GiveDirectly Hiring Remote Research Director, Emergency Cash — Earn £87,500 Base Salary

GiveDirectly is hiring a Research Director, Emergency Cash, a senior-level research and evidence role focused on shaping the organisation’s learning agenda for emergency cash programmes. The position is fully remote, with location-based compensation available for employees in the United States, United Kingdom, Kenya, and other eligible countries.

About the Opportunity

The Research Director will serve as GiveDirectly’s internal expert on emergency cash research strategy and methods. The role involves leading impact evaluations, setting research standards, developing partnerships, mentoring research staff, and translating evidence into programme and organisational decisions.

GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1 billion in cash directly to over 2 million people across 15 countries since 2011. Its approach is centred on the belief that cash transfers can be a scalable, cost-effective, and dignified form of aid.

Key Responsibilities

The Research Director will:

• Lead GiveDirectly’s research and learning agenda for Emergency Cash.
• Own the organisation’s Theory of Change for emergency cash programming.
• Define and prioritise high-value research questions.
• Lead strategic impact evaluations across multiple countries.
• Develop research concepts and partnerships.
• Set standards for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, and research ethics.
• Establish systems for data sharing, transparency, and human-subject protections.
• Mentor research staff and strengthen organisational research capacity.
• Develop outcome-focused indicators for emergency cash programmes.
• Direct strategic research projects from design through implementation.
• Represent GiveDirectly at external events and within the development community.
• Author and co-author research briefs, policy papers, and other publications.
• Work with Partnerships and fundraising teams to strengthen the evidence base for emergency cash programming.

A Leadership Role in Humanitarian Research

This position is particularly distinctive because emergency cash programming often operates in rapidly changing environments.

The Research Director will need to design or adapt research approaches when timelines are compressed, information is incomplete, and established methodologies may not always fit the circumstances.

The successful candidate will therefore need strong technical research expertise combined with sound judgement. They will determine which research questions matter most, decide where organisational resources should be invested, and identify when research activities should be deprioritised if they do not generate sufficiently useful evidence.

Remote Working and Compensation

GiveDirectly provides location-based compensation rather than applying one universal salary.

For employees based in the United States, the advertised package includes:

• Base salary: $128,000
• Target bonus: 15%
• Estimated target compensation: $147,200+
• Annual benefits stipend: $21,393

For employees based in the United Kingdom:

• Base salary: £87,500
• Target bonus: 15%
• Estimated target compensation: £100,625+
• Annual benefits stipend: £2,760

For employees based in Kenya:

• Base salary: $101,221
• Target bonus: 15%
• Estimated target compensation: $116,404+
• Annual benefits stipend: $8,453

Candidates based outside these three countries can receive a salary benchmark for their country during the hiring process.

Who Should Apply?

This is a senior research leadership position suited to professionals with substantial experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, impact evaluation, humanitarian programming, development research, or related fields.

Strong candidates should be capable of operating at both strategic and technical levels. The position requires someone who can engage with senior organisational leaders while also understanding research design, data quality, measurement, evaluation methodology, and research ethics.

Experience working across multiple countries or in complex humanitarian settings would be particularly relevant because the Emergency Cash portfolio operates across different contexts.

Why This Role Stands Out

One of the strongest aspects of this opportunity is its combination of research leadership and practical programme influence.

The Research Director will not simply produce academic research. They will help determine what GiveDirectly learns about emergency cash, how that learning is generated, and how evidence is used to improve programmes.

The position also provides an opportunity to influence the broader humanitarian and development sector through research publications, external representation, partnerships, and policy engagement.

Application Questions

Candidates should be prepared to answer several substantive questions during the application process.

Applicants will need to explain why they are interested in the role and demonstrate how their experience aligns with the responsibilities described in the vacancy.

One particularly important question asks candidates to describe a specific situation where they had to design or adapt research in a fast-moving crisis environment involving imperfect data, compressed timelines, and no established playbook.

Candidates must explain what research rigor they protected, what they consciously sacrificed, and how they decided where to draw the line.

GiveDirectly also asks applicants to confirm that their application reflects their own ideas and experiences.

Final Thoughts

The GiveDirectly Research Director, Emergency Cash position represents a significant opportunity for an experienced research professional interested in humanitarian innovation, cash programming, evidence-based development, and global poverty reduction.

With fully remote working, competitive location-based compensation, senior-level responsibility, and the opportunity to shape research across a rapidly evolving emergency cash portfolio, the role could appeal to professionals looking to combine rigorous research with real-world humanitarian impact.

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Disclaimer: Remote Job Opportunities (RJO) is not the  organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the responsible organization directly. Please do not send your applications to RJO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of  emails we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.