Note: we are reviewing applications and moving candidates forward on a rolling basis.

About the Role

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) is seeking an experienced Director to lead EA Funds. EA Funds is an established grantmaking organization that currently operates as an independent project but is merging into CEA.

About EA Funds and CEA

Effective Altruism Funds (EA Funds) is an existing foundation that directs financial resources to particularly cost-effective and altruistically impactful projects. The platform makes funding accessible for high-impact projects and maintains specialized funds in key focus areas, managed by subject-matter experts who identify the highest-impact opportunities. EA Funds is composed of four separate funds: the EA Infrastructure Fund, the Long-term Future Fund, the Animal Welfare Fund, and the Global Health and Development Fund.

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) is an organization dedicated to building and stewarding a global community of people who are thinking carefully about the world’s most pressing problems and taking action to solve them. Our strategic priorities include growing the effective altruism community, improving the EA brand, and diversifying EA funding sources.

These organizations currently operate independently under our mutual parent company Effective Ventures, and will integrate operations under CEA as we spin out from our parent company.

We believe this merger is the best way to achieve our common goal of contributing to a radically better world. EA Funds is a natural fit for CEA’s strategy to steward the EA community and our focus on building sustainable momentum for effective altruism. EA Funds currently directs $10-$20M in funding on an annual basis, and we want to hire an ambitious leader who can scale up our giving by over 10x. Moreover, beyond the direct impact of directing more money to impactful causes, we believe that EA Funds can contribute to CEA’s core strategy on multiple dimensions:

Growing the EA community, by raising more money, making more grants to object-level and community- or field-building projects, and providing an engagement pathway for people looking to use EA principles to guide their donation decisions.
Improving the EA brand, by serving as a legible example of how EA principles can contribute to the success of the organizations and causes we support, and making grants to projects engaged in communications efforts.
Diversifying EA funding, by reaching more donors directly, and making grants to projects engaged in fundraising and donor diversification efforts.

These goals will be supported by other teams at CEA, and CEA’s leadership is committed to continuing to build organizational capacity to reach these ambitions. For example, CEA’s Communications Team will partner with EA Funds to highlight the work of grantees, and we plan to hire fundraising staff that can facilitate donations to EA Funds.

As the Director of EA Funds, you will play a pivotal role in setting the strategy and vision to create a roadmap for success in EA Funds’ next phase. You will be responsible for excellent grantmaking, fundraising, and leadership. The transition will be supported by EA Funds’ current leadership who will continue to lead EA Funds while we recruit for this position. Read more about the merger here.

This role reports to our CEO, Zach Robinson, and will be responsible for managing a team of individual fund managers.

Key Responsibilities

Transition Leadership

Create a strategy for EA Funds’ next chapter in close collaboration with fund managers and CEA’s CEO
Finish leading the integration of EA Funds into CEA's organizational structure, ensuring operational continuity and minimal disruption to grantmaking activities (responsibilities may vary based upon start date)
Develop new systems and processes within CEA to support EA Funds operations in collaboration with the CEO and COO
Note that we have a separate grants management team that handles grant logistics. The grants management team reports up to our COO and will support EA Funds.
Communicate transparently with stakeholders about changes and improvements resulting from the integration

Team Leadership

Lead the portfolio of EA Funds grant programs, increasing effectiveness and impact by designing and enforcing effective grantmaking strategies
Hire and manage fund managers with subject-matter expertise who oversee and make granting decisions within the individual fund areas
Coach EA Funds staff on their responsibilities, including strategy, grantmaking, and fundraising

Grantmaking

Directly evaluate projects on various funds while we build out the team. This is partially to address bandwidth gaps while we are hiring, and can also serve as professional development experience for a hire who does not have direct grantmaking experience.
Communicate your thinking to key stakeholders (e.g., funders, staff, the EA community) in writing, including grant reports, feedback to grantees, and EA Forum posts

Stakeholder Relations

Develop relationships with new and existing fund donors
Represent EA Funds within the broader effective altruism community
Develop strategic partnerships with other funders and organizations in aligned fields
Collaborate with grantees to understand how to build sustainable momentum for EA

Strategic Alignment

Align EA Funds' grantmaking strategies with CEA's mission and strategic priorities
Contribute to CEA's overall strategic planning and organizational development
Develop a long-term strategic plan for EA Funds that maximizes its impact and reach

What we’re looking for

Below is a list of characteristics we’re looking for; however, we also recognize we may be unlikely to find someone who fits all of these criteria. We encourage you to apply even if you aren’t sure that you’re fully qualified.

At a minimum, we want a candidate who meets at least one of the following:

Have experience in grantmaking, philanthropic leadership, or related fields (e.g. investing experience could potentially be a strong foundation)
Have experience leading and developing a senior team with ownership over that team’s strategy and execution

You might also be a good fit if you:

Have a demonstrated track record in successful change management and managing teams through organizational transitions
Have strong strategic thinking and planning abilities
Can effectively manage budgets of $10 million+
Are committed to effective altruism principles and approaches to high-impact giving. You’ve been actively involved in EA and have broad interest in principles-first EA, EA cause areas, and effective giving.
This role will be managing fund leaders across global health and development, animal welfare, global catastrophic risks, and EA infrastructure. You do not need expertise in all of these areas, but you should be excited to work on this breadth of causes.
Have excellent project management skills and can manage complex processes across teams.
Have outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal. You should be able to build relationships with diverse stakeholders and thrive in a role involving frequent back-and-forth with donors, colleagues, and external stakeholders.

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.
Start date: We’d ideally have you start as soon as possible, but would consider a later start for the right candidate.
Compensation
US: total compensation package of $181,228, comprising a base salary of $164,753, and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK (and other non-US countries): total compensation package of £107,873, comprising a base salary of £98,066 and a 10% pension contribution.
Benefits 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, unconditional 10% pension / 401k contribution, 25 days of paid vacation, and more.
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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This position was originally posted by Centre for Effective Altruism and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link below. We are not affiliated with the employer organization of this job ad or consultancy, and provide this curated listing as a service to our users.

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