How to apply for Senior Water Researcher

About GiveWell

GiveWell is a nonprofit that researches and recommends the most cost-effective global health and development giving opportunities. It has grown from directing $1.5 million in 2010 to more than $400 million in 2025, and its grantmaking may approach or exceed $1 billion this year. This role offers direct influence over how tens of millions of dollars annually are allocated to water interventions.

About the role

The Senior Water Researcher will identify and evaluate cost-effective water interventions, with a current focus on drinking water quality through chlorination in low- and middle-income countries. The role involves managing pilot grants, analyzing new evidence, and making funding recommendations that affect global health outcomes at scale. You will help shape GiveWell's water grantmaking strategy as it expands beyond historical chlorination programs.

A typical day

A typical day might involve reviewing grant proposals from water implementing partners, analyzing cost-effectiveness data, and drafting recommendations for GiveWell's water portfolio. You could also spend time on calls with partners in African countries, updating research on chlorination or other interventions, and collaborating with other researchers on funding strategy. The role is remote, so much of the work is independent and written.

Who GiveWell is looking for

• Experience conducting rigorous research or cost-effectiveness analysis in global health, development, or water/sanitation.
• Familiarity with water quality interventions, especially chlorination (chlorine dispensers, in-line chlorination), and the evidence base for waterborne disease reduction.
• Strong quantitative skills to assess intervention impact, cost per outcome, and grantee performance.
• Ability to manage relationships with implementing partners across multiple countries and to run or evaluate pilot programs.
• Comfort working remotely and making independent judgments that direct large-scale funding.

Tips for this application

• Explicitly connect your experience to GiveWell's water grantmaking history: chlorination, chlorine dispensers, in-line chlorination, and the 2025 Request for Information that led to 18 pilot grants across six African countries.
• Demonstrate familiarity with GiveWell's cost-effectiveness framework and how it applies to water interventions. Reference specific GiveWell research or grant pages if possible.
• Quantify your past impact in funding or research decisions. For example, state the size of budgets you influenced, the number of grants you managed, or the cost per outcome you helped achieve.
• Address why you want to work at GiveWell specifically, not just in global health. Mention its open research, donation-directed model, or scale of grantmaking.
• Avoid generic nonprofit language. Use concrete examples of how you have evaluated water or health interventions and made funding recommendations.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your direct experience with water quality interventions, especially chlorination, and your understanding of the evidence for their effectiveness.', 'Your ability to conduct cost-effectiveness analysis and apply it to real funding decisions, ideally in low- and middle-income countries.', 'Your track record managing or evaluating pilot grants and working with implementing partners across different contexts.', "Your specific interest in GiveWell's approach to directing donations and your understanding of its current water portfolio and future scale."]

Research before applying

• Read GiveWell's published research on water quality interventions, including its chlorination grants and the 2025 Request for Information results.
• Review GiveWell's cost-effectiveness methodology and how it compares interventions across global health and development.
• Understand GiveWell's funding model: how it directs donations, its current grantmaking scale, and its plans to approach or exceed $1 billion this year.
• Look into the 12 implementing partners and six African countries from the 2025 RFI to understand the current water portfolio.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you assess the cost-effectiveness of a new water intervention compared to GiveWell's existing chlorination grants?
• What do you see as the biggest evidence gaps in water quality interventions, and how would you prioritize research to fill them?
• Describe a time you managed a pilot grant or program. What did you learn, and how did it change your approach?
• GiveWell's water grantmaking may expand beyond chlorination. What other water interventions would you consider, and why?
• How would you handle a situation where a grantee's results are promising but the evidence base is weak? Walk us through your decision process.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic cover letter that does not mention water, chlorination, or GiveWell's specific water grantmaking history.
• Focusing only on passion for global health without demonstrating quantitative or research skills relevant to cost-effectiveness analysis.
• Ignoring GiveWell's open research and funding model. Candidates who do not understand how GiveWell operates may seem unprepared.
• Failing to provide concrete examples of past funding decisions, grant management, or water intervention research.