About the Team

Our first research agenda, published in 2018, helped define and shape the nascent field of AI governance. Our team and affiliate community possess expertise in a wide variety of domains, including compute governance, US-China relations, arms race dynamics, EU policy, and AI progress forecasting.

GovAI researchers have published in top journals and conferences, including International Organization, NeurIPS, and Nature Machine Intelligence. Our alumni have gone on to research roles at top academic institutions, including the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, and top AI labs, including DeepMind and OpenAI.

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About the Role

As Talent Systems Specialist, you will report to Ryan (Director of Operations), and also work closely with Georg (Chief of Staff), Valerie (Research Manager), and others on GovAI’s talent systems and programs. Responsibilities will include:

• Project management of many of GovAI’s hiring rounds, from outreach to offers, using the systems and processes already in place. This includes quickly understanding how the existing systems work, and leveraging them to ensure that the teams responsible for candidate evaluation have the information, direction, and tools they need to succeed.

• Designing, implementing, and continuously improving the tools, systems, and processes we use in our recruiting. This includes systems for candidate identification, outreach to promising individuals, contending with the proliferation of AI-assisted applications, and running the end-to-end evaluation process. This work has high potential to directly shape our talent strategy by defining what is possible for the organisation.

• Balancing multiple concurrent workstreams, prioritising based on impact and strategic alignment. Because this role will be simultaneously coordinating hiring rounds and improving the systems on which those rounds are run, the individual will need to progress multiple objectives in parallel and quickly adapt when priorities shift.

• Collaborating with staff across GovAI to gather requirements, understand pain points, and create solutions that enhance efficiency and effectiveness across the organisation. We are particularly excited about individuals who will proactively suggest improvements to “the way we do things” and can challenge our assumptions.

• Supporting the Director of Operations in maintaining and elevating the quality and professionalism of our recruiting and people operations.

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Depending on your interests and skills, there is room for the role to grow in several directions, including:

• Internal Product Manager, owning nearly all of GovAI’s internal systems, aiming to enable all of GovAI’s programmes to rapidly scale. This could include building and managing a CRM, research repository, website, virtual course platform, research dissemination tools, and more. A key focus would be using data to evaluate and improve the impact of our programmes.

• Recruiting Lead, taking a deeper level of ownership over end-to-end talent selection. Responsibilities could include defining and scoping new roles, designing effective evaluations, coordinating internal and external stakeholders, and participating directly in candidate grading and hiring decisions. This role could also involve managing one or more direct reports on the Operations team who support hiring efforts.

• Head of People, overseeing the complete GovAI staff experience beyond recruiting and onboarding. This would include developing processes for staff to assess and optimise their performance, fostering best practices for delivering effective feedback, helping team members realise ambitious professional development goals, and further strengthening GovAI’s culture and working practices.

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Selection Criteria

At GovAI we believe there is no such thing as a perfect candidate and we don’t expect a successful hire to excel in all of the dimensions listed below. If you are hesitant to apply because you are unsure whether you are qualified or you worry your background doesn’t make you an obvious fit, we still strongly encourage you to apply.

We’re searching for candidates who are:

• Highly organised and skilled in project management. This role involves managing complex, concurrent work streams. We are looking for someone who can demonstrate highly structured work habits, confidently prioritise tasks, and take a methodical approach to maintaining order and progress.

• Proactive in identifying and driving improvements, from ideation through execution. This role should seek out opportunities to enhance our systems and processes, gather high-level guidance from senior stakeholders (e.g. GovAI leadership), and take initiative to build scalable solutions that meet the organisation's evolving needs.

• Good at working as part of a fast-moving team. GovAI is a small-but-growing organisation and most team members wear many hats. This role should be comfortable iterating, pivoting when priorities change, and ensuring their solutions can stand on their own when the team moves on to new challenges.

• Excellent communicators, both verbally and in writing. This role requires clear and prompt communication with a wide range of stakeholders, often synthesising rapid or fragmented feedback into concrete solutions.

• Adept at translating high-level goals into actionable plans, including defining project owners, setting up project plans, and overseeing their execution from start to finish.

• Driven by excellence and a commitment to producing high-quality results. Successful candidates will actively seek out opportunities to improve their skills and maximise their impact.

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Although not mandatory, the following qualities would make a candidate exceptionally promising:  

• Experience in product management, user experience, systems architecture, or data design. Strong candidates might have a good understanding of how to build solutions that address complex needs, integrate with existing processes, and remain adaptable to future requirements.

• Experience in recruiting, talent development, staff support, or people operations. Strong candidates might have experience with recruiting or designing talent search processes, or building HR/people-oriented programs and systems.

• Strong interpersonal skills and leadership abilities. It would be considered a strength if this individual could provide effective line management for junior Operations team members and ensure the Operations team as a whole receives appropriate support and guidance.

• Excited by the opportunity to use their careers to positively influence the lasting impact of artificial intelligence, in line with our organisation’s mission.

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Salary and Location

This position will be full-time, and managed by Ryan, GovAI’s Director of Operations. Our offices are located in the UK and we strongly prefer team members to be based in Oxford or London, although we are open to hiring individuals who work remotely, and Ryan is based in New York City. We are able to sponsor visas. 

This role will be compensated in line with our salary principles. As such, the salary for this role will depend on the successful applicant’s experience, but we expect the full-time range to be between £60,000 and £80,000 for candidates based in the UK. In rare cases where salary considerations would prevent a candidate from accepting an offer, there may also be some flexibility in compensation. 

Benefits associated with the role include health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible work hours, extended parental leave, ergonomic equipment, a 10% employer pension contribution, and 33 days of paid vacation (including public holidays). Based on location, the role may also offer a £5,000 annual wellbeing budget, a £1,500 annual commuting budget, and a relocation stipend.

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How to Apply‍ and What to Expect

The application process includes three stages: a written submission in the first round, a paid remote work test in the second round, and an interview in the final round. Please apply using the form linked below. 

‍We aim to fill this role as soon as possible and may begin reviewing applications before the deadline. Applications submitted earlier may be given additional consideration.

We also note that end-of-year hiring rounds have a higher risk of delays as our graders navigate competing holiday schedules. While we intend to reach a decision before the end of the year, we appreciate your patience if the final outcome is only reached in early 2025.

GovAI is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and we encourage individuals with underrepresented perspectives and backgrounds to apply. We especially encourage applications from women, gender minorities, people of colour, and people from regions other than North America and Western Europe who are excited about contributing to our mission. We are an equal opportunity employer and want to make it as easy as possible for everyone who joins our team to thrive in our workplace. 

If you need assistance with the application due to a disability, or have any other questions about applying, please email recruitment@governance.ai.

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