Media Relations Associate

Role Overview

How this role supports our overall strategy:

The #1 obstacle to GiveDirectly increasing our impact is that donors still don’t know about or buy-in to direct cash transfers. This role is fundamental to solving that problem, by growing awareness of cash as an effective aid intervention and generating interest from catalytic donors.

This year, we’re focused on ensuring direct cash and GiveDirectly are gaining fast, targeted visibility and understanding among high value audiences. Two of our main tools for doing this are earned media coverage and collaborations with influencers, surrogates, thought leaders.

What this role will do:

This position will be responsible for pitching GiveDirectly programs and research to key media and thought leaders, reporting directly to the Senior Manager of Media and Strategic Communications. This person will be pitching traditional media and supporting GiveDirectly’s surrogate strategy — cultivating relationships with public intellectuals, newsletter writers, podcasters, and other content creators who can serve as credible, independent advocates for cash transfers to high-value audiences. It is a role that spans lead generation research, writing pitches, prepping spokespeople, tracking progress over time.

In addition, this person will help build the infrastructure that makes the team smarter and faster. This includes maintaining and improving internal systems and being the in-team expert on AI-powered tools and automation.

What strong candidates should spike on:

• Execution: Have high accountability to outcomes (quantitative and qualitative) while balancing attention to detail with short timelines
• Details: Deliver high-quality communications products to both internal and external stakeholders
• Narrative: Hold a high bar for what’s interesting to journalists and public audiences, never sending things that smell like “PR” or AI-generated spam
• Curiosity: Stay on top of emerging media trends and AI capabilities — always looking for a better way to achieve outcomes or improve understanding of direct cash aid through earned media.

Responsibilities

These responsibilities are a starting point; we expect them to evolve as the person in this role helps shape it:

Media Pitching & Placement

• Pitch Across All Contexts: Support media pitching and surrogate engagement across GiveDirectly's core work — rapid-response emergency cash moments, new research, and innovative programs. This includes traditional and non-traditional outlets (newsletters, podcasts, YouTubers, public intellectuals) whose audiences overlap with our donor targets.
• Build and Manage Relationships: Develop ongoing relationships with journalists, editors, producers, and thought leaders — including coordinating media visits with in-country teams.
• Track from Pitch to Placement: Work with the wider Marketing team to package GiveDirectly's work into angles that break through editorially. Keep stakeholders informed at every stage; update status and flag risks early.

Media Research and Analysis

• Reporter Research and Prospecting: Research the background of traditional and new media reporters and surrogates — especially in the prospecting phase — to ensure pitches break through and match up with their personal stakes and editorial interests.
• Donor Media Research: Conduct ongoing research on media outlets consumed by GiveDirectly’s donors and targets— gaining a deeper knowledge of each outlet’s editorial voice, content patterns, and how GD’s story best fits.
• Media Monitoring: Read key newsletters, verticals, and media sources regularly; share roundups and flag opportunities with the broader communications team; build AI tools that make this scalable and fast.

Internal Systems and Team Support

• AI and Automation: Provide deep support to the team’s AI and automation toolkit — identify ways to streamline repetitive work, stay current on emerging tools, and be able to pilot new workflows with manager guidance that make the communications team faster and smarter (Note: GiveDirectly works on Claude)
• Coverage Tracking: Log, monitor, and analyze coverage in Airtable; ensure the system is a reliable, up-to-date source of truth for media activity so senior leadership know the status of GiveDirectly's pipeline and can easily find relevant materials.
• Pipeline Management: Keep the media and outreach pipeline clean in Salesforce — making sure outlets, reporters, and prospects are in the system correctly, that leads don’t get lost or stale, and that statuses are current

Qualifications & Experience (Must Haves)

• 2-4 years of experience in communications, media, content marketing, journalism, market research, or related fields
• Compelling experience at desk research — able to make sense of opportunities and leads within an opaque industry
• Strong familiarity with traditional and non-traditional media and content creators in the United States
• Experience with AI tools for research, writing, and workflow automation
• Exceptional project management skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple workflows simultaneously
• Excellent verbal and written skills, with a focus on concise and intentional communication
• Ability to “think” like a journalist — telling a compelling story and communicating why it matters without setting off their PR alarm
• Comfort with systems and tools — Airtable and other CRMs — and a disposition toward building better workflows, not just following existing ones
• Alignment withGiveDirectly Valuesand active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.

Nice to Haves

• Familiarity with the Substack, podcast, and YouTube — especially voices in EA, tech, and finance.
• Experience in influencer campaigns and partnerships
• Familiarity with traditional and new media in European and Middle Eastern markets.
• Based in a major journalist & thought leader hub for in person meetings, e.g. NYC, SF, London, Nairobi, DC, LA, Chicago, Boston, Austin, Amsterdam, etc.

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to calculate what we believe to be competitive pay based on role, location, and cost of living. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

Unless otherwise noted, the benefits stipend may be used to cover benefits or taken as additional taxable income.

United States

• Base Salary: $74,900
• Bonus at Target Performance: 10% (~$7,490 with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount would be $8,763)
• Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $82,390+
• Annual Benefits Stipend: $21,393

United Kingdom

• Base Salary: £47,800
• Bonus at Target Performance: 10% (~£4,780 with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount would be £5,593)
• Estimated Total Compensation at Target: £52,580
• Annual Benefits Stipend: £2,760

Kenya

• Base Salary: $42,000
• Bonus at Target Performance: 10% (~$4,200, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization's current performance multiplier, this amount would be $4,914 in 2025)
• Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $46,200+

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 supportive team that works hard and cares hard
• A robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)
• Flexible paid time off that staff is encouraged to take
• Allowances for desk set-up and learning and development