Technical Program Associate

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving and millions of lives by providing cash grants directly to the worlds 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 delivered cash to more than 1.5 million people in 15 different countries. Weve 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 GDs 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 together come from 21 different countries speaking 69 different languages. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers former management consultants to public servants researchers to field operations -- its 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 flexibility take care of each other have fun and create professional growth opportunities.

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa timezone by at least 3 hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

We believe technology will play a critical role in enabling the next generation of cash delivery operations: from identifying recipients without needing to knock on doors to a modern payments infrastructure that gets dollars in recipients hands faster and more scalably. We are seeking a Technical Program Associate responsible for implementing and managing the technology used across our programs - including systems for recipient data collection verification payments and monitoring.

In this role you will own all technology-related aspects of new project launches: working with our operations team to define and implement program requirements project managing the implementation across multiple stakeholders and analyzing structuring and acting on program data. You are a systems thinker who is comfortable assessing tradeoffs and deriving and communicating data-driven insights. You enjoy learning about technology in a variety of business contexts. You naturally take ownership can navigate unfamiliar settings and enjoy both building and managing ops. You can excel at both 10000 feet as well as in the weeds of complex problems.

Reports to: Senior Technical Program Manager

Level: Associate

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel 2-3 times per year to one of our countries of operation for field visits and team retreats.

What youll do:

• Manage end-to-end technical delivery for program launches - leading scoping requirements gathering system configuration and implementation QA and testing troubleshooting and closeout
• Collaborate with Operations Product Research Engineering and Data teams to ensure systems are aligned with program objectives and work seamlessly in field conditions
• Debug and resolve issues across multiple layers of our technology stack including our recipient database and offline survey app
• Scope and manage cross-cutting systems improvements to improve efficiency scale and/or recipient experience with mentorship
• Ensure all systems comply with GDs standards for data protection privacy and financial controls
• Manage technical training and onboarding for operations staff and collaborators
• Lead retrospectives on program launches and technical incidents to contribute to continued system improvements

What youll bring:

• 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.
• 3 years of professional experience; we welcome a wide range of relevant backgrounds (e.g. project management product management data analytics international development management consulting).
• Strong data skills: able to leverage tools to extract clean manipulate and analyze data to make operational decisions.
• Strong project management experience: experience in managing timelines stakeholders and complex deliverables.
• Deep comfort with Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets.
• Intermediate experience using a programming or scripting language (most commonly Python at GD) to automate workflows validate data or implement business logic. Note: This is not an engineering or data science job.
• Significant interest in technology systems design and building.
• High attention to detail and strong instincts for analysis and validating data creatively and rigorously.
• Structured approach to problem-solving and a drive to uncover and fix root causes rather than surface-level issues.
• Ability to collaborate inclusively with stakeholders across varied social national and cultural backgrounds including communicating technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Fluency in English.
• Preferred not required: Experience working with relational databases (e.g. SQL).

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.

• The United States base salary for this role is $88000.
• The Kenya base salary for this role is $45000.

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 supportive team that works hard and cares hard
• A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
• Flexible paid time off that staff is encouraged to take
• Allowances for desk set-up and learning and development

#LI-REMOTE

Working at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to the persons 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 theMisconduct 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 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!