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Manager, External Relations

Nairobi, Kenya

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 and delivered cash to more than 2 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, span 21 different countries and 69 languages. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, 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, dynamic 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 high ownership, flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

Priority application deadline: Shortlisting will be on a rolling basis.

Role Overview

The Manager of External Relations is a core member of GiveDirectly Kenya’s leadership team, responsible for executing and strengthening GiveDirectly Kenya’s government engagement, partnerships, and external representation strategy, working closely with the Country Director. Working closely with the Country Director and global policy and communications teams, the role focuses on positioning GiveDirectly as a trusted partner to national and local government, donors, and implementers, and on building the policy, funding, and partnership pathways needed to scale cash-based programs in Kenya.

The role leads government relations and policy engagement, including securing approvals, tracking and influencing relevant policy developments, managing external risks, and ensuring strong two-way communication between government stakeholders and program teams. It also plays an important role in fundraising and partnership development, contributing to the country's fundraising pipeline, and developing high-quality materials for government and funder engagement. In addition, the role oversees external representation and media engagement, including managing the Content Associate Field Manager. The position requires deep knowledge of Kenya’s government landscape, strong relationship-building skills, strategic judgment, and the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment.

Reports to:  Country Director - Kenya; with a dotted line to the Partnerships Director - Policy.

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel to GD Kenya field locations ~30% of the time  and  ~1 per year outside of Kenya for team retreats.

What You’ll Do

Government Relations and Policy Engagement

  • Manage defined government relationships and support the Country Director in strengthening GiveDirectly’s position as a trusted partner.
  • Secure required approvals to support program expansion and ensure compliance with national and local regulations.
  • Serve as the primary liaison between government partners and GiveDirectly, ensuring timely, accurate two-way communication, including regular reporting and escalation of risks or policy changes.
  • Support field teams to operate in line with government guidance and protocols, proactively identifying and addressing areas of misalignment or emerging risk.
  • Track and analyse relevant national policy developments, and support strategic engagement led by the Country Director - in particular in relation to social protection, climate resilience, graduation approaches, emergency response, refugee programming and maternal & child health.

Fundraising, Policy influencing, and Partnerships management

  • Support the Country Director to analyze and keep track of key policy developments at national Government level, and to actively engage upstream to influence these.
  • Support development and execution of a country-level path to scale for GiveDirectly’s prioritized project models in-country.
  • With the support of the Partnerships Director - Policy, develop contextualized policy influencing goals to drive this path to scale by influencing Government and in-country funding opportunities.
  • Contribute to the development and management of the country fundraising pipeline and track performance against ambitious fundraising goals.
  • Build and manage partnerships with NGOs and UN agencies to expand opportunities for collaborative, cash-based programming, including in climate resilience, graduation, and maternal and child health.
  • Contribute ideas and research to identify innovative fundraising opportunities (e.g., blended finance, conservation finance, insurance) aligned with GiveDirectly’s project models.
  • Develop high-quality, brand-aligned materials for engagement with the government and funders, including one-pagers, proposals, pitch decks, and FAQs - in collaboration with the Fundraising and Communications teams.

External Representation and Media Relations 

  • Develop clear, consistent messaging and talking points for government, donor, and media audiences, including on sensitive or high-risk issues.
  • Build relationships with key national and local media, bloggers, and influencers to advance GiveDirectly’s policy and influencing priorities, with the support of the global Communications team.
  • Identify compelling stories from across programs and translate them into effective media pitches and communications products.
  • Serve as the main point of contact between country teams and the global communications team, coordinating proactive outreach and incident response as needed.
  • Monitor traditional and social media to manage reputational risk, working closely with programs, audit, and leadership teams to address emerging issues.
  • Support international and national media engagement to highlight the impacts of cash transfers, including on climate resilience, graduation pathways, and mother and child outcomes.

Team Leadership and Development

  • Team Oversight: Manage the Content Associate Field Manager to amplify recipient voices and produce relevant evidence of cash impact.
  • Provide effective coaching and management support to the  Content Associate Field Manager to strengthen processes, grow the team’s skills, and drive continuous improvement. 
  • Inclusive Culture: Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment, setting clear goals and expectations, while fostering open communication and constructive feedback across teams.

What You’ll Bring

  • A strong ownership mindset, with the initiative to identify challenges and drive solutions independently in a fast-paced, high-performance environment.
  • 4-6 years of experience in the development sector, supported by a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field.
  • Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas: social protection, climate resilience, graduation approaches, emergency response, refugee programming and/or maternal and child health.
  • Experience contributing to policy engagement or government partnerships.
  • Experience in resource mobilization, including successful engagement with major donors such as the World Bank and FCDO.
  • Experience representing organizations with national and international stakeholders, including government, donors, and media.
  • Exceptional communication, organizational, and analytical skills, with professional fluency in written and spoken English and Swahili.
  • The ability to work with a high degree of autonomy while collaborating effectively across teams and providing informal leadership as needed.

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.

 

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 working with communities to eliminate extreme poverty, 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 abuse or misconduct related matters involving potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we work with, and prevent abuse to our recipients and staff.

**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect people and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance when it comes to preventing,  reporting, or responding to any form of abuse or  exploitation.” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**

 

Reasonable Accommodations

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at careers@givedirectly.org with the email subject “Accommodation Needed”. We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made to support your needs.

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

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