Rethink Priorities is hiring (multiple jobs!)

Jason Schukraft, who wrote a guest post in April on transitioning from academia to a think-tank, kindly let me know that his company, Rethink Priorites, is currently hiring for multiple research positions (remote/anywhere, full-time or part-time). In a year with a lot of bad news, this is just a little bit of good news, and I am delighted to share it in the hope that it leads to some philosophers in need finding gainful employment.

Here is the ad:

The effective altruism movement is allocating hundreds of millions of dollars and millions of person hours each year to improve the world. Better research can dramatically improve this allocation. Rethink Priorities is a research organization aimed at uncovering the actionable insights needed to do this. We have founding values -- we care about transparency, tractability, short feedback loops, actionability, and impact assessment.

Since the beginning of 2018, we’ve:

• • Constructed cost-benefit intervention analysis for farmed animal welfare.

  • Conducted polls, surveys, and message testing to better understand how the public thinks about animal welfare. Our work has been used by the Humane Society for the United States, Mercy for Animals, the Humane League, and others.

  • Brought to light the important and neglected area of invertebrate welfare.

  • Created quantitative existential risk assessments, starting with nuclear war.

  • Analyzed the effective altruism movement through the EA Survey and the Local Groups Survey.

  • And much much more!

We’re backed by Open Philanthropy, Effective Altruism Funds, and viewers like you. We’re now looking to hire multiple part-time and full-time researchers at any level of seniority to join our existing team of ten and help us extend this great work. We’re looking to hire both generalists who could be a good fit for contributing in a variety of areas and specialists who have deep expertise in a particular important area.

 

What we need from you

• • Comfort with quickly learning how to apply research outside your field of knowledge

  • Ability to find, read, and critically apply academic research from a variety of disciplines

  • Comfort with independent, remote work (we’re a 100% remote team across four different countries and will stay 100% remote even after a COVID vaccine is widely available)

  • Ability to consistently work 20 hours or more a week (though flexibility and vacation time are provided)

 

We’d also love it if applicants had something from this list (just one thing is fine… and if you are on the fence, please err on the side of applying... even if you don’t have anything from this list we’d still be interested in hearing from you):

• • Prior research experience in ecology, biology, or zoology

  • Prior research experience in economics

  • Prior research experience in quantitative risk assessment and/or arms control

  • Prior experience as a policy analyst, in lobbying, and/or prior work in a think tank

  • Prior experience running surveys and analyzing survey data

  • Prior data analysis and/or machine learning experience in R and/or Python

  • Prior experience working in a non-profit focused on farmed animal welfare advocacy or wild animal welfare

  • Prior experience working in research at another EA or EA-aligned organization (including internships and volunteering)

 

What we’re offering

• • Opportunity to have a large impact, ensuring your research is read and taken seriously by key decision makers who influence hundreds of millions of dollars

  • Salary of $47,000 - $60,000 (USD) a year for full-time work (part-time pay is prorated), depending on experience and other factors. We set salary according to a fair and transparent algorithm and fully commit to equally paying for equal work, regardless of your demographics, negotiation skills, etc.

  • Healthcare benefits, through comprehensive insurance or reimbursement for expenses

  • A lot of input on what you work on (we agree as to what’s worthwhile as a team)

  • Flexible work hours (work on your own schedule - full-time or part-time)

  • Flexible work location (we’re currently in four different countries and welcome new additions anywhere in the world)

  • A caring team that looks out for each other, has a lot of fun, and values having a healthy life outside of work

  • Three weeks a year can be spent on whatever you want to research plus 10% of your time can be devoted to professional development / learning

  • Very low bureaucracy

  • Fast-paced publication calendar (no waiting six months to publish something)

  • Own the intellectual property of everything you create

  • 6 months fully paid parental leave and lots of paid vacation time

  • We don’t provide snacks but we could mail you a box of Oreos if you want

 

How to apply

• • Complete this application form, and be sure to include: 

    1. Your resume

    2. One sample of your best previous research work

    3. A single document containing:

       • Prompt 1: Write a brief paragraph explaining how you meet the qualifications stated above

       • Prompt 2: In no more than one page, explain one particular research question you would like to answer, why you feel like that question is important, and a rough idea of how you would go about answering it

       • Prompt 3: Read the 2017 UK YouGov / NFU Survey Results and write no more than one page about what useful takeaways and next steps there are, if any, for animal advocates, as well as what limitations there are

  • Successful applicants based on this first stage will be contacted for the remainder of the application process, which will go through a series of further stages:

    1. 30min completing a test task

    2. 60min doing a first round interview

    3. 5hrs (paid!) completing a longer test task

    4. 60min doing a final round interview

  • For fairness and to increase the ability for all people to make time for our application process, all candidates who complete the longer test task will be compensated $150 for their time.

  • We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply to this role. Rethink Priorities is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and supportive community for you to be happy and do your best work.

  • Your application must be submitted by 25 July to be considered.