About Special Projects
The Special Projects program launched in mid-2022 to support activities outside of RP’s core research agenda. A lot of these projects require complex operational support. RP’s Operations department is focused on ensuring RP's day-to-day functioning, and often these special projects require additional capacity beyond what the RP Operations department has, or exploration of novel areas that are outside the purview of the Operations department.
Although we expect Special Projects staff to primarily focus on operations activities, including Finance and People and Culture functions, the role extends beyond day-to-day operational tasks. We're excited for the team to engage in activities such as developing budgets, writing business plans for entrepreneurial projects, discussing fundraising strategies, liaising with stakeholders, researching legal and operational issues, scouting for talent, helping run prizes or requests for proposals, and serving as a thought partner to project leaders.
Special Projects Associates and Coordinators typically support 3-6 projects focused on research towards the development of safe and aligned AI systems, and may also support other projects or initiatives that arise during the contract period. The Special Projects team plans to fiscally sponsor, incubate, or otherwise host several such projects over the next few years.
Roles on this team would liaise between the RP Operations department and Special Project staff. You can see the current team members and read about them here.
Since the Special Projects program launched, we’ve had the opportunity to support a range of initiatives. Some highlights include:
- Supported the launch of Epoch and Apollo Research, two AI research orgs
- Provided fiscal sponsorship for Consultants for Impact, a networking org helping high-impact professionals take steps to making the world a better place.
- Incubated and prototyped Vista Institute for AI Policy, a field-building and talent development org working on the overlap between AI and the law.
Key Responsibilities
Special Projects (SP) Associates/Coordinators serve as the main point of contact for their projects and liaise with members of the Rethink Priorities (RP) Operations department, helping ensure projects’ operational success. Specific responsibilities may include:
- Serving as the operations lead for their portfolio of projects and completing operations tasks as needed to ensure the success of those projects - Expected responsibilities include conducting onboarding and offboarding for project employees, coordinating contracting and invoicing, updating and monitoring budgets, coordinating with specialized Finance team members, applying a good understanding of nonprofit compliance, researching legal/operational issues, supporting hiring rounds, organizing events, and more, depending on the specific needs of the projects.
- Acting as the primary point of contact for operational issues, building strong relationships with project directors and staff, and advising on operational matters for projects in a scaling phase.
- Completing project management tasks for projects.
- Proactively addressing issues and offering potential solutions, balancing compliance requirements with each project’s needs and preferences
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Experience in project management or supporting organizational operations
- Experience in generalist operations skills, such as finance, HR, and related skills
- Strong operational mindset with the ability to identify issues, manage multiple fast-moving priorities, and execute solutions efficiently.
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Interest in supporting initiatives to reduce risks posed by advanced AI systems
- Comfortable with independent, remote work (the Special Projects Team is a 100% remote team across multiple countries)
- (Desirable) Experience with US non-profit finance and compliance
- (Desirable) Experience in financial planning and budget oversight
- (Desirable) Ability to travel - some travel may be required to support project-specific activities
What We Offer
Compensation
- The annual salary for this position will be $55,000 USD - $70,000 USD pre-tax or equivalent in GBP depending on level and experience.
- To ensure fairness across the entire organization, RP does not negotiate salaries.
Other Benefits
- Opportunity to contribute to a high-impact organization - our research is used by key decision makers who influence the distribution of hundreds of millions of charitable dollars.
- Flexible work hours and location.
- Comprehensive global benefits package (while this varies by country, we make every effort to ensure that our benefits package is equitable and high-quality for all staff).
- Generous paid time off (PTO) leave and unpaid leave, including:- “Mandated” 3-week total mid- and end-year organization-wide breaks
- Unlimited (within reason) personal and sick paid and unpaid leave
- Parental leave - up to 4 months of paid and up to an additional 5 months unpaid parental leave that can be taken prior to and/or during the first 2 years after a child’s birth or adoption
- Other paid and unpaid leave (e.g., bereavement)
- A caring team that values respectful work relations and a healthy work-life balance.
- Opportunities to engage in professional development.
- Low administrative bureaucracy.
- We don’t provide snacks, but we could mail you a box of Oreos if you want!
Additional Information
Role-Specific
- Time Zones and Working Hours: While we welcome applicants from all time zones in the US and UK, this role will likely be best suited for someone based in the UK or the US East Coast, as those time zones overlap most closely with the majority of our staff (UTC-8 to UTC+2). Applicants from the Central US or West Coast are also encouraged to apply, though please note this may require an earlier morning schedule to accommodate meetings. In all cases, you would not be expected to attend calls outside of reasonable waking hours.
- Travel: Please note that international travel, and at least for a length of one week for our annual organization-wide retreat, is an essential requirement for this position. We ask that you only apply if you are able to meet the travel requirements for this position.
- Language: Professional level of English language is required for all roles at Rethink Priorities.
Hiring Process-Specific
- Application materials: All application materials must be submitted in English language; otherwise, we will not be able to evaluate your candidacy.
- Inclusivity and fairness: RP is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community for you to thrive and do your best work. Please don’t hesitate to apply for a role regardless of your age, gender identity/expression, political identity, personal preferences, physical abilities, veteran status, neurodiversity or any other background. We provide reasonable accommodations and benefits, including, for example, flexible work schedules and locations, mental health coverage through medical benefits (as available), as well as technology budgets and professional development time that can be used, for example, to purchase assistive technology or engage in job coaching.
- Accessibility: We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible hiring process. We warmly invite you to reach out to
[email protected] with any questions or accessibility requests such as chat box use during interviews.
- Hiring Software: We use Pinpoint for our recruitment and hiring processes and all of the email correspondence is done via Pinpoint. We encourage you to add Pinpoint domain (@pinpoint.email) to your trusted contacts and/or check your 'spam', 'promotions' and ‘updates’ folders, if you don’t hear from us within the expected timeframe.
- Other: Visit our Career webpage if you’d like to know more about our hiring process, culture, and what working at RP is like.
About Rethink Priorities
Founded in 2018, Rethink Priorities (RP) is a think-and-do tank. Through research and action, the organization improves the lives of humans and animals—both now and in the future.
We work to identify solutions, mobilize resources, and empower our team and others to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Our team conducts rigorous research across animal welfare, climate change, global health, international development, and other important and neglected areas. Our operations experts help high-impact organizations to improve efficiency and achieve meaningful results.
RP works as all of the following:
- A consultancy doing commissioned work in response to demands from organizations doing high-impact work
- A research institute driven by research agendas we set according to our own priorities.
- A think tank aiming to inform public policy to improve the world.
- An accelerator, incubator, and base for priority projects.
Accomplishments include:
- Bringing attention to neglected issues, such as lead exposure, fungal diseases, and shrimp welfare.
- Increasing the collective impact of advocates across each field in which we work through strategic coordination.
- Investigating potential interventions and identifying the most cost-effective options. In 2025, our research influenced tens of millions of dollars in foundation grants.
- Creating practical tools for philanthropists to compare resource allocations across different species and cause areas and to build giving portfolios despite uncertainties.
- Providing organizations with data to inform their decisions. For example, we have conducted surveys on perceptions of existential risks, AI, effective giving, and other topics.
- Providing fiscal sponsorship and operational support to ensure that high-impact initiatives in areas like AI safety and animal welfare can launch and grow effectively.
We welcome you to review our research database and our latest annual report.