Technical Program Associate or Manager at GiveDirectly

About GiveDirectly

What if the most effective way to fight poverty was also the simplest: give people money and trust them to decide what they need?

Since 2011, GiveDirectly has proven that idea at scale. We’ve delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty and crisis across 15 countries, and rigorous research shows the results: healthier kids, stronger businesses, sturdier homes, and more resilient families and local economies. Cash is now widely recognized as one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid.

Our ambition goes beyond our own programs. We want cash to become the benchmark for aid, much as the index fund became the benchmark for investing, so that every aid dollar is held to one question: is this doing more good than giving the money directly to people living in poverty?

We’re growing fast, and this is a rare and important moment to join.

We expect to hit $1B in revenue in 2026 with significant growth forecast for 2027. At the same time we are building a new technology stack and operating model designed for a roughly 10x change in scale, and we are actively pursuing partnerships with major funders to move even more money in bigger ways, to people who need it. We are known for our extensive integration of technology into field processes; our quantitative approach to performance measurement; and our commitment to rigorous, independent, experimental evaluation of our impact, with multiple Randomized Control Trials completed and others in progress.

How we work

Our team spans 20+ countries and 69 languages. Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We expect high ownership and give people real responsibility early. Our values are central to how we hire, work, and grow, and they are deliberately opinionated:

1. Recipients first. Recipients’ preferences come before those of donors or ourselves.
2. Team next. We optimize for organizational success, not individual success.
3. Be proactively candid. We say what we believe and share information openly.
4. Create positive energy. We aim to be a source of energy for colleagues, not a drain.
5. Think rigorously; act quickly. We reason from first principles, then act rather than debate.
6. Know yourself and grow. We own our imperfections and seek feedback to grow.
7. Accept reality. Propose solutions. We focus on what can change and bring solutions, not just problems.
8. Be productively ambitious. We take risks for step-change impact, not incremental progress.

If they describe how you like to work and they energize you, this could be a great fit.

Want to learn more? Read and listen:

We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026, and our work has been covered by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post. 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.

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 scalable. 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 10,000 feet as well as in the weeds of complex problems.

Reports to: Senior Technical Program Manager

Level: Open to Associate or Manager, depending on the candidate. We would rather find the right person than fill a predetermined level. A candidate with deeper experience, stronger technical skills, and the judgment to run their own projects and think critically and propositionally on project designs will be brought in at the higher end, with correspondingly more independence.

Location: At this stage of GiveDirectly’s growth and scale, we’re prioritizing hiring in the countries below, where we can employ you through a GD entity or an established employer of record: Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, DRC, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States. This list reflects where our employment infrastructure is established today, and may evolve as we grow. If you’re based elsewhere and not open to relocation, we may not be able to consider your application for this role right now, but we’d encourage you to check back. Please also note that regardless of location, we expect 3 hours of daily overlap with the East Africa timezone.

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits.

Priority Application Deadline: November 1st, 2026

What you’ll 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 GD’s 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 you’ll 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.
• Language Requirement: fluent in English.
• 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.
• Preferred, not required: Experience working with relational databases (e.g. SQL).
• Preferred, not required: Proficiency in one or more languages spoken in the countries where GiveDirectly operates (e.g Swahili, French, Portuguese). These skills are beneficial for working directly with field teams and understanding recipient experience.

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 total compensation for this role at the Associate and Manager level is broken down below. If you are based outside of the US or Kenya, specific compensation details can be provided during the initial recruiter screen.

Associate-level

• Base salary: US $92,400 · UK £56,800 · KE $52,400
• Bonus target: 10%

Manager-level

• Base salary: US $107,070 · UK £70,250 · KE $72,550
• Bonus target: 10%

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!

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!