About the Team

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GovAI was founded in 2016 at Yale University, as one of the first groups to focus on the policy implications of AI progress. We now operate as a 501(c)(3) think tank with offices in London and Washington, DC, as well as remote staff in various locations including San Francisco.

Over the years, GovAI's staff have produced foundational work on topics ranging from China’s growing AI ambitions to the dual-use capabilities of general-purpose AI systems. Our work has informed consequential decisions and has been published in venues ranging from Foreign Affairs to Science to War on the Rocks. Our alumni include senior policymakers, senior AI company staff, and the founders of several nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

GovAI’s mission is to help decision-makers in government and industry navigate the transition to a world with advanced AI. We host active research workstreams on topics including responsible AI development practices, risk analysis, the economics of AI, industrial policy, AI regulation, and AI progress forecasting. We produce a mixture of published outputs and bespoke analysis. In addition to our research, we also run large-scale programs to help foster AI policy talent. This includes a full-time fellowship program that attracts nearly 20,000 applications and more than 100 participants each year.

We launched our DC office last year and consider it central to our plans and ambitions for the organization. Right now, we are working to expand our presence in the city and expand our US policy research workstreams and program offerings. Our US policy research team currently consists of six researchers, but we have the ambition to grow it significantly – potentially to dozens of staff.

As DC Chief of Staff, you would help design and operationalize GovAI's DC strategy.

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Why You Might Be Interested in This Role

• You'll work at the center of GovAI's DC strategy. You'll be a thought partner to our Executive Director on what we do in DC and how, and the person who turns those plans into reality. You'll see the whole picture: research, talent, reputation, and operations.

• You'll build something from the ground up, with the backing of an established organization. Over the next few years, GovAI's DC presence could grow to dozens of people and become central to our overall impact. You'll own the operational side of that buildout and have a hand in shaping its direction, with the resources and reputation of GovAI behind you.

• You'll operate where AI policy is being decided. You'll engage with the people and organizations that matter to AI policy in DC, help shape who we bring into our orbit, and build the relationships that determine how useful GovAI can be.

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Role Description

As DC Chief of Staff, you will be both a thought partner to our Executive Director and the future Head of US Policy, and the person who makes GovAI's DC operation run. Your work will span the office, hiring, events, relationships, and the projects that fall between other people's remits. Where something in DC needs doing and sits outside anyone else's clear ownership, it will be yours to make happen or to find an owner for. The role rewards judgment more than polish on any one task, and we expect its balance to shift with the person who fills it.

Core Responsibilities:

Serving as a Strategic Partner:

• Analyze and help shape GovAI's DC strategy by acting as a thought partner to the Executive Director and (in the future) Head of US Policy, including by making recommendations to improve GovAI’s current approach to research, reputation, and talent.
• Surface, investigate, and pitch DC opportunities – collaborations, hires, partnerships, events – that GovAI should pursue.

Enabling and projecting GovAI leadership:

• Take on the work, decisions, and relationships that would otherwise land on the Executive Director or other leadership staff, so their time stays on the highest-leverage work.
• Stand in for GovAI leadership in DC where they can’t be present themselves, representing their priorities faithfully.

Building and running the DC operation:

• Make sure GovAI gets the DC office it needs and that the office is a great place to work. You will work closely with our ops team on the search and setup process. 
• Serve as the accountable party for projects that sit above any single person's domain, driving them to completion.
• Manage DC hiring rounds end to end, including the search for the Head of US Policy: sourcing, process, candidate experience, and onboarding.

Driving engagement and managing relationships:

• Handle the inbounds and relationships that arrive at GovAI's DC leadership, so nothing of value drops, and maintain a current view of our priority DC stakeholders.
• Help figure out what GovAI should be doing on DC events and convenings, working with colleagues on the research and talent sides, and test what looks worthwhile.

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Selection Criteria

We're selecting candidates who:

Are excited by our mission. You're motivated by the opportunity to use your career to help decision-makers successfully navigate the transition to a world with advanced AI systems, in line with GovAI's mission. You take seriously both the potential benefits and potential risks of advanced AI.

Have excellent judgment. This is the heart of the role. You make good high-level calls about priorities and tradeoffs, you can tell the difference between what needs the Executive Director's attention and what you can carry yourself, and you can act as a thought partner on GovAI's DC strategy. Judgment matters more here than polish on any single task.

Understand how DC and US policy work. You don't need to be a researcher, but you have a strong intuition for how the US policymaking process and key institutions operate, and for how an organization like GovAI is received by different DC audiences. You have a track record of operating effectively in DC.

Are happy to put the principal's priorities first. You're drawn to enabling and projecting a principal rather than currently focusing on building your own profile. You anticipate what's needed, take work off other people's plates, and are content to operate behind the scenes without always receiving public credit. You're not currently looking to be the policy principal yourself.

Take ownership and get things done. You own open-ended problems without waiting to be told how, including the things that fall between other people's remits, and you drive them to completion. We care more about reliable ownership than about deep operational polish, which can be built.

Build relationships, exercise discretion, and are even-handed. You build and maintain relationships across DC and represent GovAI credibly. You handle sensitive information with discretion, engage productively with people across the political spectrum, and help GovAI be received as the honest broker it aims to be.

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Salary and Location

This position is full-time and based in Washington, DC. The DC Chief of Staff will report to GovAI's Executive Director, Ben Garfinkel, and work closely with our Head of US Policy once that person is in place. We are able to sponsor US work visas.

The anticipated salary range for this role is $148,000-$205,000, depending on the successful applicant's experience. There may also be flexibility in compensation, in cases where salary considerations would prevent a candidate from accepting an offer. Please reach out to recruitment@governance.ai if compensation considerations may prevent you from applying.

We also offer competitive benefits, including a 10% 401(k) contribution; health, dental, and vision insurance; a $6,500 professional development budget; a $6,500 childcare budget; in-office meals, snacks, and drinks; and additional budgets for travel, technology, AI usage, and other expenses.

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How to Apply and What to Expect

Application Process

The selection process has three core stages: a written application; a paid work test; and interviews and reference checks.

Special Circumstances

Please contact recruitment@governance.ai if you: need a decision communicated by a particular date; require assistance with the application due to a disability; or have questions about the application process.

Addressing complex AI policy challenges requires many different skillsets and perspectives. We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds. If our mission excites you, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification listed. We will sometimes adjust our vision for roles to accommodate exceptional candidates with distinctive skill profiles. Your unique experiences and skillset might be exactly what we need.