Research Director, Emergency Cash

About this role

GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the research to back it up. Our work has been covered by The Economist , NPR , TED , and The Washington Post . We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026.

Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our values and hear from the people who do . If they resonate, this could be a great fit!

About This Role

This Research Director will own GiveDirectly's learning agenda for Emergency Cash (EC) Programs, in close collaboration with the Senior Product Director for Emergency Cash, EC Response Leads, and other M&E staff. As the organization's internal expert on Emergency Cash research strategy and methods, they will own and continually redefine the scope of our Emergency Cash learning priorities as the portfolio evolves, including:

• Owning GiveDirectly’s research and learning strategy for Emergency Cash Programs and other frontier topics within this portfolio, independently setting research priorities and weighing them against org-wide priorities, in coordination with product, partnerships, and fundraising leadership

• Full accountability for strategic impact evaluations and impact-focused research for Emergency Cash Programs across multiple countries — including developing research concepts, establishing new partnerships, and making resourcing decisions to support this work

• Setting the standards and systems for research best practice within the Emergency Cash portfolio, holding accountability for the quality, ethics, and compliance of Emergency Cash M&E approaches, and establishing new policies and processes where needed

Because emergency cash response is a fast-evolving field, this role will frequently pilot new research methods and work across a wide range of contexts. That work is owned within Emergency Cash, but it will often surface lessons and approaches with relevance for the rest of the organization.

They will provide intellectual leadership and technical direction across GiveDirectly’s Emergency Cash research work, mentoring staff on the Emergency Cash team to improve the design and use of strategic data sets, while directly owning projects in emerging areas of the Emergency Cash portfolio.

Core Responsibilities

Lead GD’s impact learning agenda for Emergency Cash programs

• Own the “canonical” Theory of Change for GD’s emergency cash product as the organization’s internal expert, maintaining deep understanding of current evidence and emergent hypotheses about different pathways in this TOC

• Independently define and drive prioritization for impact-focused learning questions based on this TOC, weighing input from stakeholders across Product, Partnerships, Programs, and Comms against org-wide priorities; build organizational buy-in for these priority questions at the leadership level

• Proactively identify opportunities to address key questions through new research projects, and make the call to de-prioritize research work that does not sufficiently or credibly address key learning questions

• Represent RME at the leadership level in opportunity scoping and proposal design for emergency cash projects, negotiating directly with fellow leaders in fundraising and partnerships to ensure consistency in messaging and strategy across high-value donors and thought leaders, with little to no guidance needed for high-stakes interactions

Institutionalize research best-practices within the Emergency Cash portfolio

• Set the standards for data collection processes, data quality checks, analyses, etc. for Emergency Cash research and country-based staff, ensuring they reflect best practice and evolve as the portfolio’s needs change

• Establish and continually refine management systems and policies for Emergency Cash research, particularly around data sharing, human subjects protections, and data transparency, escalating and resolving risks as needed

• Drive a culture of evidence-informed decision-making within Emergency Cash team, ensuring research is accessible and relevant to Product, Partnerships, and other non-research stakeholders on the team

• Serve as a strategic advisor to RME leadership on Emergency Cash research strategy and capacity development, proactively identifying and acting on key areas of opportunity or risk

• Pilot and refine new research methods and approaches within Emergency Cash, sharing lessons that may be adapted for use elsewhere in the organization as relevant

Technical ownership of strategic research projects for Emergency Cash

• Own the development and application of outcome-focused indicators for Emergency Cash programs, setting measurement standards that build on our theories of change and best practices from the research literature

• Strategically identify and cultivate research partnerships with individuals and institutions that advance GD’s understanding of key learning questions for Emergency Cash, with authority to commit organizational resources to these partnerships; direct RME team engagement in all emergency cash proposals with a substantive research element

• Define the highest-priority research and learning questions facing the Emergency Cash portfolio in areas not yet covered by existing research, and make resourcing decisions to address them

• Directly own strategic research projects on emergency cash programs, maintaining end-to-end management of these research partnerships or contracts, and mentoring Research Managers who support this work

• Represent GD’s Emergency Cash research externally at the leadership level, including final review of written materials by GD Comms or partners, and representing the organization at external events with little to no guidance n

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