About the Role
AI development is accelerating, and the next few years may be unusually important for shaping how advanced AI systems are built and governed. Early-stage grantmaking puts you at the frontier of the field: you’ll see new research agendas, founders, and organizations before almost anyone else, e.g. a researcher with an unconventional agenda, a first-time founder with a governance idea, a small team that needs six months of runway. These land on your desk, and the grants you make are often the first decisive input that helps a promising project get off the ground and grow into something that leads to scalable impact.
You would also be joining the early stage of the fund’s own team: the future trajectory of the fund is being set now, and you’ll have a hand in building the processes, systems, and tools that will run for years.
Your primary job will still be the craft of grantmaking itself, and you’ll spend the majority of your time on it: investigating applications, forming judgments, making the case for grants, and communicating decisions. We expect a meaningful share of our best grants to be things we wouldn’t have known to solicit, so a key part of this role is to back ideas nobody thought to ask for.
You’ll work very closely with the Head of the TAIF, with short feedback loops and increasing discretion as you demonstrate your judgment. Over time, you’ll have a lot of autonomy to run your own projects and grow in the role. We’re looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who is comfortable working in an environment where not everything is settled yet and who proposes solutions without waiting to be asked. As the fund grows, we expect this role to grow with it.
Key Responsibilities
Grantmaking
Investigate and evaluate grant opportunities rigorously, assessing theories of change, team strength, expected impact, and other relevant factors
Communicate your grantmaking reasoning transparently through grant reports, feedback to applicants, and public writing
Source high-quality applications based on your strategic insights, networks, and the fund’s priorities
Ecosystem Development
Collaborate and build partnerships with other funders and organizations working in relevant areas
Manage relationships with grantees, offer support and guidance to increase the impact of their work
Act as a responsive and professional point of contact for applicants
Represent the fund at EA and AI safety community events
Contribute to the broader EA, AI safety, and longtermist communities’ thinking on funding and other strategic priorities
Contributing to Systems & Tooling
Track metrics and flag where we’re falling short of our commitments
Contribute to improvements in the grantmaking processes of Transformative AI Fund. Build and iterate on tooling (including LLM-assisted workflows) that cuts repetitive work out of evaluation, so that human judgment goes to where it matters most
What We’re Looking For
We’re interested in a wide range of backgrounds, and we expect strong candidates to show depth in some of the areas below while actively developing in others.
We’re also open to hiring someone earlier in their career that demonstrates strong early signals to grow and develop quickly with the close mentorship from the Head of the TAIF. This version of the role would sit one grade lower on the compensation band.
You might be a great fit for this role if you have:
Deep knowledge of AI safety and/or AI governance: you keep up to date on key research directions, major organizations, ongoing debates, and the people doing important work. You can navigate nuanced conversations about AI progress with people who hold a wide range of views on timelines, implications, risks, and potential solutions.
Agency: you’re proactive and take initiative where you see the gaps. That might mean reaching out to an expert to pressure-test a technical claim or understand how a proposal sits within the wider field, or approaching promising grantees to encourage them to apply. It also involves proposing improvements in our ways of working, such as our grantmaking processes.
Excellent analytical skills and judgment under time pressure: you’re comfortable weighing evidence and making decisions with incomplete information and under time pressure, while recognising which higher-stake decisions warrant more time. You can tell a weak proposal from an unfamiliar one, and back unproven ideas where the potential impact justifies the risk.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills: you’re able to represent the Transformative AI Fund and CEA professionally, and build trust with a range of stakeholders. You can articulate complex reasoning behind your decisions, and navigate sensitive conversations with applicants and grantees.
Mission and values alignment: you’re committed to achieving exceptional positive social impact and have an appreciation of effective altruism principles; deep familiarity with the EA community isn’t required. You demonstrate reasoning transparency and change your mind based on strong evidence and reasoning.
Pre-existing networks in the AI safety ecosystems: you’re well-connected in the AI safety and/or AI governance field, with connections to identify promising opportunities.
For a more junior hire: your current network may not be extensive but you’re clearly able to build them quickly.
Strong project management and organization skills: you can run a pipeline of applications at varying stages, meet deadlines reliably, and keep grantmaking processes running smoothly in a remote, high-autonomy environment.
For a more junior hire: you’re reliably organised and can hold a lot of moving parts and juggle competing priorities.
(Bonus) Relevant professional experience: direct grantmaking experience or experience in roles requiring similar judgment, e.g. investment, policy advising, or research/technical leadership roles where you’ve had to evaluate complex projects and allocate resources under uncertainty.
If you’re excited about contributing to the fund, but you’re uncertain if you’re fully qualified, we’d encourage you to apply anyway. We’d rather help a great candidate find their fit than have them self-select out.
Other Information
This is a full-time, remote position. We prefer applicants who are able to work in time zones between US Pacific Time and CET. We have an office in Oxford, UK, that you would have access to.
Start date: We’d ideally have you start in November 2026, but would consider a later start for the right candidate.
Reports to: Head of the Transformative AI Fund, Lowe Lundin
Compensation:
Associate Program Officer:
US: total compensation package of $146,595, comprising a base salary of $133,269, and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK: total compensation package of £88,192, comprising a base salary of £80,175, and a 10% pension contribution.
For candidates interested in a more junior level (Senior Program Associate):
US: total compensation package of $123,079, comprising a base salary of $111,890, and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK: total compensation package of £74,044, comprising a base salary of £67,313, and a 10% pension contribution.
For both levels:
Benefits in the US/UK include private insurance, flexible work hours, a $6,000 / £5,000 annual professional development allowance, a $6,000 / £5,000 mental health support allowance, extended parental leave, ergonomic equipment, 25 days of paid vacation, and more.
Other locations: For candidates outside the US and UK, we base compensation on our UK salary structure and adjust for the cost of employment and fixed local benefit costs to create an equivalent package.
This role will involve travel. You should expect roughly 4 to 6 trips annually to attend team retreats and other events, including several international trips.
We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. We especially encourage applications from self-identified women and people of colour who are excited about contributing to our mission. The Centre for Effective Altruism is an equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, or have any other questions about applying, please contact jobs@centreforeffectivealtruism.org.
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Evaluation Plan
We expect the interview process to include the following steps, subject to minor changes:
Application
Test task 1
Short interview
Test Task 2
Final interviews
Reference checks
(Potential) 1–2 day work trial
