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We are seeking a Fundraising-Focused Research Senior Manager to help surface and package compelling insights, data, and evidence from our direct cash programs to engage and inform high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and foundation donors. This role will sit at the intersection of research, fundraising, and communications—transforming complex programmatic and research findings into accessible and persuasive donor-facing content.
The ideal candidate will have a strong research analytical background, excellent storytelling skills, and experience translating data into engaging narratives for external audiences.
This Senior Manager should spike on:
Curiosity: empowered to be an ‘internal journalist,’ you dig through our data, outside research, and recipient narratives to discover original throughlines
Lateral thinking: you’re focused on connecting the dots into a compelling narrative, saying something clear and compelling even amidst ambiguity
Code-switching: on an average day, you will be thinking like an academic researcher, writing for a time-poor layperson, and speaking with program staff on the ground.
Details: your layperson assets will be scrutinized by research experts, so plan to triple-check
Doggedness: to move your projects along, you’ll need members of the research, programs, communications, and design teams along with outside researchers to answer your requests and hit deadlines
Key Responsibilities
Research & Insights Generation
Identify, analyze, and synthesize key data points and evidence from GiveDirectly’s programs, surveys, and external research.
Conduct deep dives into our program data to uncover trends, case studies, and insights relevant to donor engagement.
Stay updated on external research related to cash transfers, poverty alleviation, and philanthropy to contextualize GiveDirectly’s work.
Donor-Facing Content Development
Translate program data and impact evaluations into digestible, donor-friendly insights, decks, reports, blogs, and case studies
Support the fundraising team by crafting compelling narratives backed by data to demonstrate GiveDirectly’s impact
Work closely with the partnerships and communications teams to refine messaging and tailor research outputs to different donor segments
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner with internal teams (programs, research, fundraising, communications) to ensure alignment in messaging and storytelling.
Work closely with frontline fundraisers to anticipate donor questions and proactively develop data-backed responses.
Serve as a resource for the partnerships and philanthropy teams, providing analytical support for grant proposals, donor presentations, and impact reports
Strategic Thought Leadership
Identify opportunities to position GiveDirectly as a leader in evidence-based philanthropy.
Collaborate on thought leadership content, including white papers, blog posts, and donor briefings.
Train key GiveDirectly staff to be well-versed in our body of research and able to sell in the room.
Qualifications (must haves)
4-7+ years of experience in research, impact evaluation, or a related analytical role.
Strong ability to translate complex research data into compelling narratives for external audiences, particularly donors.
Familiarity with impact evaluation methods and the ability to interpret and summarize research findings.
Familiarity with data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, Stata, R, Python) and data visualization tools (e.g. Adobe, Canva, Flourish)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills – particularly critical is strong writing free of jargon, but the strongest candidates will be able to communicate using a variety of media, including presentations, charts, etc.
Strong project management skills and the ability to juggle multiple workstreams.
Ability to work cross-functionally and translate research insights into actionable fundraising content.
