Director of Strategic Initiatives
GiveWell (private roles) · United States of America, US
Checked against greenhouse. Still accepting applications.
- Location
- United States of America, US
- Posted
_This is a private, closed hiring round. Please do not share this link with others, and please do not apply unless you've received a Google Doc job posting from a member of GiveWell's team._
About GiveWell
GiveWell is dedicated to finding and evaluating highly cost-effective global health and development opportunities, and we publish all the work, reasoning, and uncertainties behind our funding decisions. Our [giving funds](https://www.givewell.org/our-giving-funds) enable donors to contribute to the most impactful and cost-effective programs our researchers identify.
GiveWell is one of the world’s largest private funders of global development efforts. Trusted annually by tens of thousands of donors, GiveWell searches for highly cost-effective programs that save or improve lives the most. Since 2007, more than 150,000 donors have given over $2.6 billion through GiveWell to the most promising programs its research has identified, which we estimate will save more than [340,000 lives](https://www.givewell.org/default/citations#Lives_saved).
GiveWell is most well-known for recommending a small number of [Top Charities](https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities), which currently support [seasonal malaria chemoprevention](https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/seasonal-malaria-chemoprevention), [insecticide-treated nets](https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/insecticide-treated-nets), [vaccine incentivization](https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/new-incentives), and [vitamin A supplementation](https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/vitamin-A). However, most of our research capacity and grantmaking is devoted to [cost-effective opportunities outside of those programs](https://blog.givewell.org/2026/02/26/givewells-2025-grantmaking-record-grants-expanded-reach-crisis-response/).
GiveWell [grants](https://airtable.com/appaVhon0jdLt1rVs/shrixNMUWCSC5v1lh/tblykYPizxzYj3U1L/viwJ3DyqAUsL654Rm) have:
- Helped governments [navigate changes to the funding landscape](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/PATH-technical-support-unit-TSU-april-2025) and implement high-impact health programs, like [HIV/syphilis screening and treatment](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/evidence-action-syphilis-july-2022#:~:text=Summary,testing%20and%20treatment%20in%20pregnancy.) for pregnant people in Zambia and Cameroon.
- Sought to scope and scale promising interventions that don’t have clear existing implementers. We are supporting the [Clinton Health Access Initiative’s Incubator](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/Clinton-Health-Access-Initiative-Incubator-August-2022) to identify potentially cost-effective interventions and create programs that we would be excited to support in the future. For example, we [funded a program](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/clinton-health-access-initiative-tuberculosis-household-contact-management-june-2024) to prevent tuberculosis among young children in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India, that we co-designed with CHAI through the Incubator program.
- Provided funding to ensure that programs that recently faced foreign aid funding cuts could continue, like [healthcare support and malnutrition treatment](https://www.npr.org/2025/11/26/nx-s1-5622126/usaid-ngo-givewell-effective-altruism) in northern Cameroon.
- Funded program delivery alongside strengthened monitoring and evaluation, as in our grants to support [treatment of clubfoot](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/miraclefeet-clubfoot-treatment-january-2023) and to [evaluate the program](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/miraclefeet-monitoring-and-evaluation-may-2023).
- Tested our [assumptions and refined our understanding](https://blog.givewell.org/2026/03/19/podcast-episode-26-investing-in-information-for-greater-future-impact/) through further research and data collection, including [improved estimates of disease burden](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/Johns-Hopkins-CA-CODE-Subnational-Cause-of-Death-Estimates-for-Children-in-Nigeria-August-2025) and studies on [the effect of water chlorination on mortality](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/development-innovation-lab-uchicago-rct-water-quality-interventions-january-2023) and [the impact of a tree-planting program on farmers’ income](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/one-acre-fund-tree-rct-january-2023).
We make our reasoning public and transparent so others can challenge it (sometimes we even [pay people to point out our errors](https://blog.givewell.org/2022/12/15/change-our-mind-contest-winners/)). We go to unusual lengths to check our assumptions and assess our impact, including [funding research](https://blog.givewell.org/2026/03/19/podcast-episode-26-investing-in-information-for-greater-future-impact/) to address our uncertainties and gathering [independent monitoring and evaluation data](https://www.givewell.org/research/grants/Innovations-for-Poverty-Action-Audit-of-Dimagi-CommCare-Connect-Pilot-May-2025) about the programs we support. We [change](https://blog.givewell.org/2026/03/05/podcast-episode-25-following-the-data-on-dispensers-for-safe-water/) our minds when the evidence demands it. For more about GiveWell, listen to Ezra Klein’s [recent interview](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-elie-hassenfeld.html) with GiveWell’s co-founder and CEO Elie Hassenfeld.
Additional information
We don’t want to miss candidates that could do great things at GiveWell. Practically, that means a GiveWell staff member reviews every application carefully, considering the whole picture of your background and potential. If you’re on the fence about applying because you meet some but not 100% of our preferred qualifications (some studies suggest this hesitation is especially common for women and people of color), we encourage you to apply anyway.
GiveWell is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer by choice. At minimum, this means that we comply with all federal, state, and local EEO and employment laws. Beyond the requirements of those laws, we value our team’s diversity in all respects, and we desire to maintain a work environment free of harassment or discrimination—we want our team members to thrive at GiveWell. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, contact us at careers@givewell.org. We will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
By submitting an application, you acknowledge that you have read and consent to GiveWell's [Privacy Statement for Applicants](https://givewell.slab.com/posts/give-well-privacy-statement-for-applicants-fwgc71ie?shr=6RB0hA57-1jGWPxma4aggOQ_). By completing an application exercise, you acknowledge and assent to [GiveWell's Work Trial Policy](https://givewell.slab.com/posts/give-well-work-trial-policy-bp1fsjag?shr=frNYHRhgk7wey_pRH4U5ITlO).
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