processes to identify and mitigate risks, investigate cases of potential fraud or recipient harm, and provide recommendations to resolve cases. Part of the IA FO’s responsibility includes supporting the Community Engagement Manager in field risk assessment, recipient protection, and community mobilization and engagement.

This role will require sharp judgment on operational issues and challenges, a strong work ethic, strong communication skills, and a strong commitment to GiveDirectly's values, mission and model.

The Recipient Safeguarding and Advocacy team is strictly firewalled from GiveDirectly’s operations team. By joining as an IA FO, you must agree to do your work with a high degree of confidentiality and anonymity.

Reports to: Internal Audit Associate

Level: Coordinator

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits less than %5.

What you’ll do:

Field surveys (40%)

• Conduct field surveys with recipients via call center technology to understand if beneficiaries are experiencing any difficulties related to GiveDirectly’s cash transfer program (collecting funds, family conflicts, thefts, scammers, etc.)
• Utilize Aidkit, Salesforce, and other internal software to track incidents, leaving internal notes for management and operations team to review
• Report any discovered cases and follow up with briefs to the IAA regularly
• Collaborate with the IAA to review and successfully draft the recipient Internal Audit follow up survey
• Analyze the functionality of the surveys with recommendations to curtail to fit each program individually
• Track monthly survey responses from applicants by utilizing the internal software
• Identify adverse event trends resulting from recipient survey responses to  

Reports and documentations (30%)

• Collect all possible complaints and provide responses within a reasonable time frame,
• Escalate information and report difficult cases to supervisor based on established escalation protocols
• Brief manager on the day’s outcome and help them in the management of next steps
• Produce weekly reports of cases, observations, and outcomes
• Realtime case notes updates and tracking 

Other tasks and responsibilities (30%)

• Supporting the IAA in the day-to-day of field operations, including work planning, risk assessment, Community mobilization, and sensitization, recipient protection.
• Research and utilize social media to investigate flagged online imposters and scammers who intend to defraud GD applicants and programs
• Other responsibilities as assigned by manager
• Collaborate with the operations team to address escalated cases

What you’ll bring:

• Proficiency in English is required. Additional fluency in other languages is a plus (Spanish, Arabic, French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda). 
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to show respect and openness toward someone whose social and cultural background is different from one’s own – FOs will be the face of our program for recipients and will need to approach all communications and interactions with an eye toward delivering the best possible experience for recipients
• Strong active listening and investigative interview skills, promoting collaborative communication with the recipient
• Great communication skills – FOs will explain the program and process to recipients and collect and discuss potentially sensitive information about income and government benefits. Discretion and good judgment are paramount.
• 2+ years working with vulnerable communities
• Technological literacy – FOs will use a smartphone, tablet, or computer to accurately record recipient details in survey forms.
• Empathy, honesty, and the highest standards of integrity. High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, especially with talking to people living in vulnerable communities 
• Excellent critical thinking and decision making skills. Strong ability to show good judgment when resolving complex problems
• Strong interest in advancing the distinctive values and mission of GiveDirectly

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.

Location: Work will be done remotely, but staff may be asked to travel to connect with IAA for resources (less than 5% travel expected)

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. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

• The United States base salary for this role is $66,200 annually
• We expect Field Officers to work approximately 40-50 hours/week, although the hours will vary.

All Field Officers will attend (paid) training sessions, and will use a GiveDirectly-issued smartphone, tablet, or computer for data collection

 

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

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 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!