Senior Chief of Staff

Posted Nov 4

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) provides cash grants directly to people living in extreme poverty. Since launching in 2011, GD has raised over $1B, delivered cash to more than 1.5 million recipients, launched operations in 15 countries, and continues to expand its reach across the Global South. GD has also grown the research base supporting unconditional cash with 20 randomized control trials from its programs, generating rigorous evidence across countries and contexts. 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 strive to be inclusive of all cultures and experiences while upholding our values globally. In the spirit of our "Know Yourself and Grow" value, we recognize there is always room to improve our team's working experience. But day to day, we aim to "Create Positive Energy" - we take care of one another, have fun, aim to maximize flexibility and accessibility in roles, and pursue professional development opportunities to stay challenged & engaged in our work.

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, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Priority Application Deadline: November 17, 2023

Role Overview

The Senior Chief of Staff will focus on ensuring that mission-critical priorities of the President are complete, while also helping to drive special projects and initiatives for GiveDirectly. The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, and a succinct communicator in a range of contexts.

Our team is dedicated to shifting the status quo with respect to how and by whom decisions are made in the aid space. 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 partnering with internal and external stakeholders to advance them.

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa time zone by at least 4 hours.

Level: Director

Reports to: President

Travel Requirement: Ability to travel ~1-2 times per quarter for field visits, internal/external meetings, or other high-impact trips for the President.

What you'll do:

Upward management: Keep tabs of the President’s to-do’s and priorities and ensure they’re complete in a timely manner Personal advisor: Work closely with the President to develop and implement strategic plans aligned with his vision and objectives.
Landscape analysis: Have a pulse on key world events, and suggest where and with which key stakeholders GiveDirectly should get involved
Board relationship management: Support coordination for Board meetings; provide project management support on key Board initiatives
Internal and external relations: Provide advice and recommendations on stakeholder engagement and team leadership
Strategic project management: Provide strategic project leadership, coordination, and execution on key cross-cutting priorities/initiative spanning various GiveDirectly teams
Effective communication: Gather, analyze, and structure critical information for the President to facilitate effective decision making; craft strong initial drafts for talking points, speeches, presentations, and internal communications

What you bring:

An individual with a strong drive to take ownership, a desire to work on a fast-paced team, and an interest in building, managing and scaling key relationships and projects, in turn, maximizing GiveDirectly’s impact. Specific qualifications include:

Exceptional communication and organizational skills across a wide range of stakeholders, including experience creating compelling presentations and written materials, and running efficient and productive meetings
Ability to process information quickly and proactively flag suggestions or concerns to the President
Strong interest in and aptitude for project management in a collaborative, cross-functional environment, with minimal structure
Ability to tell a story using data and presentations across docs, sheets, and presentations
Demonstrated ability to maintain calm and good judgment in a fast-paced & dynamic environment
A proclivity for giving (and gracefully receiving) direct, honest feedback
A desire to build trusted relationships across teams, lift others up and maintain a low ego when jumping into the weeds of new projects
Experience partnering well with senior leaders, especially managing up to senior internal or external stakeholders
7+ years of full-time experience in a high excellence, fast-paced, and analytical environment (for example but not limited to: fundraising, consulting, finance, government)
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.

Compensation

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.

US base salary for this role is $130,000
Kenya base salary for this role is $105,000

This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US or Kenya, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process.

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, including bonus
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

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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