Head of Strategic Partnerships & Influence (Remote)

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! This role was previously posted as Surrogates, Influencers & Partnerships Lead. If you'd already applied to that role, no need to apply again - there is just one open position.  About the Role  Your goal is to build the profile and credibility of direct cash transfers with tech, finance, and thought leader communities — the people who shape how smart, high-capacity donors think about where to give.  This role sits on the marketing/communications team, and will work with thought leaders, public intellectuals and influencers to turn them into a coordinated force for getting people talking about fighting poverty effectively. Individual surrogates are the primary focus.  Secondary is our nascent brand partnership strategy — identifying fintech platforms, personal finance media, consumer brands, and other major organizations where GiveDirectly's mission creates natural co-branding opportunities. These partnerships would be awareness plays first. We're less interested in roundup dollars than in being the organization users think of when they want to give meaningfully. You will lead a small team within our marketing team, partnering closely with peers leading press, content, social media, thought leadership, and fundraising. This role is a great fit if you have a combination of: Familiarity with leading writers, thinkers, and public intellectuals in finance, tech, economics, international development. You’re comfortable working with public intellectuals on big ideas and rigorous evidence. Think big and are creative with partnership driven marketing, brand, and events.  Super strong relationally; builds rapport quickly, can connect with any room of people, but particularly tech, finance, and research communities. The right person might have been a founder, in business development / marketing / partnerships, or have done a lot of writing / thought leadership themselves. This role might NOT be a fit if:  You've mostly done paid marketing → Are wins measured in CPMs and ROAS? Ours aren't. We have <$100k for paid partnerships total. The job is building relationships good enough that people say yes without a check. You’ve focused on micro-creators on TikTok/IG → Is your portfolio lifestyle brands and DTC products? Our best surrogates to date are economists, tech journalists, policy wonks, and podcast hosts with highly educated audiences. If you don't follow political/tech/econ discourse, this probably isn't the right fit. You haven't built out a program or function → Are you a strong executor/manager but haven't owned strategy? We have a small existing foundation in this work, but this job is architecting what comes next, not just executing on the existing playbook.  This role is ideal for someone who combines strong relationship management across the thought leader & creator media landscape with the creative instincts to turn those partnerships into compelling, high-impact campaigns. Reports to: VP, Marketing Level: Director or Senior Director depending on experience & scope Location: Remote with preference for San Francisco / New York / LA / DC / London for in-person networking  Time zone: the selected candidate will need to overlap at least 2 hours with East Africa Time working hours some working days. Travel: ~3–8 trips annually (team retreats, partner visits, events, and/or program visits) What you’ll do Own the strategy and measurement: Set the portfolio approach across surrogates, influencers, and brand partnerships – defining KPIs, tracking reach and donation attribution, and ensuring coherence with press and thought leadership. Build surrogate relationships: Identify, vet, and cultivate relationships with creators, public intellectuals, and thought leaders across GiveDirectly's cause areas at scale and with speed. Execute campaigns end-to-end: Design value-exchange deals, develop briefs, guide creators and partners on messaging, and own post-campaign analysis from first conversation to final report. Build brand and media partnerships : Develop relationships with companies to broker co-branded campaigns, product integrations, and editorial partnerships that reach high-value audiences. Manage and develop a team of two: Set clear priorities for a Manager and Associate, and actively coach for continual improvement. What success looks like in 12–18 months Deep surrogate relationships built by cause area (force ranked): Extreme poverty – our core offering in Africa, where web donations default.  Emergency cash – crisis response, with a moonshot of delivering cash within 5 days of any crisis. Maternal / child health – new evidence shows child mortality can drop by nearly half. U.S. poverty – our work in the United States covers a range from homelessness, maternal health, and emergency relief. 1–2 brand or media partnerships live: At least one formal partnership with a fintech, personal finance media company, or consumer brand that puts GiveDirectly in front of high-value audiences who wouldn't otherwise encounter our work. A distinctive post-donation experience for surrogate/brand audiences:  i nteractive , exclusive content that turns a new audience into our audience. 2–4 big bets tested, at least one identified to scale:  ambitious, high-visibility campaigns that