Senior Director, Philanthropy; Remote

Overview

Give Directly (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. Give Directly 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 and delivered cash to more than 2 million people in 15 different countries. We’ve also supported large-scale, experimental research that indicates strong recipient impact of our programs. 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, span 21 different countries and 69 languages. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, 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, 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 high ownership, flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

About The Role
:
Give Directly is seeking a strategic and results-driven Senior Director, Philanthropy to lead and grow our senior philanthropy efforts across high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and foundations, including private and family foundations. This role will be central to mobilizing flexible, values-aligned capital at meaningful scale in support of Give Directly’s most ambitious goals. You will own the strategy and execution of Give Directly’s senior philanthropy program, personally steward and close relationships with some of our most significant supporters, and work closely with the CEO on top-priority relationship management.

Give Directly’s philanthropy team is a lean (approximately 4–5 staff), high-performing team that consistently raises $100M+ from major individual donors. Looking ahead, Give Directly has set a bold ambition to deliver $5 billion directly to people living in poverty by 2035 - having reached the US $1Bn milestone in 2025. This role will be critical to expanding and diversifying our base of senior philanthropists — particularly donors from technology and finance backgrounds who value evidence, speed, and scalability — while building a durable engine for long-term growth.

This role is ideally based in the United States and requires meaningful overlap with New York working hours (minimum 4 hours daily), as well as collaboration with teams in East Africa, and the Bay Area.

Reports to: Vice President, Partnerships & Philanthropy

Level: Senior Director

Travel: ~6–10 trips annually (donor engagement, team retreats, or program visits)

• A proven track record initiating and securing significant philanthropic commitments from high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and/or private or family foundations
• Experience engaging stakeholders or donors from finance and technology sectors, with strong credibility and networks
• Strategic judgment and the ability to both shape philanthropy strategy and personally close complex deals
• Experience leading and developing fundraising teams, or teams working with similar skills sets (analytics, sales, consulting, start-ups), with a strong quality bar
• Strong systems…