Gail Hurley is an independent senior advisor on development finance. She advises nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), philanthropic foundations, think tanks, and international organizations (including the UN, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and many others). She also serves on the Global Steering Group of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Scotland, and is a member of the expert working group of the Global Public Investment Network.

From 2022 to 2023, she was director of advisory at Finance Earth. Before this, Gail worked as an independent advisor and researcher on development finance for a range of clients from the philanthropic sector, nonprofit sector, and UN. These included the Gates Foundation, UN Joint SDG Fund, UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme, and the Global Ethical Finance Initiative. She also served as a fellow with Development Initiatives in the United Kingdom between 2019 and 2021.

For almost 10 years, she was a policy specialist and advisor on development finance with the UNDP in New York. Before that, she was with the European Network on Debt and Development, an NGO in Brussels. She has also held positions at the European Volunteer Centre and the European Commission (DG Development) and has worked as an English language teacher.