Senior Program Officer

GiveWell

10d • Remote

About The Position

GiveWell's mission is to help people in need as much as we can by researching the most cost-effective ways to save and improve lives, sharing our work openly, and directing donations to the programs we believe will do the most good. Our work, which focuses on global health and well-being, is funded by tens of thousands of donors who rely on our research to inform their giving. We’ve grown from directing $1.5 million in 2010 to directing more than $400 million in 2025—and we expect to direct more than $500 million in 2026. Through years of deliberate groundwork, we’ve been growing our research capacity and scope in order to direct substantially more funding to the most impactful opportunities we can find.

The role of Senior Program Officer is a leadership position within GiveWell's grantmaking operations. In this role, you will take primary responsibility for a significant grantmaking portfolio, setting its strategy and identifying the most impactful funding opportunities. Your decisions will influence the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars to numerous grantees. You will also be involved in external communication about GiveWell's work and will mentor and advise other team members. You will build and lead a grantmaking portfolio that applies rigor and creativity to GiveWell's most challenging funding problems. This involves combining rigorous review of empirical evidence, cost-effectiveness modeling, strong grantee relationships, on-the-ground verification of program delivery, expert consultations, understanding of the broader context, and your own judgment to determine funding decisions, structure grants, and identify needs for new initiatives. The role involves addressing complex questions such as balancing exploration of new opportunities with scaling existing cost-effective ones, creating opportunities when they don't exist, optimizing portfolio direction and prioritization, identifying high-impact expansion areas, triangulating evidence with expert opinion and organizational track records, verifying reported outputs against actual impact, funding research for future grantmaking improvements, and determining acceptable levels of uncertainty for grants.

Requirements

• At least 5-10 years of professional experience, with a significant portion in similar or closely-related roles.
• Experience using empirical tools to make rigorous, evidence-based decisions under uncertainty.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with an emphasis on directness and clarity.
• GiveWell’s mission and methods are personally energizing—you like our approach to research and you find personal meaning in our story of impact.
• You’re abnormally curious—you ask lots of questions, and you’re willing to interrogate others’ work. Your curiosity also extends to your own work—you aren’t defensive when your research comes under scrutiny.
• You get things done, and you'll drop what you're doing when something matters more. You drive work to conclusions efficiently, and when the evidence shifts or a higher-value opportunity appears, you’re eager to pivot.
• You're entrepreneurial. When you see a gap, you want to fill it, whether that's designing a new program, finding an implementer, or setting up a new kind of funding mechanism. You make bets under uncertainty.
• You routinely think about and surface the value judgments, background knowledge, and strategic commitments that undergird your work. You understand the potential effects of mistaken mental models, so you strive to improve yours and your team’s.
• You dislike it when people express strong confidence in views that don’t seem to rely on commensurate evidence. You carefully and legibly communicate about your confidence levels.
• You appreciate the value of an excellent reputation and strong relationships. You can moderate your directness and intensity when you’re communicating with external folks.
• You love a gnarly problem. You figure out the most important questions to answer, go deep on the details where they matter (and move on where they don’t), and reassess your mental models based on what you’ve learned.

Nice To Haves

• Quantitatively-oriented advanced degrees.
• Engaging with global health, development, or related fields.
• Reviewing randomized controlled trials and impact evaluations.
• Working with governments or multilateral organizations.
• Gathering first-hand data to inform program design.
• Managing a variety of grant types, including advocacy and market-shaping initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Take primary responsibility for a significant grantmaking portfolio, setting its strategy.
• Sift through opportunities to focus on those that matter most.
• Decide what to fund, how to structure it, and when to build something new.
• Build and lead a grantmaking portfolio that brings rigor and creativity to GiveWell's hardest funding problems.
• Combine rigorous review of empirical evidence, cost-effectiveness modeling, strong grantee relationships, ground-truthing of how programs are actually delivered, discussions with subject matter experts, understanding of the broader context, and your own judgment.
• Communicate externally about our work.
• Mentor and advise other members of the team.
• Set and iterate on strategy in complex, fast moving environments.
• Own large budgets and/or grant portfolios.
• Build relationships with diverse stakeholders (funders, research organizations, NGOs, etc.).
• Use rigorous quantitative analysis and cost-effectiveness modeling to support decisionmaking.
• Fund, build, or scale new programs, initiatives, or organizations.

Benefits

• Fully funded health, dental, vision, and life insurance (we cover 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 your gross salary into your 403(b) retirement plan (for U.S. based staff)
• Relocation expenses covered for candidates who wish to move to any of our physical office locations.
• Visa sponsorship available for those needing a work visa in the United States.
• Flexibility in working hours, remotely, and from the office.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed