About Urgent Action Fund
What is Urgent Action Fund?
Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism is a US-based rapid-response funder: it moves small, fast grants to women and LGBTQI+ human-rights defenders facing urgent threats — security relocations, legal defense, digital protection — often within days of a request. Founded in 1997 and operating as a 501(c)(3) from Alameda, California, it anchors a global network of sister funds (UAF-Africa, UAF Latin America and the Caribbean, UAF Asia and the Pacific) that together cover most of the world; about half of the US fund's budget flows through that collaboration. Grant-making, partnerships, programs, finance and operations are all knowledge work — the roles it hires for are directors, program officers and finance professionals.
Where will I work?
From home, anywhere in the US: the organisation describes itself plainly as a "100% remote work environment", and its current Director of Finance & Administration role is "remote within the United States" with a preference for Eastern-time overlap. Coordination with sister funds spans multiple time zones by design.
What is the Urgent Action Fund team like?
Twenty-six people organised into partnerships, programs, finance, and people & culture teams. The rest culture is structural, not aspirational: alongside the four-day week the whole organisation takes a week-long wellness pause the first week of August and closes between Christmas and New Year's, and staff earn a three-month sabbatical after five years. An honest note: an organisation this small has no meaningful review-site footprint, so we can't report a work-life-balance rating — the written policies below are what we verified, on the fund's own careers page.
Work-Life Balance
In the organisation's own words: a "4-day (36-hours) work week – Monday through Thursday", inside a "100% remote work environment". The current advert repeats it: "full time (36 hours per week in a 4-day workweek)". Every Friday off, at full pay — with salaries published (the current directorship is listed at $165,845).
Perks and Benefits
- 4-day, 36-hour week, Monday through Thursday — organisation-wide
- "100% remote work environment" across the US
- 15 days paid vacation (rising with tenure) + 20 sick days + 13 paid holidays including staff birthdays
- A week off between Christmas and New Year's AND a week-long wellness pause each August
- 100% employee medical, dental and vision coverage (50% for dependents), plus FSA/HRA and transit benefits
- 401(k) with 3% match, paid parental leave, annual wellness stipend, and a 3-month sabbatical after 5 years