Program Manager

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. We're now preparing to deliver billions of dollars a year to people in extreme poverty, if funding allows. Read our CEO's essay on what that will take.

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!

About the role 

The Program Manager (PM) will own the overall process for field operations in  GiveDirectly Malawi’s flagship district transformation program. The PM will be driving enrollment and payment targets while tracking team performance. They will be working closely with  district partners, mobile money partners, and district government counterparts while also building a culture of mentorship and professional development within their team and identifying opportunities for risk mitigation and process improvement. 

As the most senior GiveDirectly representative in the district, the PM will serve as the key “eyes and ears” resource in Malawi for GiveDirectly and will be responsible for regularly synthesizing updates on operational health. The role will have significant responsibility and a high degree of autonomy in creating and managing a large team. 

What you’ll do 

Project Management: 

The PM will be responsible for managing all aspects of ground operations, including:

• Owning end-to-end operations for enrollment, verification, and payment delivery, setting and tracking quantifiable targets. e.g., recipients enrolled and operational efficiency
• Serving as the organization’s engine for continuous improvement of the enrolment and follow-up processes, and overall recipient experience
• Coordinating with mobile money and telecom partners to ensure smooth, secure payment delivery, and lead troubleshooting when payments are delayed.
• Monitoring security in the areas of operations to ensure the team and recipients can operate safely
• Monitor operational and fraud risk in coordination with GiveDirectly's Internal Audit team; identify and close loopholes.
• Uphold safeguarding standards across field operations, and design enrollment, payment, and community-engagement processes that prioritize recipients’ safety.
• Lead survey design and updates, and use data to track performance and inform decisions, working closely with GD's global Data team.
• Build and maintain program documentation and knowledge-management materials for internal use and product development.

People Management: 

• Assisting the HR Manager in Hiring, training, and managing field staff, building a performance-oriented culture with regular feedback and development.
• Running performance reviews for direct reports and building their capacity to do the same for their reports
• Role-model GiveDirectly's values, fostering a team culture that's ambitious, fast-paced, inclusive, and committed to excellence

Vision & Critical Thinking: 

• Conceiving, developing and testing new protocols and methods before initiating scale-up
• Anticipating areas of risk and creating mitigation plans 

Data and Analysis: 

• Leading survey creation and updates for new and existing projects
• Guiding and supporting direct reports on data inquiries, skill development, and data analysis
• Working effectively with GD’s global tech team (framing needs and expectations, and holding self and others accountable to agreed timelines)

Partnerships & Government Relations 

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with government counterparts, donors, telecom/mobile money operators, and community-based partners.
• Represent GiveDirectly in local coordination forums, and support hosting of donors, journalists, and other visitors.
• Support partnership and fundraising efforts, tracking opportunities, contributing to proposals, and reporting to funders such as the World Bank.

What you’ll bring 

• Demonstrated success in a high-performance work environment
• Exceptional leadership ability with demonstrated success in motivating and developing junior staff
• Strong interest in advancing the values and mission of GiveDirectly
• Exceptional communication, organizational, and analytical skills, including a high level of proficiency with G-suite/Google workplace. 
• At least 4-5 years of management experience, preferably managing managers
• Excitement about owning challenging management tasks, including mentoring and motivating direct reports and the broader field team
• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly independent and self-directed manner, while effectively communicating upward about gaps and risks
• Ability to manage day-to-day operations while simultaneously building more robust and efficient systems
• Experience overseeing operations aligned to a fixed budget
• Fluency in English
• Experience in cash transfer programming, social protection, humanitarian response, or a related field is a plus.
• Comfort operating in both rural and urban field environments.
• Master's degree preferred.

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 careers@givedirectly.org 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!

Referrals

Know the right person for this role? Please consider referring them. We offer a reward of $3,000 for a Senior Manager or above role, and $500 for a Manager role, paid if we end up hiring your referral. Thank you for sending great people our way!