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Country Director, Liberia

Monrovia Liberia

  • Organization: GiveDirectly
  • Location: Monrovia Liberia
  • Grade: Senior level - Senior
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Project and Programme Management
    • Managerial positions
  • Closing Date: Closed

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 $700M since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1 million people, and launched offices in 10 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.

We’re looking for exceptional talent to grow our collaborative, diverse team. Joining GiveDirectly provides the opportunity to work alongside individuals who come from 21 different countries and speak 69 different languages. We’re actively working toward an equitable and inclusive environment for all team members, and seek candidates who will bring diverse perspectives and experiences to our organization. We recruit from organizations across all industries: our team has hailed from sectors including start-ups, government, consultancies, investment banks, and nonprofits.

Across our global offices, our culture is candid, analytical, non-hierarchical, and fast-paced. We value ability, adaptability, and willingness to learn.

Our programs in Liberia

GiveDirectly Liberia launched in 2018 to deliver unconditional cash transfers to poor, rural households via mobile money, promoting food security, poverty reduction, and financial inclusion. We set out to produce a proof-of-concept for the operational feasibility and cost effectiveness of sending high volumes of digital cash transfers in one of the least developed countries in the world. To date, GiveDirectly Liberia has served over 175,000 recipients and delivered over 6 billion Liberian dollars directly to the poor. In less than 4 years, GiveDirectly’s work in Liberia has scaled from a compelling proof-of-concept of mobile-money-based cash transfers to the largest social protection program in the country.

In the context of COVID-19, GiveDirectly was selected as the provider for emergency cash transfers by USAID and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, and as a key implementer for the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning’s National Stimulus Program for Market Women and Petty Traders. You will be joining GiveDirectly at an exciting time as we seek to expand our work in South Eastern Liberia reaching thousands more recipients 

Role Overview:

You will be joining GiveDirectly at an exciting time as we expand our work in Southeast Liberia reaching thousands more recipients. You will be responsible for managing all aspects of the GiveDirectly Liberia country office. Your role will involve building the processes, team, and partnerships that both enable the achievement of short-term goals and KPIs and create the conditions for long-term growth. You will be able to draw on resources from the partnerships, data & tech, finance and operations verticals, but will ultimately be accountable to both recipients and donors for delivering a gold-standard product. This is an outstanding growth opportunity for a rising star, hungry for their next big challenge. The ideal candidate is motivated, adaptable, passionate about addressing poverty in Liberia, and not afraid to roll up her or his sleeves to get the job done. 

Reports to: Regional Director

Responsibilities:

Program Management

  • Ensure operational excellence across all programs
  • Backstop, manage, and guide an operations team in overcoming challenges, staying on schedule, and delivering quality results
  • Be accountable for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with recipients paid, recipient experience, and operational efficiency

Partnership Development

  • Own revenue targets and drive fundraising opportunities, maintaining a robust opportunity pipeline to sustain year over year growth
  • Identify strategic partnership opportunities
  • Build and manage high quality relationships with donors 
  • Design ambitious cash transfer programs and accompanying budgets

Internal Audit

  • Collaborate and coordinate with GiveDirectly’s Recipient Safeguarding and Advocacy team in order to prevent misconduct and protect our recipients, including designing appropriate controls
  • If necessary, provide leadership and oversight of investigations of alleged misconduct, ensuring zero tolerance for fraud and best in class safeguarding standards

Relationship Management

  • Work with national and local government officials to secure permissions for maintenance and expansion of programs
  • Communicate about GiveDirectly to donors, the media, and other partners

Team Management

  • Motivate and coach a large team, including direct management of the country management team
  • Build capacity of managers at all levels by ensuring that they have clearly defined metrics for success, regular feedback on progress, and exciting growth opportunities
  • Promulgate practices and norms that animate GD’s core values
  • Take reasonable steps to ensure the safety and security of the GD team
  • Identify key areas in need of hiring / redundancy planning and buffer to increase the resiliency of the team

Strategic Planning

  • Lead strategic planning for GiveDirectly in Liberia
  • Set and manage towards country goals, that create a roadmap for our success in Liberia

Required Skills and Experiences

  • 5+ years of relevant experience - e.g. in consulting, program management, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, partnership development, or country management - with a track record of demonstrated excellence and increasing responsibility 
  • Enthusiasm for fast-paced, innovative environments lacking pre-defined playbooks
  • Team management experience, including hiring and building teams
  • Strong relationship management abilities
  • Exceptional communications skills: written and verbal, including with senior audiences
  • Strong organizational and/or project management skills
  • A high degree of autonomy and resilience. 
  • 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.
  • Fluent in English
  • Alignment with GiveDirectly Values, including the ambition to pursue industry-changing success.
  • Active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. 

Desired Skills and Experiences

  • Experience working in Liberia and understanding of the Liberia context is highly desired
  • Experience in partnerships and business development.

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 - as well as candidates from under-represented genders, ethnicities, and other groups. You can read more about our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts 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
  • A monthly benefits allowance that covers health, dental, and vision monthly premiums
  • Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take!)
  • Desk allowance and flexible work location

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 careers@givedirectly.org

 

**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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This vacancy is now closed.
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