Product Lead, Platform (Staff Product Manager)

GiveDirectly; United States; Remote; USD 170,000 - 197,000; Full time

Job summary

A global charity organization is seeking a Product Lead for its Cash Delivery Platform. This remote role requires strong technical product management skills and a commitment to the organization's mission. Responsibilities include defining the product vision, owning the roadmap, and leading product development with engineering teams. Candidates should have over 8 years of relevant experience and a high technical fluency.

Benefits

A positive and supportive team

Competitive salary with bonus

Flexible paid time off

Desk setup and learning allowances

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technical software product management with multiple full-lifecycle builds.
• Strong alignment to GD values and mission.
• High technical fluency to engage with engineers on architecture.

Responsibilities

• Define the long-term product vision for the cash delivery platform.
• Own the roadmap for platform capabilities and make prioritization decisions.
• Lead end-to-end product development with engineering.

Skills

Technical software product management

Collaboration across diverse cultural backgrounds

Analytical problem solving

High empathy for non-technical users

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. GD 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 innovative by Fast Company, and the cash transfer movement has been featured in major publications.

Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical. Our global team of ~150, and country operations teams of ~650, come from 21 countries speaking 69 languages. From software engineers to humanitarian workers, former consultants to public servants, researchers to field operations, it’s a diverse group.

Our values are central and deliberate. We center the people we serve in decision making and strive for an ambitious, dynamic, 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: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa timezone by at least 3 hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

Tech encodes every aspect of GiveDirectly’s programs. We are investing in software for cash delivery to accelerate delivery, improve quality and recipient experience. We are seeking a Product Lead, Cash Delivery Platform to define and lead this platform. You will design systems and abstractions that shape cash delivery, owning the roadmap across survey building, eligibility & verification, fraud detection, payments, and case management. You will work with engineers, field operations, and research teams to design, build, and scale a system that gets cash to recipients faster, more securely, and with better recipient experience.

This is a leadership role focused on defining products from the ground up, with a track record of creating clarity, scale, and reuse from complexity.

Level: Director

Reports To: VP, Technology

Travel: Willing to travel to program sites up to 1 time per quarter for 1–2 weeks.

Responsibilities

• Product Vision & Definition: Define the long-term product vision for the cash delivery platform, reducing historical complexity while building for future flexibility where needed. Pair technical expertise with understanding of users to design the platform and its abstractions.
• Strategic Roadmap & Prioritization: Own the roadmap for platform capabilities (survey tooling, eligibility and KYC, fraud detection, payments, case management). Make high-leverage prioritization decisions and define and track success metrics.
• Detailed Product Design & Execution: Lead end-to-end product development with engineering, from problem discovery to launch and iteration. Define robust abstractions and platform boundaries and shape scalable product logic.
• Cross-functional Stakeholder Management: Align diverse stakeholders with competing priorities. Collaborate with programs product leads, PMs, engineering, operations, and field teams to ensure platform investments meet validated program requirements.

Qualifications

• Strong alignment to GD values and mission; welcome applications from individuals with experience in low-income or historically marginalized communities served.
• 8+ years in technical software product management with multiple full-lifecycle builds.
• High technical fluency to engage with engineers on architecture and system design.
• High empathy for non-technical users and strong UX sense.
• Ability to operate in a high-ambiguity environment and create clarity.
• Strong collaboration across diverse cultural backgrounds; ability to communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Analytical problem solving with a structured prioritization approach.
• Bonus: experience with users experiencing poverty, low digital literacy, or low/no network connectivity.

Compensation

GD aims to pay generously and equitably. Total compensation (base + bonus) falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles at similar organizations, with a no-negotiation policy to ensure equitable pay. Read more about compensation philosophy. U.S. base salary for this role is $170,700 + 15% bonus tied to org performance.

This role is fully remote; if not based in the U.S., an estimated salary benchmark for your country will be shared during the hiring process.

Why work at GiveDirectly?

We offer:

• A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement
• A commitment to staff development
• A competitive salary with bonus
• A robust health benefits plan (varies by country)
• Flexible paid time off
• Desk setup and learning allowances

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

Commitment to safeguarding: GiveDirectly safeguards recipients, staff, and partners and may conduct background checks and other pre-hire screens. We uphold a zero-tolerance policy for exploitation, abuse, and harassment and require safeguarding of recipients as a priority.

Want to put your best foot forward on your GiveDirectly application? Take a look at our Candidate Application Prep Guide.