UPDATE: The junior research assistant and project manager position has been filled and this job posting is now closed. Thanks to everyone who applied for their interest.
The Global Catastrophic Risk Institute (GCRI) seeks to hire one or more people for research assistant and project manager roles. We aim to hire one person on a full-time basis and/or multiple people on a part-time basis.
The Global Catastrophic Risk Institute (GCRI) seeks to hire one or more people for research assistant and project manager roles. We aim to hire one person on a full-time basis and/or multiple people on a part-time basis.
This position would support GCRI across a range of research and administrative tasks. The work would be initially focused on AI projects as specified here. Additional work could be on other GCRI topics as specified here. For further information about GCRI, please see here.
This position is only available for people based in the United States who have the legal right to work in the US. No relocation is required; the employee(s) can work remotely from any location in the US.
The duration of the position is flexible. Funding for this position will last at least one year, or longer pending future fundraising. We favor candidates who are available for at least one year, though we welcome inquiries from candidates who will become unavailable later in 2020 (e.g., due to starting graduate school).
We expect that the most successful candidates will have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Candidates without a Bachelor’s degree may be considered, especially for part-time work.
Specific work activities will include:
- Work closely with the GCRI leadership team (as specified here) to ensure execution of project work, fundraising, and administration.
- Oversee daily tasking for a small core research team and a larger research network. Track progress to ensure timely completion of all tasking.
- Conduct research tasks as necessary, potentially including reviewing academic literature, developing and critiquing research ideas, and drafting and editing research papers and reports.
- Facilitate communications across the internal team and a wide range of external collaborators, including by preparing email updates and by scheduling and participating in group calls.
Project management experience is required. The experience can be via paid work or via unpaid activities such as extracurricular programs. Candidates must demonstrate an ability to track progress on multiple concurrent projects with multiple team members, and to identify tasks in need of attention from specific team members.
Additionally, candidates should have:
- A clear interest in global catastrophic risk. Preference will be given to candidates intending to pursue a career in global catastrophic risk.
- An interest in interdisciplinary research and practical problem-solving. Preference will be given to candidates with background in social science, public policy, risk analysis, and related fields. Quantitative background is desirable but not necessary. The work is unlikely to involve statistics; some work could involve quantitative risk modeling, as in this or this.
- Strong communication and remote collaboration skills, including the ability to respond promptly to email, the ability to conduct professional correspondence with senior researchers and practitioners, and the ability to write descriptions of research and edit research papers.
The position will offer:
- Salary of $35,000 to $60,000 per year for full-time work, or equivalent for part-time work, depending on education, experience, and location. Full-time employees will be eligible for benefits including health insurance. Part-time employees will be eligible for supplementary pay intended for use for benefits.
- A supportive work environment. The position will be designed to support the employee’s intellectual and professional development. GCRI prides itself in supporting early-career people in global catastrophic risk (see e.g. this, or co-authored papers here and here).
- Excellent research opportunities. The employee will be directly involved in the development of research for publication in peer-reviewed academic literature.
- Excellent networking opportunities. The employee will be responsible for communications related to GCRI’s external collaborations, including scheduling and participating in group calls. This will put the employee in direct contact with a variety of leading people in global catastrophic risk and related fields.
Prospective candidates should email their applications to Mr. Robert de Neufville, robert [at] gcrinstitute.org. The application email should include:
- For the email subject line, please write “Application for Junior Research Assistant and Project Manager Position: FIRST LAST”, with “FIRST” and “LAST” replaced by the candidate’s first and last names.
- A summary of the application in the main body of the email. Please also indicate how the candidate learned of the position.
- An attached cover letter addressing the candidate’s interest and fit for the position. Candidates should describe their project management experience and address each of the items under “Additionally, candidates should have” above. Candidates should also indicate any restrictions on when they would be available (e.g., that they could only work part-time for a specific number of hours a week or could only work until their graduate studies begin on a specific date).
- An attached resume or CV. Candidates should include link(s) to a personal webpage and/or LinkedIn profile if available; having either of these is not necessary.
- An unofficial copy of transcripts for all university studies.
- Three references, included in the main body of the email. Please include references’ names, email addresses, and professional positions (i.e., what job they hold), as well as how they know the candidate. If possible, candidates should also include as references at least one senior professional (such as a faculty advisor) and at least one person active in global catastrophic risk (preferably someone GCRI is likely to know); having either of these is not necessary.
The position is available immediately. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Prospective candidates and other interested parties are welcome to email Mr. de Neufville with any questions they have regarding this position.
GCRI is a project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs. Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, religious creed, physical disability, mental disability, age, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
