The Team
The GitLab Foundation is a high-performing, fully remote team that moves quickly, values curiosity, and is deeply results-oriented. We bring together diverse experience across philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and the private sector — leveraging a range of perspectives to act with rigor, empathy, and strategic clarity. Our culture is grounded in our CREDIT values and shaped by respect, humility, open debate, and a strong bias for action. This is a hands-on environment where priorities evolve, decisions move quickly, and team members are expected to take initiative without waiting for perfect clarity. We hold ourselves to high standards, operate with transparency and ownership, and are comfortable navigating ambiguity as we iterate, learn, and improve. Above all, we are united by a shared commitment to delivering meaningful, measurable impact in the lives of those we support.
About this Role
We are seeking an exceptional Senior Analyst to help take our advisory services to the next level. The Senior Analyst plays a critical role in helping clients of the GitLab Foundation make evidence-based decisions about where and how to deploy resources for optimal social impact. Reporting to the Director of Impact, this role stewards high standards of research excellence in all client deliverables, which include impact analyses and cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit models to estimate clients’ return-on-investment (ROI) on beneficiary outcomes, among other executive-ready work products. As a member of the newly established advisory services unit, this role will shape its future by contributing to methodology development and process innovation. This role will also have opportunities to support the Foundation’s broader impact modeling efforts.
Reports to the Director or Impact.
Key Responsibilities
Advisory Engagement & Delivery
- Lead and execute high-quality research and analysis across client engagements, including:
- Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit modeling to help clients estimate impact per grant or investment dollar
- Impact pathway and theory of change mapping
- Literature reviews and evidentiary quality assessments
- Key informant interviews and thematic analysis
- Targeting and benchmarking analyses
- Sensitivity and scenario analyses
- Develop compelling, executive-ready deliverables — including reports, slide decks, financial models, data visualizations, dashboards, and training materials — that translate complex analysis into clear, actionable recommendations.
- Maintain strong client relationships through regular touchpoints and responsive asynchronous communication, ensuring deliverables consistently meet client needs.
- Support engagement scoping, work planning, and project management to keep engagements on track and on budget.
- Contribute to the ongoing refinement of advisory offerings to ensure alignment with both market demand and the Foundation's mission.
Methodology Development & Process Innovation
- Collaborate closely with Impact Modeling and Measurement (IMM) colleagues to develop and continuously improve the Foundation's "rigorous yet reasonable" approach to cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, including:
- Practical alignment with current best practices in academia and industry
- Methodological frameworks for complex use cases such as systems change, advocacy, research, and non-monetary outcomes
- Help build and maintain advisory playbooks, templates, and research tools that support consistency and quality across engagements.
- Drive process improvement and efficiency by thoughtfully integrating AI tools into research, analysis, and delivery workflows.
Support Other Impact Needs of the Organization
- Contribute to the Foundation's internal impact modeling and measurement function, including developing cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit models to support the grantmaking process.
- Build practical models to estimate the impact of the Foundation's grantmaking and advisory work.
- Support philanthropic partnerships through impact modeling and the development of learning and training content, as needed.
Desired Knowledge, Skills, Experience, and Personal Attributes
- 5+ years of relevant experience in applied research or technical consulting roles.
- Experience in nonprofit, foundation, research, or social impact organizations.
- Excellent critical thinking skills and intellectual curiosity.
- Strong quantitative and qualitative research expertise in the social sciences. Experience with impact evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analyses, or welfare analysis preferred.
- Rigorous coursework or equivalent experience in econometrics, statistics, or causal inference.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and experience with statistical software such as R, Stata, or similar.
- Experience with data visualization tools (Tableau or PowerBI) is a plus.
- Ability to conduct research and analysis independently while collaborating with senior leadership, cross-functional teams, and external partners (e.g., grantees or evaluators).
- Organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
- High emotional intelligence, humility, and commitment to continuous improvement, modeling the Foundation’s CREDIT values in all interactions