Internal Audit Manager

GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the research to back it up. Our work has been covered by The Economist, NPR, TED, and The Washington Post. We are one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2026. 

Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our values and hear from the people who do. If they resonate, this could be a great fit!

Location: Remote, US

This role is fully remote, but the successful candidate must be based and permitted to work within the US. We will consider applicants based in all the U.S. locations. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. at this time.  Travel requirements are outlined below. 

About this Role

The U.S. Internal Audit Program Manager will play a key role in driving and executing program risk management oversight across GiveDirectly’s cash transfer projects within the U.S. Primary responsibilities will include leading end-to-end fraud and risk management (including prevention, detection, resolution, and risk management innovations), coordinating with internal and external stakeholders where necessary to ensure proactive risk prevention, early detection and mitigation, recruiting and managing internal audit teams, and driving operational excellence and improvement.

The Internal Audit Program Manager will work closely with all the U.S. program leadership team (Program Managers, Senior Managers, and Program Director) and the Country Director, as well as cross-functionally with finance, Data, and technology teams while coordinating risk management initiatives. We are looking for candidates who are highly independent and solutions-oriented, have experience driving operational excellence and improvement, are comfortable assessing and developing effective workflows in technology tools, and who thrive in fast-paced environments.

The Internal Audit Program Manager should be able to:

• Build and manage work plans, budgets, and report out (internally and externally) on Internal Audit metrics / KPIs and staffing projections
• Oversee operational metrics to ensure program excellence and drive improvement 
• Manage steady state programs with little supervision, escalating and seeking support, particularly during launch and close, or in the instance of adverse events or sensitive risk challenges 
• Communicate clearly and effectively, internally and externally, about project goals and how they connect to team and org-wide strategy and impact
• Be a strong team manager – Build a culturally, ethically, and value-aligned country internal audit team with high professional growth and development trajectory. 

Reports to: Senior Manager, Internal Audit

Level: Manager

Travel Requirement: This role may require travel 3-4 times per year to states where projects are actively running, especially for high-risk/sensitive case investigations or for specific risk spot checks, as well as team gatherings Exact amounts of travel will vary for different project locations within the US.

What you’ll do:

This position will primarily be the Internal Audit (program risk management) focal point for the entire US operations, and will be working closely with a team of independent and firewalled staff, remotely located and assigned to different projects. This role will be expected to work closely with all the country project stakeholders as a primary conduit between the firewalled internal Audit team and the rest of the program implementation team. 

Project Design - prevention & mitigation of risks (30%)

• Represent IA in country project design conversations, including development of strategic risk management measures and new project scoping.
• Oversee new project risk scoping exercises and ensure a full risk scoping report is submitted to the Internal Audit Director and Country Director for all new projects
• Work with the Internal Audit Senior Manager to develop project-specific Internal Audit proposals detailing audit rates, audit approaches, e.t.c. for new projects and ensure these are discussed with and signed off by the Country Director
• Ensure that customized risk registers are created for all new projects; ensure that risk registers for ongoing projects are updated regularly
• Lead in the review of relevant tech implementation tools, e.g. enrollment surveys, to better align them to risk detection, mitigation and prevention.
• Overall owner (accountable) of country project workbooks detailing Internal Audit references, including tech-related requirements, and recipient audit plans.
• Develop project workplans, detailing internal audit workload and staffing/resourcing estimates. 

Systems-oriented risk monitoring (45%)

• Define and/or review project risk classifications based on projects and the implementing location 
• Owning and monitoring Internal Audit defined metrics / KPIs in the US, including owning the correction of dropping or critically missed metrics
• Create and maintain reports and dashboards that reflect team performance in relation to the set metrics, and ensure tracking and proactive resolution for cases/issues open for investigation.
• Take the lead in investigating suspected sensitive fraud cases related to the GiveDirectly implemented cash programs, including proactively communicating the same to the country leadership, the Internal Audit Senior Manager / Director for the necessary escalation and/or resolution.
• Monitor the traffic and trends of risk reporting and flag high-risk projects to the CD and IA SM/IAD
• Provide the lead in examining and spot-checking the quality of the program implementation team’s data against set GD data quality standards and report any cases of inconsistency.
• Lead the development of risk escalation protocols for different types of risks and monitor the implementation of the protocols by both the IA team and the program implementation teams
• Lead the internal audit team in the detection of risks such as safeguarding, fraud, abuse, and undeclared conflicts of interest; by ensuring confidential reporting, proactive detection, in-depth investigations, and case management of the risks whenever they occur.
• Build and manage in-country project-related stakeholder relationships; working with different in-country teams to ensure IA deliverables are tracked as per the work plan. 
• Where relevant, build in-country relationships with fraud management stakeholders (for example, technology vendors and payment partners) for sustainable fraud resolutions in-country
• In collaboration with the IA Senior Manager, hold and/or facilitate weekly (or bi-weekly) risk discussion meetings with the Country Director, Program Director, IA Director in each country you are assigned

People management and culture building (20%)

