Job Specifications
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 $1B since launching in 2011 and delivered cash to more than 2 million people in 15 different 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.
Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical. Our global team of ~150, and country operations teams of ~650, span 21 different countries and 69 languages. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, management consultants to public servants, researchers to field operations -- it’s an incredible group of people.
Our values are central and deliberately opinionated. We genuinely center the people we serve in our decision-making, and strive to build an ambitious, dynamic and high-performing environment. We strongly encourage you to read through our values carefully, if they reflect how you like to work and energize you, this could be a great fit.
We work hard to create an environment in which all our team members can thrive, succeed, and grow. We support high ownership, flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.
Priority application deadline: 25 February 2026
Level: Global Head of Country Operations
Reports to: VP Programs
Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel 15%-25% for county office visits and team offsitesl
About This Role
GiveDirectly is seeking a Global Head of Country Operations to strengthen and scale operations across all our country offices. This role will shape the operating model that powers GiveDirectly’s next decade of growth. They will build strong country office foundations and level up our ability to scale and serve recipients excellently and adaptively, working in partnership with our COO and other department leads across the organization. The ideal candidate has delivered results across a diverse set of contexts, brings order to chaos, and can partner with senior leaders as well as they can roll up their sleeves to get critical work shipped.. This is a rare opportunity to architect the backbone of a global organization delivering hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
What We’re Looking For
Proactive thinker and systems builder, who can both resolve today’s issues and also prepare us for tomorrow’s opportunities
Track record of delivering results and owning increasing responsibilities
Gets things done. Thrives in a lean, fast paced, and hands on environment
Excellent ability to influence and manage diverse stakeholders, including change management
Able to juggle a wide range of responsibilities reliably and nimbly
Diverse work background: Has demonstrated adaptability across high-performing contexts and demands e.g. in AI/tech, management consulting, or other private sector
Operations breadth across functions like finance, HR, procurement, compliance, ethics, IT, audit, and/or risk, compliance, ethics, IT, corporate audit, and/or risk management.
Deep experience living and/or working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Excited about GD values and mission
What You’ll Do
Strengthen and standardize country operations
Ensure clear roles, crisp accountability, and strong operating routines.
Define and implement simple, scalable operating models across HR, finance, procurement, compliance, IT, security, and risk.
Embed global standards in context-appropriate ways that reduce friction so dollars reach recipients faster and more reliably.
Coordination Between Program Teams And Central Functions
Coordinate and represent country office realities in global standards setting, priority setting, and resource allocation
Ensure rollout of global standards in ways that are context appropriate, user-friendly, meaningful, and rigorous
Drive strong financial management and performance
Oversee financial management across all country offices ($350M+/year), ensuring budgets enable scale and mitigate risk.
Establish clear KPIs, dashboards, and operating reviews to maintain cost-efficiency.
Lead country expansions and transitions
Oversee new country launches and compliant wind-downs with clear playbooks and risk mitigation.
Coordinate across functions to ensu
About the Company
GiveDirectly allows governments, foundations, and individual donors to provide direct cash transfers to people living in extreme poverty. Using the latest technology at every step, we locate recipients, integrate them into electronic payments networks, and monitor transfers end-to-end. We charge the full cost of delivering this service and nothing more.
We are looking for exceptional talent to help us build the world's most efficient, transparent and scalable system to transfer resources directly into the hands of the poor...
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