Content Specialist

We’re looking for a Content Specialist* to encourage engagement with valuable online content and make the EA Forum as useful as possible for people trying to do good effectively.

Key information

• Apply here by 26 July.
  • ⚠️ Please share a link to a writing sample in the “More information” section of the application form. If you have an EA Forum profile, please also share a link in your answer to that question. See more on this below.
• Details about the role:
  • Full-time
  • Remote** or in Oxford/Boston/London/Berkeley***
  • Salary will depend on location and experience
    • Oxford: £54,600 - £67,300
    • London: £50,300 - £62,700
    • Bay Area: $99,800 - $124,400
    • Boston: $96,200 - $120,000
    • Staff wishing to work remotely from places with a lower cost of living than those listed might receive a lower offer than what's listed above.
  • We would also consider hiring for a more junior or more senior version of the position for a compelling candidate, with alteration to salary commensurate with experience.

This person will work with Lizka on content-related tasks, primarily on the EA Forum, although the position is very flexible. This could include taking on many of Lizka’s current responsibilities (she heads the moderation team, seeks out and curates content on the Forum, runs/writes the monthly EA Newsletter and the weekly Forum Digest, and works on other projects).

* The exact role title might change a bit. We’re also open to hiring for a more junior or more senior version of the position for a compelling candidate, with alteration to salary commensurate with experience.

** We require people on our team to be available 5-7 PM GMT, Monday through Friday.

*** There’s an office in Oxford that you could work from, and a coworking space in Boston with a couple of people from the Online Team. People from the Online Team and CEA are also working from other coworking spaces in London and Berkeley.

How to apply?

➡️ Apply here by 26 July.

⚠️ We’re asking for supplementary info. Please share links to the supplementary info described below in your answer to the “More information” question in the application form. The supplementary information:

1. A writing sample
   1. Aim for 200-500 words. We may not read the full writing sample. If you share a long writing sample, we very likely won’t read past the first 500 words.
   2. We’re looking for clear and informative written communication; the topic itself is not that important (e.g. it’s not important for it to be EA-related).
2. An EA Forum profile, if you have one
   1. Please also share a link to it in your answer to that question. If you have a profile on LessWrong or another online platform but not an EA Forum profile, you can share that, instead.

Overview of the application

We aim to get back to applicants within three weeks of the deadline, but we might be delayed if we get a lot of applications. We will let you know if the timeline changes.

The rest of the application process will likely consist of a trial task, a longer (paid) skill assessment, 2-3 interviews, and a (paid) work trial for top candidates. Work and time-intense parts of the application will be compensated.

Why work on content (on the Online Team at the Centre for Effective Altruism)?

We’re really excited that we’re getting ready to hire for this role, as we think it could have a very big impact.

In brief:

• The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) plays a critical role in organizing and supporting the EA network. (Read more about working at CEA here.)
• The EA Forum is a key part of that (as described in greater detail here), as are other projects this role would probably be involved in (like the EA Newsletter, which goes out to around 59,000 subscribers every month and has a ~40% open rate, and effectivealtruism.org).
• More “content” capacity (thought, skill, and time devoted to improving online content and engagement) would allow the Forum team to expand and improve our projects. There’s a lot that we could do but can’t get to right now, and a lot that we’re just not thinking of trying out. (And this is a real loss; new ideas are being shared on the Forum, people are coordinating, learning, connecting, etc. — but a lot of things that could happen don’t.)
  • This is where you come in.

About the role — responsibilities

You would have some core responsibilities as a Content Specialist, but as mentioned, the position is very flexible; we expect to shape the role around the person we hire.

Your high-level goals would be to:

• Encourage engagement with the most valuable content and resources
• Make sure that the Forum is as useful as possible for helping people to do more good

Here are some more specific responsibilities you would take on, along with example projects (in no particular order):

• Encourage engagement with important and interesting content
  • You could feature and organize content or conversations on the Forum via curation, the weekly Forum Digest (or possible topic-specific newsletters we could try), helping the rest of the Online Team shape the Forum and build new features, etc. (We’ve occasionally considered setting up vetting systems for some content or spaces — there are a lot of possibilities.) Alternatively, you might actively seek out excellent content by doing direct outreach to authors, hosting writing workshops, cross-posting pieces you find outside of the Forum, setting up dialogues or debates on important topics, running potential prizes or themed Forum events, etc. Or you might write your own content as necessary, build out and improve the Topics Wiki, and create better introductory materials on different topics (like intro sequences).
• Improve the epistemics, safety, and trust levels on the Forum
  • To do this, you might work on moderation (potentially as head moderator) for the EA Forum, where you would develop and communicate moderation policies, help people have productive conversations, improve systems, hire moderators as necessary, and more
• Help the Online Team (or the EA network, or CEA) prepare for future challenges and opportunities
  • For instance, you might actively develop models of different groups who use the Forum (via user interviews, active participation on the Forum, etc.) to better help them coordinate (and to help the rest of the Online Team understand what needs these groups might have, or how we can organize the space for them more helpfully). You might also make internal systems more efficient (or automated), keep informed on upcoming developments or maintain situational awareness in relevant areas, communicate with Forum users, etc.

In the end, what you work on would significantly depend on your interests, skills, and what you/we identify as core needs and bottlenecks.

About you — skills & fit

You don’t need to have years of experience with online forums, or with EA to be a good fit for this role. But to be a good fit for the role, it’s probably the case that:

• You’re dependable and can get things done pretty independently
• You can write clearly and well
• You have good judgement and can deal with uncertainty and disagreement
• You have a baseline of knowledge about core EA topics, and the ability to learn more when needed (this will likely involve being curious and having a growth mindset)
• You’re good at figuring out the truth when things are pretty confusing and have a strong sense for what good content looks like

If you’re not sure, please err on the side of applying!

Other information

About the role:

• This is a full-time position.
• Applicants should be able to work in time zones between US Pacific Time and GMT.
  • To work well together as a remote team, we make sure that there’s an overlapping time every day when all team members are online. So we require people on our team to generally be available for meetings 5-7 PM GMT, Monday through Friday.
• You can work remotely or in one of our shared-office locations. We’d be especially excited for you to work from Oxford, Boston, Berkeley, or London.
• We welcome applicants from overseas and we’ll sponsor visas where possible.
• We’d love you to start by early September, but this will not be a deal-breaker. Please let us know if you have questions about this.
• Salary information:
  • Salary will depend on location and experience
    • Oxford: £54,600 - £67,300
    • London: £50,300 - £62,700
    • Bay Area: $99,800 - $124,400
    • Boston: $96,200 - $120,000
  • You can find out more about our approach to compensation here.
  • We would also consider hiring for a more junior or more senior version of the position for a compelling candidate, with alteration to salary commensurate with experience. Staff wishing to work remotely from places with a lower cost of living than those listed might receive a lower offer than what's listed above.
• In the UK, our benefits include private insurance, flexible work hours, a £5,000 annual professional development allowance, a £5,000 mental health support allowance, extended parental leave, ergonomic equipment, 10% pension contribution, 25 days of paid vacation, and more. US staff benefits are commensurate.

About CEA and the application process:

• Our application process usually includes: one or more trial tasks, one or more interviews, reference checks, and a work trial for the top candidates.
• You can see CEA’s team values here, and our guiding principles here.
• We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and we encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. We especially encourage applications from self-identified women and people of color who are excited about contributing to our mission. We are 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.
• All information submitted in connection with this job opening is subject to the Effective Ventures privacy policy.