Manager Legal, Risk & Compliance

GiveDirectly•New York, NY

50d•Remote

About The Position

The Manager, Legal, Risk & Compliance will play a foundational role in strengthening GiveDirectly's governance systems as we scale. In this role, you will stand up GiveDirectly's enterprise risk and controls function, designing the frameworks, tools, and reporting structures that allow the organization to identify, assess, and mitigate risk consistently across teams and geographies. This is a builder role in its first phase - focused on developing the enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, risk register, and control documentation in partnership with Legal, Internal Audit, and operational teams. You'll establish the systems that make risk management clear, coordinated, and actionable across the organization. Once these systems are embedded, the role will transition into a broader Legal & Compliance capacity, supporting ongoing work in policy management, regulatory compliance, and governance reporting. Over time, this position will serve as a bridge between legal advice, risk management, and compliance operations - helping GiveDirectly maintain the structures that protect recipient trust and organizational integrity. You'll report to the Director, Legal & Compliance and collaborate closely with the Internal Audit and other functional leads to ensure risks are managed, controls are effective, and GiveDirectly's operations remain legally sound and accountable.

Requirements

Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.
Systems-thinking and pragmatism: You can design structures that bring clarity and consistency without adding unnecessary complexity - building systems people will actually use.
Experience in risk, compliance, or legal operations: You've worked in environments where managing organizational risk and accountability mattered - ideally with exposure to enterprise risk, internal controls, legal compliance, or governance systems.
Understanding of controls and assurance concepts: You know how risks link to controls, and how controls connect to organizational processes. You don't need to test them (that's Internal Audit's role), but you can design and document them effectively.
Cross-functional collaboration skills: You're comfortable working with legal counsel, finance, operations, and internal audit - translating complex governance ideas into shared, actionable plans.
Clear and concise communication: You can synthesize inputs from across the organization into structured risk summaries and governance reports for leadership.
Judgment and discretion: You handle sensitive organizational and legal information with care, and know when to escalate or seek guidance.
Follow-through and accountability: You turn frameworks into action - ensuring ideas become systems, and systems are maintained over time.
Education: Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in Law, Public Policy, Business, or related field (JD, MPA, MBA, or equivalent) strongly preferred. Equivalent professional experience in legal, compliance, or risk governance will also be considered.
Experience: 3-5 years of relevant work experience in risk management, internal controls, audit, compliance, or governance functions.
Experience working in nonprofit, donor-funded, or international organizations strongly preferred.
Strong project management, stakeholder engagement, and documentation skills.
Comfort operating in ambiguous, early-stage, or cross-functional environments.
Language requirement: English (required).