NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

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.

Reports to: Regional Director, International

Role Overview:

You will be responsible for managing all aspects of the GiveDirectly Nigeria country office. Your role will involve building the processes, team, and partnerships that both enable the achievement of short-term goals (i.e. funding targets, annual 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. We are particularly interested in candidates with demonstrated success driving growth of programs, as measured by dollars raised.. This will be an important part of performance evaluation for this role.

This role is being offered as a 12-month contract with extension based on performance against key metrics.

Responsibilities:

Fundraising and Partnership Development

Own revenue targets: drive fundraising opportunities, build and manage high quality relationships with donors
Develop and leverage an in-country network of funders and partners
Identify strategic partnership opportunities and build a robust pipeline of projects to enable growth
Design ambitious work-plans and accompanying budgets
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 annual KPIs associated with recipients paid, recipient experience, and operational efficiency
Internal Audit

Collaborate and coordinate with GiveDirectly’s Recipient Advocacy team to prevent misconduct, including designing appropriate controls
If necessary, provide leadership and oversight of investigations of alleged misconduct, ensuring best in class safeguarding and zero tolerance of fraud
Relationship Management

Work with national and local government officials to secure permissions for maintenance and expansion of programs
Communicate about GD to donors, media, and other partners
Team Management

Motivate and coach a 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 and regular feedback on progress
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 buffering to reduce the impact of unanticipated operational roadblocks
Strategic Planning

Lead strategic planning for GiveDirectly in Nigeria
Set and manage towards country goals, that create a roadmap for our success in Nigeria
Required Skills and Experiences

8+ years of relevant experience – e.g. in program management, consulting, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, partnership development, or country office management – with a track record of demonstrated excellence and increasing responsibility
Enthusiasm for fast-paced, innovative environments lacking pre-defined playbooks
Experience in partnerships and business development.
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
Experience working in Nigeria
Fluent in English; fluency in another principal language of Nigeria preferred
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 disaster and conflict
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.**