Rethink Priorities' Worldview Investigations Team is hiring a cause prioritization researcher. This role tackles research questions created by the influx of new funding and funders in the EA space, producing decision-relevant guidance for grantmakers and philanthropists.
The research questions you'll explore include:
- The issue of funding in a multipolar world with many large funders (compared to a unipolar world with CG as the major funder) — how should funders think about this?
- How can funders determine returns curves in various cause areas to assess whether work meets their bar?
- Given that funders may work with several advisory groups and many funders may support a single project, how should those groups count their impact when seeking support?
- In a world where the space is larger than any one funder can investigate, is the potential grantee now the most informed actor? If so, how should that change the way funders relate to them?
Among other things, the person in this role will help refine and extend a quantitative framework for cross-cause giving recommendations — one where the results depend, in part, on answers to the questions above. We recognize the model has various limitations and we're uncertain about many inputs, so it's important to find the cruxes and lead the work to address them.
Projects you will be working on include:
- Conducting independent research on the questions above, producing reports that grapple with the relevant complexities and uncertainties.
- Critically assessing the cross-cause model itself, identifying structural features that may bias it in one direction or another, and suggesting ways of improving it.
- Perform sensitivity tests to determine where our model's outputs are most sensitive to contested inputs.
- Design and execute research projects aimed at narrowing uncertainties about the cruxes, potentially including managing teams of contractors.
- Communicate findings clearly for non-specialist audiences, translating technical results into concrete implications for donors and fund allocations.
- Contribute to other projects as necessary, such as Rethink Priorities' AI Cognition Initiative
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Skills and Competencies:
- Strong analytical thinking: Quality of thinking and ability to communicate it effectively
- Cross-cause prioritization understanding: Familiarity with the general features of the cause prioritization landscape
- Initiative and ownership: Ability to take full ownership over projects with a high degree of initiative
- Collaboration: Effective collaboration with leadership, teammates, and contractors
- Clear communication: Ability to write accessibly for non-specialist audiences without sacrificing essential precision
- Comfort with remote work and asynchronous collaboration: Using technologies like G Suite (RP is a remote-first organization with staff in multiple time zones)
- Intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness: Willing to carefully consider ideas and comfort in explaining personal reasoning
- Resourcefulness and ability to problem-solve
Knowledge and Experience:
- Substantial background in philosophy and quantitative reasoning
- Understanding of cause prioritization landscape and effective altruism ecosystem (familiarity preferred but not required)
- Quantitative modeling experience: Experience with building or refining models for decision-making
- Research methodology: Experience producing rigorous research with clear methodology
Preferred Qualifications:
- A PhD (preferred, not required)
- Familiarity with the effective altruism ecosystem (preferred, not required)
Benefits
Compensation
- We offer annual salary between the following ranges for a full-time position, prorated for part-time work:
$75,900 USD (entry level) - $125,400 USD (senior level) pre-tax
- The exact salary will be based on the candidate’s prior relevant experience and corresponding title level, and calculated using RP’s salary algorithm.
- Compensation is not restricted to the currencies listed above.
- To ensure fairness across the entire organization, RP does not negotiate salaries.
Other Benefits
- Remote-first environment, including flexible work hours and schedule
- Comprehensive global benefits program, including statutory benefits, as required by local law, and supplemental benefits specific to a local country, as available (varies country by country)
- Generous paid time off (PTO) and unpaid leave including:
- Unlimited vacation with a minimum number of required statutory days off
- “Mandated” 3-weeks total mid- and end-year organization-wide breaks
- Unlimited (within reason) personal and sick paid and unpaid leave
- Parental leave - up to 4-9 months of a combination of paid and unpaid parental leave that can be taken prior and/or during the first 2 years after a child’s birth or adoption
- Other paid and unpaid leave (e.g., bereavement)
- Technology stipend of the equivalent of $2000 USD every 3 years that can be used to cover costs of purchasing work and office equipment
- AI tools budget of the equivalent of $40 USD monthly
- Learning opportunities, including workshops / training sessions and 10% of work time dedicated to professional and personal development
- Paid work trips, including one annual all staff Mega Team Retreat and relevant conferences
- Virtual co-working spaces, including private Rethink Priorities Focusmate group
- RP Peer Support Program for New Employees
- Other benefits as allowed on discretion of the RP Leadership
Additional Information
Role-Specific
- Work Environment and Visa Sponsorship:This role is fully remote and we are able to legally hire in many countries. In certain cases, we may be able to provide visa sponsorship to the US or UK and help candidates relocate. If you have questions about whether we can hire or provide visa sponsorship in another country and if this will influence your decision about applying, please contact careers@rethinkpriorities.org before submitting your application.
