Development Operations Coordinator

Development Operations Coordinator

GiveWell is a research organization that identifies and funds cost-effective giving opportunities, focusing on global health and well-being. Our work is funded by tens of thousands of donors who rely on our research to inform their giving. We've grown from directing $1.5 million in 2010 to directing nearly $400 million in 2024.

The Role

We're hiring a Development Coordinator to serve as the operational backbone of GiveWell's Philanthropy team. This person will be the engine that keeps our logistics running smoothly ensuring donors receive timely, accurate, and warm responses, and operating the systems that allow fundraisers to spend more time in front of donors. You'll be the "front door" to GiveWell for donors and prospects, managing inbound communications across our main inboxes.

In this role, you'll coordinate administrative needs across the Philanthropy team and maintain the systems and processes that support our donor relationships. You'll work closely with fundraisers, operations partners, and other internal teams to keep workflows organized, ensure logistical needs are handled reliably, and resolve inquiries with clarity and professionalism. You'll also help us evolve our team operations as we grow proactively spotting bottlenecks and implementing improvements that strengthen our ability to scale high-quality donor stewardship.

This role is ideal for someone who loves bringing order to complexity, thrives on enabling the success of others, and is energized by serving as a steady operational anchor in a fast-moving, evolving environment.

Why we're hiring this role right now: As our fundraising team expands, the volume and complexity of donor interactions have outpaced the operational support we currently have in place. We've been bridging this gap through temporary contracting, but we now need a full-time team member to provide consistent, integrated support and help build durable systems for the future. This role will allow our team to maintain high-quality donor interactions, reduce operational friction for fundraisers, and strengthen the infrastructure required to scale our donor engagement in a thoughtful, sustainable way.

About You

The strongest candidates will have at least one to three years of experience in administrative support, operations coordination, customer service, or roles involving logistical execution and stakeholder management. You don't need to have worked in philanthropy before, but you should be motivated by GiveWell's mission and excited to support donor-facing work behind the scenes.

In addition to relevant experience, we're looking for someone with the following qualities:

You excel at operational coordination. You enjoy keeping multiple workstreams moving, tracking details meticulously, and creating structure that helps teams function smoothly. You're reliable, organized, and able to juggle many tasks without dropping balls.

You thrive in environments with ambiguity. This role will evolve as our team grows. You should be comfortable with shifting scopes, changing systems, and learning new tools. You see change as an opportunity to improve processes, not a source of stress.

You communicate clearly and professionally. You can write crisp, context-appropriate responses to donors and internal partners. You should be able to communicate clearly, confidently, and without errors.

You make good judgment calls. You know when to answer something yourself and when to ask for input. You're attentive to nuance.

You collaborate well. You can easily track work with multiple stakeholders across teams, understand what you need from people, and follow up reliably. You keep others informed and close loops diligently.

You're curious about AI and operational tools. You may not have technical expertise, but you're open to experimenting with new tools and thinking about how technology may shape this work over time.

Experience with Salesforce, Asana, and customer service environments are preferred but not required.

Details

• Team: You'll report to the Senior Manager, Philanthropy.
• Compensation:
  • NYC or the San Francisco Bay Area: $96,100
  • All other U.S. locations: $87,100
• Location: GiveWell's staff work primarily remotely within the U.S. with a small number of staff in Canada and the UK. This position is eligible to work fully remotely in the U.S.
  • Offices: You are welcome but not required to work from our offices in Oakland, California or Brooklyn, NYC. We'll cover relocation expenses for candidates who wish to move to these physical office locations.
  • Flexibility: We support and encourage flexible working, including flexible hours, working remotely, and working from the office when you choose. The majority of our staff, including senior management, work flexibly in one way or another.
• Benefits: Our benefits include:
  • Fully funded health, dental, vision, and life insurance (we cover 100% of premiums within the U.S. for you and any dependents)
  • Four weeks of paid time off per year
  • 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave
  • Ergonomic home workstations or co-working space memberships
  • 403(b) retirement plan
• Travel: We strongly encourage staff members to attend quarterly whole-org and department retreats to bond with other team members and complete in-person work. We'll discuss travel obligations in more detail during late stages of the hiring process, and we'll give reasonable consideration to staff who have family or other obligations.
• Start date: We'd like a candidate to start as soon as possible after receiving an offer, but we'll offer flexibility for candidates whose personal or professional circumstances require them to moderately delay their start date.

Key Questions & Information

What does success in this role look like? Success means serving as a dependable operational anchor for the Philanthropy team. Donors who reach out to our inboxes receive timely, clear, and accurate responses that reflect GiveWell's values. Fundraisers experience minimal friction because administrative detailsscheduling, meetings, notes, project tracking, trip coordinationare handled reliably. You'll also contribute to systems improvements, spotting bottlenecks and helping the team operate more efficiently as we scale.

What does the current team look like? You'll join GiveWell's Philanthropy team, which sits within our broader Outreach function. The Philanthropy team includes frontline fundraisers responsible for donor relationships and a small operations subteam that supports those donor-facing efforts. You'll report directly to the Senior Manager, Philanthropy, and work closely with fundraisers, communications staff, and operations partners across the organization. This role does not manage others.

How is this role different from typical administrative or customer service positions? You'll be the first line of communication for many donors reaching out to GiveWellmany of whom are thoughtful, analytical, and deeply invested in our mission. This means your work requires sound judgment, clarity, and the ability to recognize when a complex question needs to be escalated. You'll also play a central role in maintaining the operational systems that allow fundraisers to focus on high-value donor work. It's a mix of inbox triage, operational coordination, project management, process improvement, and cross-team collaboration.

What are some reasons this role might not be a good fit?

• This role requires a high level of reliability and comfort with juggling many tasks at once. If you prefer predictable routines, fixed scopes, or work that rarely changes, this might feel challengingour team is evolving quickly, and the role will evolve alongside it.
• If you're drawn to GiveWell primarily for research or donor-facing advising opportunities, this role won't meet those interests.
• If you find you're more energized by analytical or strategic projects this role may not be sustainable, as we'll need you to focus more on administrative and operational work.

Why are we hiring now? We're scaling our donor outreach efforts, and as our fundraising team grows, so does the volume and complexity of donor engagement. A full-time operations-focused hire will allow us to maintain high-quality donor stewardship, reduce operational friction for fundraisers, and build durable infrastructure as our team continues to expand. We've been filling this gap temporarily with contracting support, but we're now investing in a full-time team member to create consistency,