VP, Development

Priority Application Deadline: March 1, 2023

Location: Remote

About GiveDirectly 

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving - and millions of lives - by allowing donors to provide capital 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 which is allocated to evidence-free interventions. GiveDirectly wants to change that, establishing a benchmark, and in the process accelerate the end of extreme poverty. GiveDirectly has raised close to $1 BM in revenue ($320M in 2020 alone), while being recognized as one of the most innovative non-profit companies by Fast Company. The growing movement toward cash transfers and GD’s role in that movement have also been featured in This American Life, Foreign Affairs, The Economist, andBusiness Insider.

Cash transfers are at a potential inflection point: COVID-19 has amplified the challenges of bulkier in-kind aid models, and governments are deploying cash as their most common tool of assistance to vulnerable populations. GiveDirectly has an opportunity to leverage its strong track record (i.e. operations across 10 countries,, 13 randomized control trials), to both deliver immense impact and position itself as the premiere cash implementation vehicle globally. 

About the role

We are seeking a mission-driven and entrepreneurial fundraiser to lead our individual giving function. In partnership with the President and senior staff, this role is responsible for all major fundraising through major donors. As someone passionate about shifting the status quo in the aid space, you’ll define the roadmap and vision for maximizing the cash we raise to deliver to recipients. In this capacity, you will own and scale our largest funding segment, a fast-growing pipeline already reaching $50M+ annual revenue, and manage a growing team of 5+ staff. 

In this role, you will build exceptional relationships with key donors, plus bring a deep understanding of drivers of donor behavior. You will bring experience crafting a strategy, and working together with senior leaders of an organization to actualize it. You are an experienced people leader with a demonstrable track record of managing high performing teams and large fundraising pipelines. Our team is dedicated to shifting 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 organizations that advance them.  

Reports to: Executive Director

What you'll do:

• Define roadmap, vision, and execution to scale GiveDirectly’s major gifts giving portfolio of $50M+ annual revenue
• Manage a portfolio of major gift donors and prospects, cultivating and stewarding relationships to ensure long-term support.
• Lead strategy and long-term roadmap for building our portfolio of major donors, as well as stewardship plans for our current donors
• Amplify GiveDirectly brand by serving as spokesperson (e.g. media, conferences, donors) & owning select senior relationships 
• Oversee process development to streamline pipeline management, donor acquisition and retention.
• Work closely with GiveDirectly's Board of Directors and other volunteers to engage them in the major gifts fundraising effort.
• Manage, develop, mentor, and grow team; with an eye for future thinking and scale

What you'll bring: 

• Exceptional alignment to GD values, passion for our mission, and commitment to recipient dignity and empowerment
• 15+ years of professional work experience in similar role or function (fundraising, business development, sales, partnerships), with an eye towards forward-thinking and innovative fundraising strategies
• Proven leadership ability and management experience in building high performing teams as well as provide strategic advice to the Executive team on fundraising opportunities and budgets
• Experience working with a distributed team in a multicultural environment
• Exceptional relationship management skills: Ability to build and grow a network particularly within the individual giving space, both via establishing new relationships for GD and strengthening existing ones
• A strong track record of raising funds from major individual donors
• Interest in working as part of a growing company, with awareness about the opportunities and challenges that come with a highly adaptive environment
• Knowledge of fundraising principles, practices, and ethics, with a deep understanding of the importance of donor stewardship.
• Strong, succinct communications: Skilled in speaking, writing, presenting, and negotiating across multiple stakeholders
• Analytical problem solver: Looks at problems w/ analytical and iterative mindset, with strong framework for prioritization 

In addition to the specific skills required for this role, we’re looking for candidates who are aligned with our GD Values, and who demonstrate our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.

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. 

• The United States base salary for this role is $250,000.

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