• Directly manages Internal Audit Associates and/or project coordinators assigned to all US country projects 
• Conduct regular check-ins with Direct Reports
• Set performance metrics and individual goals 
• Conduct performance reviews for direct reports every quarter and provide a report of the same to the IA -SM / IA-Director and CD where relevant. 
• Develop a team with a high capacity for problem solving, critical thinking, and strong analytical and communication skill.
• Conduct staff career growth needs assessments (through structured surveys, 1:1 sessions with direct reports and regular skip-level meetings with skip reports where relevant) and liaise with the country HR lead to deliver robust professional development  sessions internally and externally
• Directly responsible for hiring Internal Audit Associates and/or Coordinators in line with the project-specific workloads and resourcing needs. 
• Model ethical behavior that encourages the team to adhere to GD policies and to also report misconduct within GD staff, partners, community and recipients
• Act as the custodian of ‘Recipients First’ Value within the team by ensuring compliance to policies and protocols of GiveDirectly
• Maintain an active, visible and consistent commitment to a common standard of behavior that is required throughout every aspect of the organization as stipulated in the Code of Conduct Statement
• Manage a team that is driven by individual accountability, involving moving beyond corporate ‘rules-based’ behavior to ‘values-based’ behavior that promotes a greater focus on promoting individual integrity.
• Identify subcultures within the organization that may result in safeguarding and fraud risks to recipients
• Conduct annual training to country Programs teams on fraud mitigation requirements as outlined in GD policies
• Manage conflicts and other risks within the team and escalate where appropriate
• Promote effective team culture by encouraging recognition of positive achievements and other team-building initiatives.

Other roles (5%) 

• Where necessary, lead and /or support hiring and onboarding processes for new IA staff within the US country operation and the wider cross-country IA team 
• Work with country support teams - Human Resource, Finance, Administration to ensure your team has everything they need to perform their work.
• Assist with response to surge events (e.g. project refusal spikes, coordinated fraud within new or ongoing projects, etc.) within the US, extending the support to the program's implementation team when needed.
• Participate actively in cross-country (global) initiatives as a focal point and representative for the US Internal Audit operations to discuss cross-team activities

• Support the IA-SM and/or IA Director with tech-related fraud prevention innovations work through different inputs as may be requested from time to time
• Travel at least once annually for a cross-team retreat/colocation with other country IA managers. 
• Support the IA-SM and/or the IA-Director on utilising AI and technology to improve GD’s fraud risk management systems
• Support on non-field-based fraud management on an as-needed basis within the US operations.
• Proactively identify and flag ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of IA’s operations 

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.
• 3+ years of experience in a role focused on risk management, anti-fraud, corporate audit, compliance, project management, and/or problem-solving. Prior experience working in cash assistance or humanitarian/emergency response and compliance-related investigation role is a plus.
• Demonstrated track record of innovating in risk prevention and detection, including leveraging AI and modern digital tools to improve operational speed, scalability, and decision-making. 
• Ability to manage day-to-day operations while contributing to longer-term objectives and system improvements.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, recognizing the difference between “important” and “critical” while simultaneously building more robust, efficient systems.
• Analytical problem solving, looking at problems with an analytical and iterative mindset, with a strong framework for prioritization and the ability to put structure and process to ambiguous problems.
• Strong data analysis skills, including the ability to review large datasets, interpret results, and report out for stakeholders. Familiarity with database languages like R, SQL, or similar are a plus.
• Strong communication skills, specifically in speaking, writing, presenting, and negotiating across multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a highly independent and self-directed manner,following through on assignments 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.”
• Fluency in English, with fluency in Spanish and/or Arabic being a plus.

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 United States base salary for this role is $94,700 / annually.

Why work at GiveDirectly?

At GiveDirectly, we work to ensure that you have everything you need to excel in your role and on your team, including:

• A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement 
• A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
• A competitive salary, including bonus
• A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
• Flexible paid time off
• Allowances for desk set-up and learning and development

Read more about our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts here and about our decision to move our central support teams to remote first here.

About the hiring process

Format: 

The hiring process for all applications for this open position is as follows: 

Take-home skills assignment (~2 hours)
Panel interview (1 hour)
Final interview (1 hour)
Reference checks (30 mins each)

If there are adjustments or variations on this process, those changes will be communicated during the first interview.

Venue: We conduct interviews over Google Meet with camera on (unless communicated otherwise).

Accessibility: Closed captioning is available during all Google Meet interviews, and interviewers will also post interview questions in the chat box throughout the call. If you need assistance accessing either of these features, please let your interviewer know at the start of your interview! 

We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible application process for all of our open roles. If there are questions or concerns you have about the accessibility of our hiring process, we warmly invite you to reach out to careers@givedirectly.org. 

**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**tions or concerns you have about the accessibility of our hiring process, we warmly invite you to reach out to careers@givedirectly.org. 

Working at GiveDirectly

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

Flagging for US applicants: We invite you to "Know Your Rights" as an applicant.

Commitment to Safeguarding

As a global organization working with communities to eliminate extreme poverty, GiveDirectly takes the safeguarding of its recipients, staff, and partners seriously. To that end, GiveDirectly is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and will systematically check with previous employers about any abuse or misconduct related matters involving potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we work with, and prevent abuse to our recipients and staff.

**GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect people and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance when it comes to preventing,  reporting, or responding to any form of abuse or  exploitation.” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.**

Reasonable Accommodations

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at careers@givedirectly.org with the email subject “Accommodation Needed”. We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made to support your needs.

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