Emergency Response Fundraising Senior Manager/Director

Emergency Response Fundraising Senior Manager/ Director at GiveDirectly

This role is crucial for leading GiveDirectly's International Rapid Response (IRR) fundraising efforts. The successful candidate will be responsible for securing significant emergency funding to enable the rapid deployment of cash transfers to populations affected by crises globally. The position involves strategic leadership in real-time fundraising during acute emergencies and long-term pipeline development for pre-positioned funding.

What you'll do:

Emergency Activation & Real-Time Fundraising

• Lead donor outreach in the critical first 48 hours of an emergency, crafting compelling messages and coordinating fast, targeted engagement.
• Prioritize and tailor outreach based on the geography, nature of the crisis, and donor fit — knowing which funders to approach and how.
• Collaborate with program and communications teams to build real-time fundraising narratives grounded in operational data.
• Maintain and continuously improve a fundraising playbook outlining standard operating procedures for all phases of crisis response, including pre-crisis pipeline engagement, first-48-hour donor outreach, activation messaging, and post-crisis reporting and stewardship.

Pre-Positioned Funding & Pipeline Development

Develop and manage a pipeline of pre-positioned funding mechanisms, with the goal of:

• Securing GiveDirectly’s inclusion on vetted donor rosters for rapid response (e.g., pre-approved partners lists, standing framework agreements, pooled funding windows).
• Building GiveDirectly’s own flexible contingency fund to enable immediate deployment of cash in high-risk or forecasted crises.
• Scope and pursue funding aligned with early action, anticipatory response, and climate adaptation — including opportunities from bilateral/multilateral agencies, corporations, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Analyze donor behavior and market trends to create lead lists of prospective donors for high likelihood emergency response geographies. Dynamically prioritize and re-prioritize high ROI opportunities.
• Identify and communicate market changes and emerging opportunities internally to inform GiveDirectly’s international rapid response roadmap.
• Proactively track donor strategies, policy shifts, and upcoming cycles to position GiveDirectly for sustained emergency readiness.

Writing & Donor Communications

• Draft high-quality fundraising materials, including appeals, proposals, decks, situation briefs, and impact reports.
• Translate complex programmatic and operational insights into clear, compelling narratives for donor audiences.
• Prepare briefing materials for senior leadership ahead of high-stakes donor conversations.

Donor Stewardship and Conversion

• Ensure timely, transparent, and impactful reporting for all emergency-related grants.
• Track donor interactions, deadlines, and reporting in Salesforce and internal tools.
• Partner with other fundraising team members to grow donor relationships beyond International Rapid Response (IRR) into broader programming.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.
• Language Requirement: English (fluency).
• Language Preferences: French, Portuguese.
• Strong experience in humanitarian fundraising — ideally with institutional, corporation, foundation, and HNWI donors.
• Knowledge of the humanitarian funding landscape: who gives, when, and how, and how to craft the right pitch at the right time.
• Must possess a BA/BSc/HND qualification.
• Have 4+ years of experience in fundraising, partnerships, or program development in a mission-driven or high-performance setting.
• Experience living and working in humanitarian response contexts (preferred).
• Experience with Canva or other design tools and Salesforce or similar CRM systems (preferred).