Controller

GiveDirectly; City Of London; Remote; GBP 74,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

A nonprofit organization based in the UK is seeking a Controller to enhance accounting processes and oversight. The position involves managing all accounting aspects, coordinating audits, and reporting to senior leadership. Ideal candidates will have prior controller experience, expertise in US Federal Uniform Guidance, and international finance experience. The role is remote with a preference for candidates in African or European timezones.

Qualifications

• Prior experience as a controller at organizations similar to GD.
• Strong people management skills and leadership experience.
• International experience and cultural competency.

Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of accounting and financial reporting.
• Coordinate audit activities and prepare financial statements.
• Establish effective financial controls organization-wide.

Skills

Leadership skills

Process improvement

Emotional intelligence

Problem-solving

Tools

Sage Intacct

Job description

Overview

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving by providing cash grants directly to the world’s poorest. The Brookings Institution estimates that $70B of cash transfers would be required to eliminate the poverty gap; the aid sector currently spends $135B each year, much of it on evidence-free interventions. GiveDirectly wants to change that, establishing cash transfers as a benchmark for foreign aid and accelerating the end of extreme poverty.

GD has raised over $1B since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1.5 million people in 15 countries, and supported large-scale experimental research indicating strong recipient impact. GD has been recognized as an innovative nonprofit and featured in leading media outlets.

Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical. Our global team of ~150 and country operations teams of ~650 span 21 countries and 69 languages. From software engineers to humanitarian workers, we are a diverse and dynamic group.

Our values are central and deliberately opinionated. We center the people we serve in decision making and strive for an ambitious, dynamic, and high-performing environment. If these reflect how you like to work, this could be a great fit.

We work to create an environment where all team members can thrive, succeed, and grow. We support flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

Location: Remote. African or European timezones preferred to maximize overlap with finance colleagues based in East Africa. Timezones in the Americas are feasible if you have a very early workday.

About this role

We’re looking for an exceptional controller to bring our accounting processes and systems up to the bar of the rest of GiveDirectly’s operations—making them efficient, timely, reliable, and tech-driven. As Controller, you’ll define how GiveDirectly’s accounting processes work, who interacts with them, and how they produce reliable finished products in the form of our financial statements and tax filings. You’ll develop and enforce internal controls, and work closely with our finance team as a hands-on manager, mentor, and leader.

Reports to: CFO

Level: Senior Director

Responsibilities:

Accounting

• Manage all aspects of accounting; billing, financial statements, general ledger, cost accounting, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, tax compliance, inventory accounting, cost accounting, revenue recognition, and various special analyses
• Oversee all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP standards and regulatory requirements
• Design and manage efficient and effective organizational accounting processes
• Manage the accounting team to a timely monthly close
• Ensure accurate and complete coding of transactions, so that budget-to-actuals can be viewed at the program/campaign level, functional level, and any other view needed by internal or external stakeholders

Auditing and reporting

• Coordinate all audit activity globally, including responsibility for the global audit in the US and oversight of country audits
• Prepare the annual financial statements, designing accounting processes that make this preparation efficient and seamless
• Execute and oversee tax filings, including preparation of the 990 and oversight of country-specific filings in various African countries and/or US states
• Present regular financial reports to GiveDirectly’s senior leadership following each monthly close, clearly communicating trends of concern or interest

Controls

• Establish an effective system of financial controls organization-wide to protect resources while enabling dynamic operations
• Design and own finance policies organization-wide

Team management

Leverage the strengths of the current finance team, clarify roles and responsibilities, provide hands-on mentorship, and set up effective processes for collaboration and communication with stakeholders.

Requirements:

• Prior experience serving as a controller at at least two organizations of a similar or greater size (GD revenue is around $200m/year; total team size is 800-900 FTE)
• Expertise in US Federal Uniform Guidance related to grants from USAID
• Strong people management skills and hands-on leadership of a 20+ person finance team across accounting, FP&A, payments, and treasury
• International experience and cultural competency working with Africa-based finance teams and US-based stakeholders
• Familiarity with both IFRS and US GAAP, and understanding differences and cross-system errors
• Strong in process improvements and designing efficient accounting processes
• Tech-savvy; knowledge of accounting systems (ideally Sage Intacct)
• Demonstrated core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. Applicants with relevant community experience are welcomed.

For candidates not based in Africa, we also require:

• Regular overlap with East Africa time zones (e.g., 8am Eastern US; 7am occasionally); 10am EST is 5pm in Nairobi, so at least 2 hours of overlap is needed
• Ability to travel to Nairobi or Kigali for working sessions (1–2 weeks to start)

Working at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Commitment to safeguarding: GiveDirectly takes safeguarding seriously. We are a member of safeguarding schemes and may conduct reference checks, background checks, and other pre-hire screens as part of our hiring process. We are committed to laws protecting children, vulnerable adults, and human rights, including a zero-tolerance policy for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment.

These efforts help us maintain trust with the communities we serve and prevent harm to recipients.