U.S. Program Associate, Michigan At GiveDirectly

Job Type: Full-time, term-limited role that ends on December 31, 2025. There may be an option for extension, dependent on project funding.

Location: For this role, we are looking for someone who is currently based in or near Wayne County, Michigan. This program is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

About this role

The U.S. Program Associate will support implementation for large-scale cash initiatives in the U.S. As a critical member of GiveDirectly’s U.S. programs team, you will support operations, internal coordination, and team processes. You will often be the project point person for community engagement and customer service. You will be expected to support Managers and Senior Managers across multiple projects, and as a result, you must be excited to work in a fast-paced environment and be comfortable managing multiple workstreams at one time. Through this, you will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills on a fast-growing team. Associates should be able to:

• Support multiple projects and workstreams simultaneously (multi-task), especially by driving process (e.g. metric tracking, survey design)
• Over time, own whole components of projects, including but not limited to customer service and/or delivering payments
• Proactively identify areas for efficiency in projects and team management (e.g. streamlining customer service management)
• Support community engagement and coordination, including acting as a liaison for partner organizations and community members as appropriate

Reports to: US Program Manager

Level: Associate

Travel Requirement: This role will require commuting within a candidate’s base location (Kalamazoo, Wayne County, or the Eastern Upper Peninsula) 3-4 days per month in order to support in-person activities related to community outreach and program launch. In addition, there will be travel to New York or elsewhere in the US for team events 2-3 times per year. Costs incurred for work-related travel will be reimbursed.

Language Requirement: Fluency in Arabic is a must. Fluency in English is a must. Fluency in Spanish is a plus for all locations, though not required.

What you’ll do:

This position will primarily support Rx Kids, a universal, unconditional cash allowance program targeted at expectant parents and infants. The program launched in Flint in 2024 and is now expanding to multiple locations across the state of Michigan beginning in early 2025. This role is expected to work closely with our program partners, including Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and local community partners. Key responsibilities are described below (please note that percentage breakdowns are approximate and may vary per role):

Customer Service and Recipient Experience (40%)

• Lead customer service, including directly supporting recipients via an email-based help desk and through phone support
• Meet periodically with recipients in person to build trust and to identify problems or areas for program or process improvements
• Serve as a trusted resource for recipients, responding to their communications in a timely and professional manner
• Respond to and resolve one-off recipient issues through communication, data entry, and/or escalation of more serious matters to the appropriate individuals

Direct Program Support (30%)

• Support a range of operational and project management duties to ensure GiveDirectly’s U.S. projects are executed with excellence and in line with our values, particularly “recipients first”
• Lead select operational processes, including overseeing a team of customer service agents and conducting recipient follow-up surveys
• Support other field ops processes, including verification and payments, and execution across various program stages
• Work closely with other members of the U.S. team to identify process challenges and propose solutions (e.g. increasing operational efficiency, improving recipient experience)
• Become an expert in the various tech systems used to support project execution and excellence
• Track and report operational and efficiency metrics
• May be responsible for managing other individuals, such as verification support staff
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders, including with tech partners, research partners, and customer service teams

Community Engagement (20%)

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with implementing partners, key community members, and local service organizations
• Build knowledge of the community we are working in, and support with identifying existing local resources or services relevant for recipients
• Support the organizing and execution of community-based meetings and events as needed

Other (10%)

• Support whole-team knowledge management and process documentation, refreshing protocol and process docs regularly
• Where feasible given project management responsibilities, Associates may also be asked to support content coordination and story collection for program communications. This could include:
  • Collaborating with internal stakeholders to determine content collection priorities and needs
  • Owning information gathering and storytelling about our programs
  • Coordinating video taking, and editing of recipient stories (directly or via vendors/freelancers)
  • Writing and editing articles and recipient stories, as well as conducting interviews as necessary
  • Collaborating with recipients to tell their own stories by connecting them to tech and training

What you’ll bring:

• 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.
• 2+ years of work or volunteer experience in a role that required project management and people management/coordination
• Exceptional communication, organizational, and time-management skills
• Strong customer service instincts, including skilled problem solving, patience, and high emotional intelligence
• Ability to manage day-to-day operations and propose & implement process improvements
• Ability to quickly learn and become proficient in new technological platforms
• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly independent and self-directed manner, while effectively communicating upwardly about gaps and risks
• Enthusiasm for fast-paced environments, which may lack a pre-defined playbook for success and involve significant “learning by doing”
• 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.

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to ensure that staff’s total compensation package (base compensation + bonus) falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles, at similar organizations. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles.

The base salary for this role is $74,900 USD / annually.