Responsibilities
- Take primary responsibility for a significant grantmaking portfolio
- Set strategy for the grantmaking portfolio
- Sift through funding opportunities to focus on those that matter most
- Inform the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars to dozens of grantees
- Communicate externally about our work
- Mentor and advise other members of the team
- Build and lead a grantmaking portfolio
- Combine rigorous review of empirical evidence, cost-effectiveness modeling, strong grantee relationships, ground-truthing, discussions with subject matter experts, understanding of broader context, and judgment to decide what to fund, how to structure it, and when to build something new
Requirements
- At least 5-10 years of professional experience, a significant portion of which was in similar or closely-related roles
- Used empirical tools to make rigorous, evidence-based decisions under uncertainty
- Strong track record in one or more of: funding, building or scaling new programs, initiatives, or organizations; using rigorous quantitative analysis and cost-effectiveness modeling to support decisionmaking; building relationships with diverse stakeholders; owning large budgets and/or grant portfolios; excellent written and verbal communication, with an emphasis on directness and clarity; setting and iterating on strategy in complex, fast moving environments
Nice to Have
- Experience engaging with global health, development, or related fields
- Experience reviewing randomized controlled trials and impact evaluations
- Experience working with governments or multilateral organizations
- Experience gathering first-hand data to inform program design
- Experience managing a variety of grant types, including advocacy and market-shaping initiatives
Benefits
- Fully funded health, dental, vision, and life insurance (100% of premiums within the US for you and any dependents)
- Four weeks of paid time off per year
- 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave
- Ergonomic home workstations or coworking space memberships
- Automatic contribution equal to 5% of gross salary into 403(b) retirement plan (for U.S. based staff)
Team values
We think our research team has unique qualities: We care deeply and centrally about finding and sharing truth. Truth-seeking is one of our core values. We post our mistakes and we prize our team members who keep our culture of free-flowing feedback strong. We are independent. We focus 100% on finding the most cost-effective opportunities to save and improve lives. Our researchers assist in communicating our research findings to the public and our donors, and on occasion we provide tailored advice to ultra-high-net-worth donors who want to rely on our expertise to direct their giving—but we never ask our researchers to trade off against honesty, or to hide their real beliefs. We don’t waste time. Once it’s clear that a particular research question is unlikely to change our bottom-line funding recommendation, we drop it as quickly as possible. We encourage our research staff to constantly re-evaluate their portfolios and only work on the highest-priority questions. Lean research team = huge personal impact. Our research team of just under 70 people directs hundreds of millions of dollars annually. We work well together. Our research team is lean because we’re able to attract top-tier people, all of whom complete skills-based assessments before joining our staff. We maintain a high-performing, collegial culture and pay our staff accordingly.
About GiveWell
GiveWell is dedicated to finding and evaluating highly cost-effective global health and development opportunities, and we publish all the work, reasoning, and uncertainties behind our funding decisions. Our giving funds enable donors to contribute to the most impactful and cost-effective programs our researchers identify. GiveWell is one of the world’s largest private funders of global development efforts. Trusted annually by tens of thousands of donors, GiveWell searches for highly cost-effective programs that save or improve lives the most. Since 2007, more than 150,000 donors have given over $2.6 billion through GiveWell to the most promising programs its research has identified, which we estimate will save more than 340,000 lives. GiveWell is most well-known for recommending a small number of Top Charities, which currently support seasonal malaria chemoprevention, insecticide-treated nets, vaccine incentivization, and vitamin A supplementation. However, most of our research capacity and grantmaking is devoted to cost-effective opportunities outside of those programs.
Additional information
We don’t want to miss candidates that could do great things at GiveWell. Practically, that means a GiveWell staff member reviews every application carefully, considering the whole picture of your background and potential. If you’re on the fence about applying because you meet some but not 100% of our preferred qualifications (some studies suggest this hesitation is especially common for women and people of color), we encourage you to apply anyway. GiveWell is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer by choice. At minimum, this means that we comply with all federal, state, and local EEO and employment laws. Beyond the requirements of those laws, we value our team’s diversity in all respects, and we desire to maintain a work environment free of harassment or discrimination—we want our team members to thrive at GiveWell. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, contact us at careers@givewell.org. We will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. By submitting an application, you acknowledge that you have read and consent to GiveWell's Privacy Statement for Applicants. By completing an application exercise, you acknowledge and assent to GiveWell's Work Trial Policy.
Additional Information
- Location: GiveWell’s staff work primarily remotely within the U.S. and abroad. This position is eligible to work fully remotely.
- Offices: You are welcome but not required to work from our offices in Oakland, California; Brooklyn, NYC; or London, UK. We'll cover relocation expenses for candidates who wish to move to any of our physical office locations.
- International work: We are happy to employ staff internationally on a case-by-case basis. A successful candidate will need to commit to a work schedule that has some overlap with American working hours and the schedules of key coworkers.
- Flexibility: We support and encourage flexible working, including flexible hours, working remotely, and working from the office when you choose.
- Visa Sponsorship: If you want to work in the United States and need a work visa, we’ll do our best to sponsor it (and also cover up to 100% of relocation expenses on a case-by-case basis).
- Travel: Research team members are sometimes required to attend international site visits and conferences (on average 1-2 per year), with additional travel for those interested in traveling more. Additionally, we strongly encourage staff members to attend annual department retreats and twice-annual whole org visit weeks.
- Start date: We’d like a candidate to start as soon as possible after receiving an offer, but we’ll offer flexibility for candidates whose personal or professional circumstances require them to moderately delay their start date.
- Application deadline: We don't currently have an application deadline. If that changes, we'll update the posting. We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
- Hiring process: After application review, our hiring process consists of a short application exercise and up to 15 hours of compensated work trials.
- Full-time preference: We have a strong preference for full-time applicants, but we sometimes consider applications for part-time work on a case-by-case basis.