- Time Zones and Working Hours: While we welcome applicants from all time zones, you may be expected to attend meetings during working hours between UTC-8 and UTC+3 time zones, where most of our staff are based. Depending on your personal timezone, this might mean early morning or evening calls; however, you would not be required to attend calls outside of waking hours.
- Travel:Travel is not an essential requirement for this position. However, a majority of our staff travel a few times per year for conferences, team and all-staff retreats, and other work-related purposes. In most cases, travel is not mandatory, but encouraged. If, for any reason, you would prefer not to travel for work, please do not be discouraged from applying. Depending on the event, we can likely make accommodations, such as allowing virtual participation when possible.
- Language:Professional level of English language is required for all roles at Rethink Priorities.
Hiring Process-Specific
- Extension requests:We will try to accommodate extension requests that are made before the deadline and are up to three (3) days. We generally cannot accommodate extension requests made after the application deadline, or are longer than 3 days, and cannot accept late submissions to ensure fairness to other applicants.
- Application materials:All application materials must be submitted in English language; otherwise, we will not be able to evaluate your candidacy.
- Inclusivity and fairness: RP is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community for you to thrive and do your best work. Please don’t hesitate to apply for a role regardless of your age, gender identity/expression, political identity, personal preferences, physical abilities, veteran status, neurodiversity or any other background. We provide reasonable accommodations and benefits, including, for example, flexible work schedules and locations, mental health coverage through medical benefits (as available), as well as technology budgets and professional development time that can be used, for example, to purchase assistive technology or engage in job coaching.
- Accessibility: We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible hiring process. We warmly invite you to reach out to careers@rethinkpriorities.org with any questions or accessibility requests such as chat box use during interviews.
- Hiring Software:We use Pinpoint for our recruitment and hiring processes and all of the email correspondence is done via Pinpoint. We encourage you to add Pinpoint domain (@pinpoint.email) to your trusted contacts and/or check your 'spam', 'promotions' and ‘updates’ folders, if you don’t hear from us within the expected timeframe.
- Other:Visit our Career webpage if you’d like to know more about our hiring process, culture, and what working at RP is like.
About Rethink Priorities
Founded in 2018, Rethink Priorities (RP) is a think-and-do tank. Through research and action, the organization improves the lives of humans and animals—both now and in the future.
We work to identify solutions, mobilize resources, and empower our team and others to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Our team conducts rigorous research across animal welfare, climate change, global health, international development, and other important and neglected areas. Our operations experts help high-impact organizations to improve efficiency and achieve meaningful results.
RP works as all of the following:
- A consultancy doing commissioned work in response to demands from organizations doing high-impact work
- A research institute driven by research agendas we set according to our own priorities.
- A think tank aiming to inform public policy to improve the world.
- An accelerator, incubator, and base for priority projects.
Accomplishments include:
We welcome you to review our research database and our latest annual report.
Note Before Applying: Please do not include a photograph, or headshot of yourself, or any personal information that is not relevant to the role for which you’re applying (including marital status, age, identity traits, etc.). Additionally, please do not ask our staff members involved in the hiring process to meet with you – to ensure fairness, we try to minimize these interactions, and requests for meetings with the hiring committee members during the process will be declined.
Contact: Please email careers@rethinkpriorities.org if you have any questions.
