GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the research to back it up. Our work has been covered by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post. We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026.
Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our values and hear from the people who do. If they resonate, this could be a great fit!
Location: This role is remote. Regular working hours must be in Africa time zones (EAT, CAT, WAT). Preference for candidates based in Sub-Saharan Africa but open to exceptional candidates in other locations.
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 ensure smooth execution.
Strengthen systems and institutional capability
- Translate operational insights into repeatable systems, tools, and automation that reduce manual work.
- Champion continuous improvement and technology adoption to scale efficiently and nimbly.
Enable proactive risk and cross-org alignment
- Maintain a global risk framework and lead or support crisis management when needed.
- Serve as the operational bridge between country leadership and global teams, ensuring priorities are well-resourced and executed consistently.
Other responsibilities as required
Example Deliverables
- Partner with COO to refresh roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities and how they are split between country directors and global shared services departments
- Lead an ops & finance working group to to identify and test step-change efficiency improvement at scale (using budget & process data, then piloting changes)
- Launch a new country office in a crisis-prone region in 3 months
- Systematize contracting approval processes to cut cycle time by 2x while maintaining compliance & auditability.
Compensation
At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to calculate what we believe to be competitive pay based on role, location, and cost of living. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.
Unless otherwise noted, the benefits stipend may be used to cover benefits or taken as additional taxable income.
We are open to considering exceptional candidates at both the Senior Director or a higher level, depending on experience and fit.
United States
- Base Salary: $145,000 (Senior Director Level) or $170,700 (Higher Level)
- Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~$21,750 or $25,605, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount would be $25,447 or $29,958 in 2025)
- Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $166,750+ (Senior Director Level) or $196,305+ (Higher Level)
- Annual Benefits Stipend: $21,393
United Kingdom
- Base Salary: £106,374 (Senior Director Level) or £122,330 (Higher Level)
- Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~£15,956 or £18,350, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount would be £18,668 or £21,470 in 2025)
- Estimated Total Compensation at Target: £122,330+ (Senior Director Level) or £140,680+ (Higher Level)
- Annual Benefits Stipend: £2,760
Kenya
- Base Salary: $120,000 (Senior Director Level) or $145,000 (Higher Level)
- Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~$18,000 or $21,750, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount would be $21,060 or $25,448 in 2025)
- Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $138,000+ (Senior Director Level) or $166,750+ (Higher Level)
- Annual Benefits Stipend: $8,453
This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US, UK 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)
- Flexible paid time off
- Allowances for desk set-up and learning and 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
#LI-REMOTE
Working at GiveDirectly
GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Flagging for US applicants: We invite you to "Know Your Rights" as an applicant.
Commitment to Safeguarding
As a global organization working with communities to eliminate extreme poverty, GiveDirectly takes the safeguarding of its recipients, staff, and partners seriously. To that end, GiveDirectly is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and will systematically check with previous employers about any abuse or misconduct related matters involving potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.
These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we work with, and prevent abuse to our recipients and staff.
**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect people and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance when it comes to preventing, reporting, or responding to any form of abuse or exploitation.” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**
Reasonable Accommodations
We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at [email protected] with the email subject “Accommodation Needed”. We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made to support your needs.
Want to put your best foot forward on your GiveDirectly application? Take a look at our Candidate Application Prep Guide!
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