About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly aims to reshape international giving -  and millions of lives - by allowing donors to provide capital grants directly to the world’s poorest. The Brookings Institution estimates that 80B of cash transfers would be required to eliminate the poverty gap; the aid sector currently spends 140B each year, much of which is spent on evidence-free interventions. We want to change that, establishing a benchmark as Vanguard did for the financial industry (i.e. index fund), and in the process accelerate the end of extreme poverty.

GiveDirectly has raised over 200M since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 100,000 families, and has been celebrated as one of the most innovative non-profit companies by Fast Company. The Guardian writes, “GiveDirectly…has sent shockwaves through the charity sector.” While the New York Times Magazine adds, “the beautiful thing about GiveDirectly’s approach is that it lets people devise their own path out of poverty.” The growing movement toward cash transfers and GiveDirectly’s leading role in the movement have also been featured in This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.

We’re looking for exceptional talent to help grow GiveDirectly and the broader movement.  Our culture is honest, direct, analytical, non-hierarchical, fast-paced, transparent, and hard working.  We are open to candidates from any industry and typically recruit from top schools/firms and offer competitive salary and benefits.

Role overview:

You will lead GiveDirectly’s media strategy, which has been critical to our growth to date, owning press outreach. Central to the role will be managing relationships with journalists, sourcing and developing stories internally, and being the go-to person for all things media. You will ensure that press operations are well-structured & run, and own creative projects to explore new ways to spread the word about GiveDirectly and the cash transfer movement.

Core responsibilities:

• Managing GD’s overarching press strategy
• Managing public launches and campaigns
• Press and events outreach
• Media monitoring and analytics
• Media training across team

What we're looking for:

An individual with a strong drive to take ownership, a desire to work on a fast-paced team, and an interest in shaping the narrative about the cash transfer movement and in doing so, maximizing GiveDirectly’s reach and impact. Ability to write (pitches, thought pieces, website content, tweets, you name it) excellently and prolifically is essential.

Other things we’d like to see:

• Exceptional verbal communication skills (you’ll be talking to reporters a lot)
• Strong interest in and aptitude for relationship and project management
• Demonstrated ability to maintain calm and good judgment in a fast-paced & dynamic environment
• A proclivity for giving (and gracefully receiving) direct, honest feedback
• Ideally 3+ years of experience in a top private or public sector organization