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Senior Manager, Programs (Mobileaid)

GiveDirectly
On-site
Maputo, Mozambique

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.

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) provides cash grants directly to people living in extreme poverty. Across our global offices, our culture is candid, analytical, non-hierarchical, and agile—and we’re committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our hiring and programs. 

About GiveDirectly Mozambique & MobileAid

GiveDirectly Mozambique is expanding both the scale and speed of cash delivery. A key pillar of this growth is MobileAid: using remote, mobile-based targeting and enrollment (and associated digital workflows) to deliver cash at greater scale, speed, and effectiveness—including rapid response after shocks/emergencies and, where feasible, anticipatory cash before shocks occur. MobileAid can also support improved targeting approaches for social protection, particularly in urban areas, by reducing the time and cost of identifying and enrolling eligible households.

Role Overview 

GiveDirectly is hiring a Senior Manager, Programs to strengthen program quality and drive technology-based improvements to our work. The role will lead the delivery of MobileAid initiatives - from concept through operationalization and iteration - while building and managing critical relationships with government, mobile network operators, and key service providers. You will also coordinate closely with internal stakeholders including GD’s Tech, Emergency Cash, and Programs teams. In addition to MobileAid leadership, you will be expected to lean in on high-quality delivery across other Mozambique programs as needed.

Responsibilities 

Program delivery

  • Drive end-to-end delivery for GiveDirectly projects in Mozambique, ensuring strong performance on quality, speed, cost-effectiveness, and recipient experience.
  • Own workplans, delivery timelines, risk registers, and coordination structures across projects; anticipate bottlenecks and unblock quickly.
  • Use program data to guide decisions—tracking key metrics, analyzing trends, and adjusting program design and delivery.
  • Strengthen operational systems to support improvements in recipient experience, program quality, safeguarding, fraud prevention, and case resolution.

MobileAid leadership

  • Lead the design and rollout of mobile-based targeting and remote enrollment (MobileAid) projects that can improve speed and scale of cash delivery—especially in shock/emergency and urban contexts.
  • Translate program needs into implementable approaches and partner closely with internal teams (Tech, Emergency Cash, Programs) to iterate tools and processes.
  • Build GiveDirectly’s MobileAid capabilities by piloting and iterating with novel remote targeting, enrollment and risk detection approaches
  • Ensure strong data stewardship, consent, and compliance practices, aligned with local requirements and GiveDirectly standards.

External stakeholder engagement and partnerships

  • Initiate and maintain strong working relationships with government counterparts, telecom operators, regulatory authorities, and key service providers.
  • Build robust systems and protocols to bring clarity and structure to work with implementation partners.
  • Represent GiveDirectly in relevant technical forums to improve alignment, coordination and increase program visibility.
  • Monitor results across programs using operational and outcome-relevant metrics; identify performance gaps and implement corrective action.
  • Support government and donor reporting on progress and results.

Team management and leadership

  • Lead and develop program teams and cross-functional working groups; set a strong culture of accountability, problem-solving, and recipient-centered execution.
  • Manage and coach direct reports (and oversee vendor/partner teams where relevant), ensuring clear expectations, strong performance management, and professional development.
  • Model a strong team culture rooted in GD’s values.

Skills and Experience

Required

  • 7+ years experience in a problem-solving heavy role (e.g., program management, operations leadership, consulting, product delivery).
  • Strong end-to-end project management skills and comfort operating in ambiguous, dynamic environments.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships and negotiate delivery-oriented agreements.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication: able to translate technical concepts (data/tech/process) into clear operational decisions for diverse audiences.
  • Strong analytical thinking: able to use data and operational metrics to diagnose issues and drive improvement.
  • Enthusiasm for fast-paced environments, which may lack a pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing”
  • High ownership, integrity, and sound judgment—especially when balancing speed vs. risk in fragile contexts.
  • Professional working proficiency in Portuguese.

Nice to have

  • Experience working with mobile network operators, mobile money ecosystems, or data governance/privacy.
  • Experience in humanitarian response or social protection sectors.
  • Experience using Salesforce, Tableau, or similar platforms to manage and analyze program data.

**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**

 

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!