Director Research & Learning

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving – and millions of lives – by providing cash grants directly to the world’s 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. We’ve 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 GD’s 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. Team members bring experiences from the private sector, NGOs and government. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, former management consultants to public servants, researchers to field operations -- it’s 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, fast moving 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

GiveDirectly is seeking a Research Director to lead the organization’s research strategy, team management, and prioritization of key learning initiatives. This individual will play a critical role in shaping GiveDirectly’s research agenda, ensuring that our work is informed by cutting-edge economic thinking, 

The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader with a strong grounding in economics, particularly macroeconomics, and a talent for team management and strategic prioritization. Rather than being a prolific academic publisher, the Research Director should be an effective people manager, negotiator, and communicator who can translate research insights into organizational strategy. They will work closely with GiveDirectly’s leadership, research partners, and policy teams to ensure that research efforts align with the organization’s mission and impact goals.

GiveDirectly’s Director of Research and Learning must:

• Be deeply curious about the possible impacts of cash
• Be practical, considering how we contribute both to the evidence base and how we drive toward increasingly impactful and cost-effective cash programs
• Have strong interpersonal skills, demonstrating that they can both lead teams and engage stakeholders (internal and external) around a shared vision for learning and development

Reports to: VP Product

Level:  Director

Travel Requirement: 10-20% (~1 week every 2 months) preferred

What you’ll do:

• Develop and execute research strategy: Define GiveDirectly’s research priorities and ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic goals for impact and fundraising.
• Own organizational learning agenda: Identify relevant and important gaps in existing evidence research and dete