Summary

• Effective Giving is a philanthropic advisory and grantmaking organization based in Amsterdam with team members across Europe, the US and Asia. We take a rigorous approach to maximizing expected impact and are one of only a handful of grantmaking organizations focused primarily on safeguarding future generations. 
• We are currently recruiting one or more Program Associates to join our Biosecurity grants program.
• This is a full-time position (though part-time work may be considered in certain cases) based in either Amsterdam, Oxford, or remotely.
• Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, with a first round of work test invitations in early December 2022. The hiring round will remain open until we have recruited at least one candidate who is an excellent fit for our team.
• Do you want to join our team as our new Biosecurity Program Associate?  Then we'd love to hear about you!

About the organisation

Effective Giving aims to help solve the world’s most pressing problems. We collaborate with ambitious philanthropists and our extensive network of independent experts to identify bold projects that have the potential to create outsized impact and make them happen.

Since 2018, Effective Giving has established proof of concept, a strong network across the global catastrophic risk community, grantee organizations and mission-aligned donors, and an international team that is now ready to scale. We allocated more than $30M in grants in 2021, primarily within the area of biosecurity. In the coming years, the organization is poised to substantially expand its team size, grant volume, and geographic reach.
 

Like all small, tight-knit organizations, we highly value our team culture and want to ensure everyone we bring on is a good fit. Everyone is here to maximize their impact and do as much as they can to safeguard the future of humanity. We work accordingly, with a flat structure and a highly collaborative work environment focused on finding the right answers to difficult challenges. Our organization emphasizes the following core values:
 

• Altruism – Love and selfless concern for the well-being of others
• Impartiality – Loving, selfless openness in who is deserving of our altruism and how they are deserving of our altruism
• Conscientiousness – Carefulness and diligence in our work and actions
• Self-Love – Loving concern for our own wellbeing

The program associate role

The Effective Giving Biosecurity Program was established early in 2021 and is now one of the largest funders of projects aiming to mitigate global catastrophic biological risks. We support a wide range of organizations and individuals in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and are particularly focused on future large-scale biological risks arising from accidentally or deliberately released pathogens, as well as naturally emerging diseases. We are now looking to increase the capacity of the team to take on increasingly ambitious projects in 2023. On that basis, we are seeking to hire one or more Program Associates to work alongside the current Program Officer, Joshua Monrad.

The Biosecurity program will work with the wider Effective Giving team to build and execute a scalable program strategy for directly influencing, at minimum, several tens of millions in yearly philanthropic capital. In addition to allocating funds to existing projects in the space, Effective Giving operates as an active funder, seeding new initiatives and collaborating on existing projects alongside our grantees. This role will involve high degrees of responsibility and autonomy from the beginning, while working closely with experienced and talented leaders across the Effective Giving team. It offers the opportunity to have a substantial and counterfactual impact on the near and long-term trajectory of the biosecurity field.

Key responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate grant biosecurity opportunities; produce written grant recommendations.
• Manage relationships with grantee organizations and work on monitoring and evaluating existing grants.
• Leverage existing biosecurity expert networks to continue developing our biosecurity grantmaking and prioritization strategy.
• Advise on the development and launch of focused large-scale projects on global catastrophic biological risks that Effective Giving is engaged with.
• Commission and evaluate research and analysis, particularly in the biosecurity policy space.
• Work with the team to optimize the grantmaking process, including developing and adopting best practices for transparency, forecasting, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Support the Program Officer on various tasks, such as writing updates for the wider team after key meetings, researching ad-hoc topics, preparing presentations, as well as formatting and copy-editing written materials.
   

Over time, Program Associates are likely to assume significant personal responsibility for one or more of these functions.

We are looking for

Experience and skills

• Demonstrated interest in biosecurity and pandemic preparedness, especially relating to global catastrophic biological risks.
• High-level understanding of the biosecurity field, including context around existing organizations and efforts. Expertise related to health security in Asia is especially desirable.
• Excellent written (English) communication. A quick, clear writer who can translate complex points into widely understandable language in both formal and informal contexts.
• Good interpersonal aptitudes, an ability to communicate with confidence and emotional intelligence, including with senior stakeholders.
• Academic or professional experience from a relevant field, such as medicine, biology, biotechnology, public health, international relations, engineering or related.
• Experience with evaluating and steering projects, e.g., from grantmaking, venture investing, or similar.
   

We don’t expect any candidates to meet all of these criteria, and we would encourage interested candidates to err on the side of applying, even if you don’t tick all the boxes.
 

Personality
 

• Comfortable with making high-stakes decisions, including on long-term strategy and grantmaking.
• Keen to take responsibility for owning and managing projects.
• Excited to work with a diverse team of people from different backgrounds
• Finds the prospect of a fast-paced job with a lot of variance exciting rather than stressful. Able to thrive in the face of uncertainty and to make robust and flexible plans.
• Team spirit and commitment to the well-being of yourself and your colleagues.
• A positive, constructive approach to giving and receiving feedback. 
• Highly mission-aligned in focusing on (expected) impact.
• Willing to take a hits-based approach to grantmaking and project development, but hyper-focused on avoiding projects that could cause outsized harm.
   

We offer

• Working closely with cutting-edge projects, organizations, and leaders in the field.
• An opportunity to directly shape a fast-growing organization with a significant impact on global biosecurity.
• Startup-style entrepreneurial culture with the ability to work on a wide range of projects and broaden existing skill sets and professional networks.
• Highly flexible working environment and location – work from one of our existing offices or work remotely as suits your location needs.
   

We’ll make sure you have:
 

• Your ideal desk setup: ergonomic budget of up to €2,000.
• Whatever you need to learn: professional development budget of up to €1,500 per year.
• Whatever you need to grow: personal development budget of up to €1,500 per year.
• Whatever you need to thrive: six sessions with a professional and personal coach
• Six weeks paid vacation, plus two-week annual office closure in December.
• Generous parental leave policy.
• 10% pension match.

Salary

Competitive and commensurate with experience; starting at €50,000

Location

Oxford (UK) / Amsterdam (Netherlands) / Remote (anywhere)

Application process

We are looking to hire one or two Program Associates for the Biosecurity team over the next two to six months. We especially welcome applications from candidates who are able to begin full-time in early 2023, but also encourage candidates looking to start at a later time to apply now.

Applications will be evaluated by several members of the Effective Giving team and the process will be as follows:

• Candidates submit an application and CV
• First round work test (1 hour, financial compensation offered)
• First round interview (online)
• Second round interview (online)
• Second round work test (8-10 hours, financial compensation offered)
• Final round interview(s) (online)
• Offer(s) extended
   

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and will send out next round of work test invitations in January 2023. The hiring round will remain open until we have recruited at least one candidate who is an excellent fit for our team.
 

Apply for the job

Do you want to join our team as our new Biosecurity Program Associate?  Then we'd love to hear about you!