Senior Chief of Staff at GiveDirectly

Role Overview

The Senior Chief of Staff will focus on ensuring that mission-critical priorities of the President are complete, while also helping to drive special projects and initiatives for GiveDirectly. The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, and a succinct communicator in a range of contexts.  

Our team is dedicated to shifting the status quo with respect to how and by whom decisions are made in the aid space. We believe elevating recipient choice is critical, as is demonstrably committing to transparency around metrics and evidence. We are looking for applicants who are deeply aligned with these objectives, and energized by the prospect of partnering with internal and external stakeholders to advance them. 

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa time zone by at least 4 hours.

Level: Director

Reports to: President

Travel Requirement: Ability to travel ~1-2 times per quarter for field visits, internal/external meetings, or other high-impact trips for the President.

What you'll do:

• Upward management: Keep tabs of the President’s to-do’s and priorities and ensure they’re complete in a timely manner Personal advisor: Work closely with the President to develop and implement strategic plans aligned with his vision and objectives.
• Landscape analysis: Have a pulse on key world events, and suggest where and with which key stakeholders GiveDirectly should get involved
• Board relationship management: Support coordination for Board meetings; provide project management support on key Board initiatives
• Internal and external relations: Provide advice and recommendations on stakeholder engagement and team leadership
• Strategic project management: Provide strategic project leadership, coordination, and execution on key cross-cutting priorities/initiative spanning various GiveDirectly teams
• Effective communication: Gather, analyze, and structure critical information for the President to facilitate effective decision making; craft strong initial drafts for talking points, speeches, presentations, and internal communications

What you bring:

An individual with a strong drive to take ownership, a desire to work on a fast-paced team, and an interest in building, managing and scaling key relationships and projects, in turn, maximizing GiveDirectly’s impact. Specific qualifications include:

• Exceptional communication and organizational skills across a wide range of stakeholders, including experience creating compelling presentations and written materials, and running efficient and productive meetings
• Ability to process information quickly and proactively flag suggestions or concerns to the President
• Strong interest in and aptitude for project management in a collaborative, cross-functional environment, with minimal structure
• Ability to tell a story using data and presentations across docs, sheets, and presentations 
• Demonstrated ability to maintain calm and good judgment in a fast-paced & dynamic environment
• A proclivity for giving (and gracefully receiving) direct, honest feedback
• A desire to build trusted relationships across teams, lift others up and maintain a low ego when jumping into the weeds of new projects
• Experience partnering well with senior leaders, especially managing up to senior internal or external stakeholders
• 7+ years of full-time experience in a high excellence, fast-paced, and analytical environment (for example but not limited to: fundraising, consulting, finance, government)
• 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.