Disaster Response Program Manager

Summary

Join GiveDirectly as a Program Manager and play a key role in improving the organization's ability to respond to Tier 1 disasters in the U.S. You will lead end-to-end project management, implement operational and technical improvements, and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders. The role involves managing field teams, supporting partnerships and fundraising, and working closely with the U.S. Disaster Response Senior Program Manager and other leadership. Candidates should be highly independent, solutions-oriented, and thrive in fast-paced environments. This is a remote U.S.-based position requiring occasional travel within the U.S. GiveDirectly offers a competitive salary, bonus, robust health benefits, flexible paid time off, and allowances for desk setup and learning and development.

Requirements

• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity
• 3-4+ years of experience in a role focused on project management and/or problem solving
• Ability to manage day-to-day operations while contributing to longer-term objectives and system improvements
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, while holding a high quality bar
• Analytical problem solving , looking at problems with an analytical and iterative mindset, with a strong framework for prioritization and ability to put structure and process to ambiguous problems
• Strong technical skills , including the ability to evaluate, design, and manage new technical tools to improve program delivery
• Strong communications skills , specifically in speaking, writing, presenting, and negotiating across multiple stakeholders
• Enthusiasm for fast-paced environments , which may lack a pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing.”

Responsibilities

• Conduct daily monitoring and assessment of U.S. disasters, synthesizing data quickly and informing key stakeholders to support disaster response decision-making
• Lead day-to-day operations for individual disaster response programs, overseeing end-to-end project management as well as supporting the Senior Program Manager and the U.S. leadership team on other tasks as required
• Support with designing new and improved operational models for disaster response in the U.S., including assessing trade-offs of different design decisions (e.g. targeting, enrollment, payments)
• Identify and operationalize new technical platforms or partnerships, working closely with GiveDirectly’s technology and engineering teams
• Refine operational processes and playbooks to improve program efficiency
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to support program implementation and ensure operational excellence
• Define, track, and report operational and efficiency metrics, with an eye to managing to improvement
• Define project-level field staffing needs, oversee/drive recruitment, and directly manage field teams (e.g. help desk, enrollment teams) to deliver high-quality operations and programming
• Lead vendor and partner scoping, evaluation, and management to ensure successful program delivery
• Conduct initial desk research and due diligence for potential vendors/partners
• Evaluate vendor/partner services against program needs and bring clear recommendations to the U.S. leadership team
• Support with contracting of new vendors/partners
• Establish and maintain high quality relationships with operational partners, including funders when they are engaged in operations and delivery
• Support partnership building and management by tracking fundraising opportunities, supporting proposal and pitch development, and coordinating closely with the GiveDirectly fundraising teams
• Support routine reporting (financial, narrative) to funders by assisting with recipient story collection and drafting narrative and/or financial reports

Preferred Qualifications

• Fluency in English , with fluency in Spanish being a plus
• Prior experience working in cash assistance or humanitarian/emergency response is a plus

Benefits

• 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