Executive Director

Africa

Organization: GiveDirectly
Location: Africa
Grade: Senior Executive level - Senior Executive
Occupational Groups:
- 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 poorest people in the world. The Brookings Institution estimates that $100B 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 $800M since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1 million people, and launched offices in 11 countries. We’ve also supported 19 large-scale, experimental research projects that indicate strong recipient impact of our programs – including the largest universal basic income experiment in history. We use concrete evidence to inform the design of our programs: from research results published in leading journals, to in-depth qualitative work. 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. We offer competitive salary and benefits, as well as performance-based bonuses.

Location: This role is remote. Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to one of our African countries of operation.

About this role

The Executive Director will report to the President and oversee all day-to-day operations of the organization, including management of our 900+ team members, a $200M+ annual budget, and the strategy, operations, program development, and revenue generation functions. As someone passionate about shifting the status quo in the aid space, you’ll define the roadmap and vision for maximizing the cash we raise to deliver to recipients. We believe elevating recipient choice is critical, as is demonstrably committing to transparency around metrics and evidence. We are looking for applicants who are deeply aligned with these objectives, and energized by the prospect of leading our organization through continued growth and improvement.

Reports to: President

Level: Executive

What you’ll do:

Manage and act as a strategic partner to a team of high-performing senior leaders, overseeing all core functions of the organization, including Finance, People, Program Operations, Revenue, and Research and directing organizational strategy in alignment with GiveDirectly's mission and vision
Oversee day-to-day activities and organization operations, translating strategy to annual operating plans, and establishing systems to track progress and ensure accountability across the organization
Cultivating an organizational culture in alignment with GiveDirectly’s values, and one that attracts, retains and motivates a high-performing, diverse team
Represent GiveDirectly externally with funders, government officials, and other stakeholders

What you’ll bring:

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.
Proven leadership ability and experience managing large (900+ people), fast growing, diverse, globally distributed teams at an executive level
Analytical problem solver: Looks at problems w/ analytical and iterative mindset, with strong framework for prioritization
Ability to build trusting, inclusive, high performing teams
Exceptional relationship management: you’re excited to build a movement to achieve our mission, both via establishing new relationships for GD and strengthening existing ones
Strong, succinct communications: Skilled in speaking, writing, presenting, and negotiating across multiple stakeholders
A belief that people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives

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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