Country Director, Uganda

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1 billion in cash directly to over 2 million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. The organization believes cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, supported by rigorous research.

The organization's work has been featured by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post, and it was named one of Time100's Most Influential Companies of 2026.

The culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical, supporting high ownership and real professional growth. Candidates are encouraged to review the organization's values and hear from current employees to assess fit.

Role Location and Deadline

This role must be based in Kampala, Uganda.

Priority application deadline is July 3.

About This Role

The Country Director will lead the entire Uganda country office, building, fundraising for, developing, and executing the Uganda Country Strategy.

They will lead program teams, fundraising efforts, and external relations to achieve short-term goals such as funding targets and annual KPIs, while driving long-term growth.

The role is ultimately accountable to recipients and donors for delivering a gold-standard product.

Level: Director.

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel approximately once a month across the country and internationally 1-2 times per year.

What You Will Do

Program Management (30-40%)

Accountable for ensuring GiveDirectly Uganda programs operate on time, at target efficiency, and meet the organization's quality standards.

Backstop, manage, and guide the programs team in overcoming challenges, staying on schedule, and delivering quality results.

Be accountable for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with recipient experience and operational efficiency.

Manage budgets to ensure efficient allocation and utilization of donor funds and resources.

Work with national and local government officials to secure permissions for the maintenance and expansion of programs.

Create and maintain a strong culture of safeguarding and anti-fraud across the country office and all activities, including close coordination with global safeguarding, internal audit, finance, and compliance teams to build best practices into country operations, program design, and implementation.

Chair weekly or bi-weekly internal audit, safeguarding, and programs coordination meetings.

Proactively mitigate fraud and operational risks through close coordination with the Internal Audit team to prevent misconduct and protect recipients, including designing appropriate prevention controls and response measures.

Fundraising and Partnerships (30-40%)

Develop and maintain strong strategic partnerships with donors, including private foundations, government agencies, and individual donors, to secure funding for GiveDirectly programs.

Design ambitious cash transfer programs and accompanying budgets.

Represent GiveDirectly to the public, media, government, and other stakeholders, serving as the organization's spokesperson in the Uganda office.

Work with the global fundraising team to develop compelling fundraising materials and messages that resonate with donors in Uganda.

Lead the country team in developing and implementing fundraising activities, such as events and campaigns, to raise awareness and support for GiveDirectly's work.

Communicate about GiveDirectly to donors, media, and other partners.

Host or coordinate hosting of country visits by high-net-worth individuals, funders, and other partners.

Strategic Planning and Prioritization (5-10%)

Lead strategic planning and prioritization for GiveDirectly in Uganda.

Ensure collaborative and strategic workplanning across departments.

Overall accountable for GiveDirectly's presence, work, and activities in Uganda.

Develop a country strategy for GiveDirectly in Uganda that advances success in Uganda while aligning with the organization's global strategic priorities and direction.

Set and manage country goals that create a roadmap for success in Uganda.

Develop and implement a fundraising strategy for the Uganda office, own revenue targets, drive opportunities, and maintain a robust pipeline to sustain year-over-year growth.

Participate in annual retreats and organization-wide planning, cross-country coordination efforts, and input the perspectives, priorities, and experiences of the Uganda office into organization-wide policies and practices.

Lead national-level government relationships and/or partner with the Senior Manager of External Relations to handle these relationships.

Manage the Senior Manager of External Relations and ensure the country office meets standards for external relations and government expectations as outlined in the governing memorandum of understanding.

Team Management (5-15%)

Motivate, coach, and hold to high standards a large team, including direct management of the country management team.

Build the capacity of managers at all levels by ensuring they have clearly defined expectations for success, regular feedback on progress, and an understanding of growth opportunities that match strengths to organizational needs.

Promulgate practices and norms that animate GiveDirectly's core values, in partnership with the Human Resources Manager.

Lead workforce planning, including thoughtful hiring and succession planning, while ensuring the team remains appropriately lean and efficient.

Take reasonable steps to ensure the safety and security of the GiveDirectly team.

Country Operations (5-15%)

Lead coordination between the country office and GiveDirectly's global risk management verticals, including internal audit, compliance, external relations, and safeguarding, to ensure business continuity.

Oversee country operations as a whole, including balancing roles and responsibilities across the country management team, managing directly the HR Manager, the Office and Procurement Manager, and providing dotted line management of the Finance Manager, Internal Audit Manager, and Safeguarding Manager.

Work with relevant country office management to ensure country compliance with global standards and develop country protocols that put global policies into practice in ways that are clear and relevant to the Ugandan context.

As necessary, provide leadership and oversight of investigations of alleged misconduct, ensuring zero tolerance for fraud and upholding safeguarding standards, and handling disciplinary matters.

What You Will Bring

10+ years of relevant experience in non-profit country management, organizational leadership, partnership development, program management, social entrepreneurship, or consulting, with a track record of demonstrated excellence and increasing responsibility.

Experience leading government and external stakeholder partnerships.

Proven track record of securing significant funding from major institutional donors such as the US Government, FCDO, World Bank, or EU.

Ability to lead and set strategic vision at a national level.

Enthusiasm for a fast-paced environment that lacks pre-defined playbooks.

Team management experience, including hiring and building teams.

Outstanding relationship management abilities, including the ability to represent GiveDirectly at the highest levels.

Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, including with diverse audiences from senior officials to institutional and high-net-worth funders to field teams.

Strong organizational and project management skills.

High degree of autonomy and resilience.

Problem-solving mindset with an analytical and iterative approach, a strong framework for prioritization, and the ability to run robust analyses to inform management and programming decisions.

Alignment with GiveDirectly values, including the ambition to pursue industry-changing success and active demonstration of core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem-solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.

Language requirement: English; other Ugandan languages are a bonus.

Authorization to work in Uganda or the ability to obtain such authorization within a fixed timeframe.

Desired Skills and Experiences

Experience working in Uganda and an understanding of the Uganda context are very highly desired.

We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates with personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities we serve, as well as from underrepresented genders, ethnicities, and other groups.

Compensation

GiveDirectly strives to pay employees generously and equitably. An accredited third-party salary aggregator ensures that total compensation (base compensation plus bonus) falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles at similar organizations.

A no-negotiation policy ensures equitable pay across roles.

Why Work at GiveDirectly

A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement.

A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow.

A competitive salary, including bonus.

A robust health benefits plan (exact details vary by country).

Desk allowance and flexible work location.

Working at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

US applicants are invited to know their rights.

Commitment to Safeguarding

GiveDirectly takes safeguarding of recipients, staff, and partners seriously and is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. The organization systematically checks with previous employers about any abuse or misconduct matters involving potential new hires and may employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

The organization is committed to observing all local, national, and international laws that protect people and basic human rights, with a policy of zero tolerance for preventing, reporting, or responding to any form of abuse or exploitation.

Referrals

Referrals are welcome. A reward of $3,000 is offered for a Senior Manager or above role, and $500 for a Manager role, paid if the referral is hired.