United States Country Director

About GiveDirectly
GiveDirectly (GD) provides cash grants directly to people living in extreme poverty. GD has raised over $800M since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1.2 million recipients, and launched offices in 11 countries. We’re continuing expansion across the Global South. Over the past decade, GD has also supported large-scale, experimental research, expanding the evidence that cash has a positive short and long-term impact on recipients. 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) has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.
Across our global offices, our culture is candid, analytical, non-hierarchical, and agile. We work alongside 750+ individuals who come from 21 different countries and speak 69 different languages. Team members at GiveDirectly attest that diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but a fundamental part of our culture and values. We actively seek to recruit individuals from the communities we serve, and use DEI as a lens in our hiring practices, programs, and initiatives. Our goal is to maintain a workplace where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and feel valued and respected for who they are. We continue to grapple with balancing inclusivity of all cultures and experiences while maintaining cohesion in our values. While there is much that we are still learning, we take care of one another, have fun, as well as provide flexible working hours wherever possible.
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, or any other status protected by law.
Reports to: Regional Director
Level: Director
Location: This role is fully remote with an option to work from our New York City office. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.
Travel Requirement: Up to 15% domestic travel
Compensation: $140,000 annually and the potential for a bonus. 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.
About This Role
Since launching US operations in 2017, GiveDirectly has led three record-setting hurricane responses, the world’s largest privately funded COVID relief program, and three of the U.S.’s largest guaranteed income programs – committing more than $280M in direct cash to low-income Americans. We are looking for a dynamic leader who can build and expand on this success: setting a strategic vision that maximizes dollars delivered to the poor, executing new programs with excellence, building robust relationships in the US cash space, and cultivating the team.
We’re looking for candidates who will be based in the United States and willing to travel domestically as needed. You must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of application; we are unable to sponsor international candidates for this position.
What You’ll Do
Strategic Planning

• Articulate a compelling country strategy that aligns with the organization’s global goals and builds on the success and capabilities of our global team.
• Lead vision-setting and strategic planning for US Country Team.
• Set US Country operational and revenue goals and create roadmap for success.

New Business and Partnership Development

• Serve as the US Country Team’s external spokesperson (with press, peer orgs, partners, funders). Identify and pursue external opportunities to amplify GD’s brand.
• Own US revenue targets: drive fundraising opportunities, build and manage high quality relationships with donors.
• Deep experience and track record of success closing deals and maintaining strong, relevant, useful networks of contacts.
• Identify strategic partnership opportunities and build a robust pipeline of projects to enable growth in the US.

Team Management

• Create a strong team culture rooted in GD’s values. Cultivate and grow exceptional talent.
• Determine the appropriate staffing structure for team sustainability and growth, that will include direct reports (Senior Managers/Program Directors) as well as a broader team of Managers and Associates.
• Serve as a representative of the US team internally with executive management.

Program Management

• Identify and evaluate strategic and operational risks across programs, ideate and execute strategies to mitigate risk.
• Own a rich project management plan to ensure operational excellence across delivery of all US programs.
• Serve as analytical support and thought partner, assisting team in clearing hurdles and bottlenecks to execution.

What You’ll Bring

• Team management experience, including hiring and building teams
• A high degree of autonomy and resilience
• Active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.
• Exceptional communications skills: written and verbal, including with senior audiences
• Problem solver: you look at problems with an analytical and iterative mindset, with a strong framework for prioritization. You can run robust analyses to inform management and programming decisions
• Language Preferences: Additional languages encouraged
• Demonstrated ability to lead and set strategic vision at a national level
• Ability to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits
• Advanced partnership and fundraising capabilities, including new business, negotiation, and consortium management
• Outstanding relationship management abilities, including ability to represent GiveDirectly at the highest levels
• Strong understanding of the US poverty and policy space, including an understanding of US safety net and welfare programs and policy
• 10+ years of relevant management experience - e.g. in non-profit country management, organizational leadership, partnership development, program management, social entrepreneurship or consulting - with a track record of demonstrated excellence and increasing responsibility
• Alignment with GiveDirectly Values, including the ambition to pursue industry-changing success
• 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
• Strong organizational and/or project management skills

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 competitive salary, including bonus
• A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
• A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
• Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take!)
• Desk allowance and flexible work location
• A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement

About GiveDirectly
GiveDirectly (GD) provides cash grants directly to people living in extreme poverty. GD has raised over $800M since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1.2 million recipients, and launched offices in 11 countries. We’re continuing expansion across the Global South. Over the past decade, GD has also supported large-scale, experimental research, expanding the evidence that cash has a positive short and long-term impact on recipients. 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) has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.
Across our global offices, our culture is candid, analytical, non-hierarchical, and agile. We work alongside 750+ individuals who come from 21 different countries and speak 69 different languages. Team members at GiveDirectly attest that diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but a fundamental part of our culture and values. We actively seek to recruit individuals from the communities we serve, and use DEI as a lens in our hiring practices, programs, and initiatives. Our goal is to maintain a workplace where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and feel valued and respected for who they are. We continue to grapple with balancing inclusivity of all cultures and experiences while maintaining cohesion in our values. While there is much that we are still learning, we take care of one another, have fun, as well as provide flexible working hours wherever possible. 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, or any other status protected by law.
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.
About The Hiring Process
Format: The hiring process follows the same general outline for all open roles:
First interview (30 mins)
Take home skills assignment (~2 hours)
Second interview (1 hour)*
Third interview (1 hour)*
Final interview (1 hour)
Reference checks (30 mins each)

• For some roles, second & third interviews are combined into a panel interview. If there are adjustments or variations on this process, those changes will be communicated during the first interview.

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 [email protected].
**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.**
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