Technical Program Associate or Manager

About this role

About GiveDirectly

What if the most effective way to fight poverty was also the simplest: give people money and trust them to decide what they need?

Since 2011, GiveDirectly has proven that idea at scale. We’ve delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty and crisis across 15 countries, and rigorous research shows the results: healthier kids, stronger businesses, sturdier homes, and more resilient families and local economies. Cash is now widely recognized as one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid.

Our ambition goes beyond our own programs. We want cash to become the benchmark for aid, much as the index fund became the benchmark for investing, so that every aid dollar is held to one question: is this doing more good than giving the money directly to people living in poverty?

We’re growing fast, and this is a rare and important moment to join.

We expect to hit $1B in revenue in 2026 with significant growth forecast for 2027. At the same time we are building a new technology stack and operating model designed for a roughly 10x change in scale, and we are actively pursuing partnerships with major funders to move even more money in bigger ways, to people who need it. We are known for our extensive integration of technology into field processes; our quantitative approach to performance measurement; and our commitment to rigorous, independent, experimental evaluation of our impact, with multiple Randomized Control Trials completed and others in progress.

How we work

Our team spans 20+ countries and 69 languages. Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We expect high ownership and give people real responsibility early. Our values are central to how we hire, work, and grow, and they are deliberately opinionated:

• Recipients first. Recipients’ preferences come before those of donors or ourselves.

• Team next. We optimize for organizational success, not individual success.

• Be proactively candid. We say what we believe and share information openly.

• Create positive energy. We aim to be a source of energy for colleagues, not a drain.

• Think rigorously; act quickly. We reason from first principles, then act rather than debate.

• Know yourself and grow. We own our imperfections and seek feedback to grow.

• Accept reality. Propose solutions. We focus on what can change and bring solutions, not just problems.

• Be productively ambitious. We take risks for step-change impact, not incremental progress.

If they describe how you like to work and they energize you, this could be a great fit.

Want to learn more? Read and listen:

We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026, and our work has been covered by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post. We're now preparing to deliver billions of dollars a year to people in extreme poverty, if funding allows. Read our CEO's essay on what that will take.

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

We believe technology will play a critical role in enabling the next generation of cash delivery operations: from identifying recipients without needing to knock on doors to a modern payments infrastructure that gets dollars in recipients’ hands faster and more scalably. We are seeking a Technical Program Associate responsible for implementing and managing the technology used across our programs - including systems for recipient data collection, verification, payments, and monitoring.

In this role, you will own all technology-related aspects of new project launches: working with our operations team to define and implement program requirements, project managing the implementation across multiple stakeholders, and analyzing, structuring, and acting on program data. You are a systems thinker who is comfortable assessing tradeoffs and deriving and communicating data-driven insights. You enjoy learning about technology in a variety of business contexts. You naturally take ownership, can navigate unfamiliar settings, and enjoy both building and managing ops. You can excel at both 10,000 feet as well as in the weeds of complex problems.

Reports to: Senior Technical Program Manager

Level: Associate

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~2-3 times per year to one of our countries of operation for field visits and team retreats.

What you’ll do:

• Manage end-to-end technical delivery for program launches - leading scoping, requirements gathering, system configuration and implementation, QA and testing, troubleshooting, and closeout

• Collaborate with Operations, Product, Research, Engineering, and Data teams to ensure systems are aligned with program objectives and work seamlessly in field conditions

• Debug and resolve issues across multiple layers of our technology stack, including our recipient database and offline survey app

• Scope and manage cross-cutting systems improvements to improve efficiency, scale, and/or recipient experience, with mentorship

• Ensure all systems comply with GD’s standards for data protection, privacy, and financial controls

• Manage technical training and onboarding for operations staff and collaborators

• Lead retrospectives on program launches and technical incidents to contribute to continued system improvements

What you’ll bring:

• 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.

• 3+ years of professional experience; we welcome a wide range of relevant backgrounds (e.g. project management,…