GiveDirectly logo

Operations & Admin Manager, Emergency Cash (Remote)

GiveDirectly
On-site
Nairobi, Kenya

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. 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, 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 flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

Reports to: Senior Product Manager, Solutioning & Operations, Emergency Cash

Location: Remote (must overlap with East Africa time zone by ≥3 hours). We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

Travel Requirement: ~20-30% (for retreats, field deployments, or setup support)

Priority application deadline: Feb 20, 2026 or until we receive a critical mass of applications

About this role

The Emergency Cash (EC) Solutioning team is responsible for identifying, designing, and implementing cross-functional solutions - whether technological, procedural, or policy-based - that enable GiveDirectly to respond more efficiently and effectively to crises.

The Operations Manager will be the backbone of the EC Solutioning team, making it run efficiently, compliantly, and at pace. You’ll own everything that helps the team function at speed: from day-to-day back office operations to surge response support, from planning cycles to compliance systems. You will work hand-in-hand with the Senior Product Manager to define procedures and manage resources, and with the EC Delivery team to ensure smooth response launches and seamless cross-functional coordination. You will also support the Senior Product Manager in shaping EC’s strategy and product roadmap by contributing field insights, operational analysis, and structured recommendations.

This is an ideal role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, loves bringing order to complexity, and finds purpose in enabling others to deliver impact quickly and well.

What you’ll do

1. Team Admin and Ops Management (≈50%)

  • Manage core administrative processes for the EC team, including procurement, contracting, vendor management including payment, petty cash,and logistics support, and support response teams with administrative needs
  • Develop, maintain and improve procedures and systems for operational documentation, financial tracking, procurement files, and compliance logs.
  • Ensure all team and response operational and admin processes are aligned with global policies and procedures.
  • Develop and maintain a centralized repository of templates, SOPs, decision memos, tools, and good practices for both team operations and response admin.

2. Response Launch & Implementation Surge (≈30%)

  • Provide surge capacity during the earliest phases of crisis responses, acting as an additional operator supporting scoping, setup, and early implementation.
  • Run or support the “back office” of a response launch, including procurement, vendor coordination, logistics, travel, and financial tracking.
  • Configure and operationalize pre-built emergency cash tools and systems, troubleshooting operational gaps and escalating risks early.
  • Maintain compliance with GD policies and operational standards throughout response activities.
  • Capture lessons learned during responses and contribute inputs to post-response debriefs and product improvements.
  • Support management of crisis response surge rosters, ensuring a systematic approach to deployments and fostering a learning mindset

3. EC Secretariat (≈20%)

  • Support the Senior Product Manager maintaining up-to-date documentation across the EC Solutioning Team, including decision logs, planning tools, process documentation, and knowledge repositories.
  • Support the Senior Product Manager with coordination of planning cycles, goal tracking, and team-wide communications.
  • Coordinate EC retreats, onboarding processes, and team events to strengthen cohesion and alignment.

What you’ll bring

  • 4+ years of experience in operations, administration, or program delivery — ideally in humanitarian response, development, or technology-for-good settings.
  • Strong organizational and project management skills — able to balance multiple priorities and manage complex logistics.
  • Deep understanding of and commitment to procurement and financial principles, policies and procedures and a willingness to drive compliance. 
  • Proven ability to manage budgets, procurement, and compliance processes.
  • Excellent follow-through and reliability; you anticipate needs and close loops effectively.
  • Strong communication and coordination skills across cultures, teams, and geographies.
  • Comfort working in ambiguity and creating structure for evolving systems.
  • Bonus: familiarity with humanitarian response operations, donor compliance, or cross-functional program management.

Language Requirement: English (professional fluency)
Language Preference: Additional proficiency in French, Spanish, or Arabic is a plus.

How this role contributes to the team

By serving as the operational “glue” across EC teams and initiatives, this role will enable the EC team to operate efficiently and deliver high-quality outputs at speed. By combining hands-on surge support with steady administrative oversight, this role will bring structure to the EC function and enable the team to deliver efficiently and consistently.

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to ensure that staff’s total compensation package (base compensation + bonus)  falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles, at similar organizations. We also have a no-negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

  • The United States base salary for this role is $94,700.
  • The Kenya base salary for this role is $61,900.
  • The UK base salary for this role is £61,200.00.

This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in either of those countries, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process. 

Why work at GiveDirectly?

At GiveDirectly, we work to ensure that you have everything you need to excel in your role and on your team, including:

  • A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement 
  • A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
  • A competitive salary, including bonus
  • A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Allowances for desk set-up and learning and development

 #LI-REMOTE

 

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!