Giving What We Can is seeking a Director of Research

By · Published December 4th, 2014

Giving What We Can is our sister organisation, and we are cross posting this job opportunity from their blog:

In just five years, Giving What We Can has grown to over 660 members in 25 countries worldwide. The community has pledged over $330m towards ending poverty. We are looking for additional hires to build on this success.

Apply to be our Director of Research

Note: applications have now closed.

The deadline for submitting applications is now Midnight GMT on Friday 12th December 2014.

As Director of Research, you would lead our efforts to find the charities most effective at alleviating extreme poverty and advise the Giving What We Can community in their donation decisions.

Specifically, you would be responsible for:

  • Determining which charities we should recommend – based both the effectiveness of the interventions the charities carry out, and how well those organisations implement them.
  • Understanding the broader landscape of top charitable interventions and organisations, in order to advise our members when deciding where to donate
  • Presenting the research in compelling ways in order to encourage people to donate to the most effective charities, both via our website and presentations.

We are a small team, so you’ll also have the opportunity to be involved in recruitment, fundraising, publishing our findings in the media, and whatever else most interests you.

Why work at Giving What We Can

  • Be at the heart of an inspiring community of people who care about others and really put their passion into practice:
    We have members all around the world, all of whom are dedicating a large part of their income to helping people in the developing world as much as they can, and supporting each other in doing so. You would be getting to know these members, answering their questions, providing support to them and helping them to help others.
  • Work with friendly and intellectual staff:
    You’d be working alongside a talented, interesting and highly motivated team.
  • Meet interesting and varied people:
    Giving What We Can shares an office with the rest of the Centre for Effective Altruism and with the Future of Humanity Institute, which is part of the University of Oxford. There are always fascinating people around, and we often hold joint seminars and training sessions, as well as many social events.
  • Be part of a fast-growing organisation and social movement:
    It’s a hugely exciting place to be, and has opportunities for swiftly increasing responsibility
  • Help the world:
    Each new member of Giving What We Can saves around 10 lives, meaning that the right person in this job could help prevent over 100 unnecessary deaths each year!

Why apply?

This role combines great potential for impact with great potential for growth and learning. In determining which charities Giving What We Can recommends, you will be influencing a rapidly expanding pool of donations, already over a million pounds each year, in order to help those in extreme poverty as much as possible. As one of the key team members of a rapidly growing small organisation, you’ll have a huge amount of responsibility, autonomy and room to grow.

If you work for Giving What We Can, you’ll be part of a focused team of intelligent, caring, enthusiastic colleagues who want to change the world, located in the centre of beautiful Oxford.

Who is suited to this role?

We’re looking for someone who cares deeply about extreme poverty and is fascinated by the question of how we can most quickly eradicate it.

You’ll need a combination of research skills honed on messy real-world problems, and clear written communication. The ideal candidate would also have excellent presentation skills and experience dealing with media in order to be able to take their research to a wide audience.

Some examples of experience that would be especially useful include: economics, journalism, graduate study (particularly in the Social Sciences or Philosophy), monitoring and evaluation in the charitable sector – though we’re interested in anyone who can demonstrate the skills.

Candidates will be selected on the following traits, and should aim to demonstrate them in their application:

  • Strong analytical skills
  • Social skills and network
  • Robust positive self-motivation
  • Having an effective altruist mindset
    • Altruism
    • Focus on effectiveness
  • Writing and verbal skills
  • Relevant experience and skills.

We would be willing to negotiate a starting salary between £19,000 and £30,000, depending on experience. Salaries are raised by £1,000 each six months conditional on good performance.

Please apply here.

Note: applications have now closed.

See other job openings at the Centre for Effective Altruism.