This is an expression of interest, rather than a role we've formally opened. We will assess applications on a rolling basis, using the process described here. Because we aren't actively focused on hiring for this role, we will tend to have a higher bar for inviting you to the next stage of the process.
Nonetheless, we want to make the first step easy, and we recommend that you apply even if you aren't sure you're a good fit.
This role aims to support and strengthen good epistemics (thinking and reasoning in a way that helps you find and maintain accurate beliefs) in the effective altruism community.
One of the most important things about the EA community is our ability to reason carefully about how we can help others. If this goes well, we could have substantially more impact than we would otherwise. It's possible that the quality of the community's epistemics could be more important than its ultimate scale.
On the other hand, one way that the EA community could fail to live up to its potential is if the quality of our reasoning and thinking declines or fails to improve.
In this role, you'll focus on improving epistemics in "mainstream" EA. That is, you will help to promote and cultivate good thinking and reasoning throughout the community, rather than helping a few people develop extreme skill in this area (e.g. superforecaster training).
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Responsibilities
- Come up with projects to test and iterate on our theory of change for improving epistemics in the EA community
- Plan and implement the most promising projects in this space
- Track whether projects are working; iterate and improve on them
- Develop and maintain a good understanding of key aspects of community epistemics
Examples of past projects we have conducted or considered in this area
- "EA Librarian" project: Create a space where people can ask questions and get answers from relative experts. The aim is to encourage newer members of the EA community to ask more questions, and for more experienced members to share their models and reasoning methods, as well as high-quality resources.
- Conduct interviews with community members to learn how people develop and improve their epistemics, and present those lessons in blog posts or podcasts.
- Develop a coaching program to help people improve their reasoning.
- Work with EA Forum staff on ways to promote good epistemics in discussions there, such as by encouraging people to post predictions more often.
Required skills/experience
- Knowledgeable and thoughtful about key aspects of good epistemics on an individual and a community level
- Excited to develop and run new programs, even when you're unsure what they should look like or whether they'll succeed
- Possessing a deep understanding of effective altruism
- Highly motivated to improve community epistemics
Desired skills/experience
- Ability to communicate your thoughts clearly
- Experience in measuring the impact of projects
- Experience in teaching, mentorship, and/or coaching
- Patience and kindness when working with people who are newer to EA
- Sensitivity about what will cause the community to be receptive to these ideas; good at communicating the ideas in a way that appeals to a wide range of people.
If you have management experience or the skills to become a good manager, you might have the chance to manage the community health team after our current interim manager transitions to a new role.
Coworkers
Nicole Ross currently leads this area of work.
This role has a lot of flexibility depending on your level of experience, understanding, and initial performance. On one end of the spectrum, you might end up as a more senior staff member who would work collaboratively with Nicole and/or eventually take over this area; at the other end, you might end up as a more junior staff member who would be focused on implementing and iterating on projects, under Nicole's supervision.