Responsibilities
- Quality checking pages we publish about our work and spreadsheets that we rely on to inform our decision making
- Writing public summaries of the reasoning behind our grant decisions
- Answering defined research questions via desk research
- Summarizing results from the monitoring and evaluation reports that grantees send us
- Updating our cost-effectiveness analyses to reflect new information or analysis performed by other research staff
- Exploring ways to use AI tools to increase the efficiency and quality of our team's work
- Providing occasional project management support
Requirements
- Strong communicator: You write clearly and concisely. You are able to interface respectfully, effectively, and efficiently with people in all program areas at GiveWell and externally. You clearly communicate what you believe and why, as well as what you are uncertain about. You check in proactively when you’re unsure about something or when you notice a potential problem. You are able to translate clear, detailed write-ups about complex topics into clear and succinct public summaries.
- Analytical: You are able to make judgment calls about how to interpret and use messy data and explain your reasoning for your choices. You are sufficiently comfortable with quantitative reasoning to summarize main points and identify key details within technical content.
- Conscientious: You have meticulous attention to detail. You are highly productive and keep your work organized. You are able to carefully follow a process with many steps. You are thoughtful about how you approach your work, keeping the big picture in mind and, when appropriate, asking questions about why we do things the way we do. You perform high-quality work, with or without supervision. You are receptive to feedback. You learn from your mistakes and rarely repeat them.
- Mission-motivated: You are passionate about maximizing global well-being. GiveWell is focused on programs that aim to save lives and improve human well-being in low- and middle-income countries. You want to contribute to GiveWell’s mission and are passionate about accomplishing as much as possible with the resources available.
- Curious and versatile: You are excited to learn about a wide cross-section of our grantmaking and to work with a variety of people. You actively seek out and adopt new tools and technologies—including AI and emerging platforms—that can improve our efficiency and impact.
- At least a bachelor's degree and 1-5 years relevant experience.
Benefits
- Fully funded health, dental, vision, and life insurance (we cover 100% of premiums within the U.S. for you and any dependents)
- Four weeks of paid time off per year
- Four months of fully paid parental leave
- Ergonomic home workstations or coworking space memberships
- 403(b) retirement plan
Work Arrangement
Hybrid
Team
Structure: The research team is organized into subteams that each focus on a specific area of our grantmaking (malaria, water quality, vaccinations, etc.). The Commons team is external to these subteams; we provide shared and flexible research capacity so we can direct our effort toward the highest priority areas at a given time.
Additional Information
- We are not currently able to sponsor visas for this role.
- Every year, we host two Visit Week gatherings in our Oakland office, bringing together the entire GiveWell team. We also hold an annual retreat for our research department. We’ll expect you to attend each of those three gatherings, although we’ll offer some flexibility in the event of major conflicts or emergencies.
