US Disaster Response Program Manager

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: U.S. remote. Must have authorization to work in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

GiveDirectly has a goal to respond to all disasters that meet certain organizational thresholds for severity and scale (“Tier 1”). The Program Manager will play a key role in driving operations and improving GiveDirectly’s ability to respond to all Tier 1 disasters in the U.S.

Primary responsibilities of this role will include leading end-to-end project management, implementing operational and technical improvements, coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, and managing field teams or other short-term staff. Managers may additionally be asked to support partnerships and fundraising through scoping, proposal and pitch development, report writing, and will occasionally own relationships with partners.

The Program Manager will work closely with the U.S. Disaster Response Senior Program Manager and the rest of the U.S. leadership team, as well as cross-functionally with programs, fundraising, and technology teams. We are looking for candidates that are highly independent and solutions-oriented, have experience driving operational excellence and improvement, and who thrive in fast-paced environments.

Reports to: Senior Program Manager

Level: Program Manager

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year within the U.S. for team retreats or field visits and as needed to support project execution.

What you’ll do:

Program Management

• Conduct daily monitoring and assessment of U.S. disasters, synthesizing data quickly and informing key stakeholders to support disaster response decision-making
• Lead day-to-day operations for individual disaster response programs, overseeing end-to-end project management as well as supporting the Senior Program Manager and the U.S. leadership team on other tasks as required
• Support with designing new and improved operational models for disaster response in the U.S., including assessing trade-offs of different design decisions (e.g. targeting, enrollment, payments)
• Identify and operationalize new technical platforms or partnerships, working closely with GiveDirectly’s technology and engineering teams
• Refine operational processes and playbooks to improve program efficiency
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to support program implementation and ensure operational excellence
• Define, track, and report operational and efficiency metrics, with an eye to managing to improvement
• Define project-level field staffing needs, oversee/drive recruitment, and directly manage field teams (e.g. help desk, enrollment teams) to deliver high-quality operations and programming 

New Business Development & Partnerships Management

• Lead vendor and partner scoping, evaluation, and management to ensure successful program delivery
• Conduct initial desk research and due diligence for potential vendors/partners
• Evaluate vendor/partner services against program needs and bring clear recommendations to the U.S. leadership team
• Support with contracting of new vendors/partners 
• Establish and maintain high quality relationships with operational partners, including funders when they are engaged in operations and delivery
• Support partnership building and management by tracking fundraising opportunities, supporting proposal and pitch development, and coordinating closely with the GiveDirectly fundraising teams
• Support routine reporting (financial, narrative) to funders by assisting with recipient story collection and drafting narrative and/or financial reports

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.
• 3-4+ years of experience in a role focused on project management and/or problem solving. Prior experience working in cash assistance or humanitarian/emergency response is a plus.
• Ability to manage day-to-day operations while contributing to longer-term objectives and system improvements.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, while holding a high quality bar.
• Analytical problem solving, looking at problems with an analytical and iterative mindset, with a strong framework for prioritization and ability to put structure and process to ambiguous problems.
• Strong technical skills, including the ability to evaluate, design, and manage new technical tools to improve program delivery.
• Strong communications skills, specifically in speaking, writing, presenting, and negotiating across multiple stakeholders.
• Enthusiasm for fast-paced environments, which may lack a pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing.”
• Fluency in English, with fluency in Spanish being a plus.

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.

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!