If you're interested in working on existential risk, mirror life should be near the top of your list... and almost no one is working on it yet. Mirror bacteria, built from molecules with reversed chirality, could in principle evade the immune defences of essentially every plant, animal, and human on Earth, with no natural predators or established treatments to keep them in check. Its catastrophic, potentially irreversible scale with near-total neglect is highlighted really well in this 80,000 Hours podcast with James Smith (our Executive Director you would be associate to - I might be biased but I think he’s great!).
The tractable window to shape research norms and governance before the underlying capabilities mature is open right now - and this role will be essential to that work. Beyond the cause area, working as a close associate to an executive director in a fast-moving organisation is a career path 80,000 Hours flags as underrated — you build judgment and instincts faster than almost anywhere else, and at MBDF, we are such a small team you get an insight into everything going on, from the science to the policy to the underlying ops. And again, slightly biased, but this is also a great team to work with - friendly supportive value-aligned colleagues, quarterly visit weeks, top slack vibes - I have been here 6 months now and love it 🙂
Founded in 2024, the Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund (MBDF) works to advance and support the global effort to understand and address risks posed by mirror life. We fund and co-organize international conferences, workshops, public seminars, and other initiatives to foster constructive dialogue and decision-making between academic, policy, commercial, and public stakeholders.
The Executive Director's Associate is a high-trust, high-impact role for an early-to-mid career professional with exceptional potential. This role will have a front-row seat to how a mission-driven organization is led. You'll work side by side with MBDF's Executive Director (ED) as a true extension of the office, acting as a force multiplier whose core purpose is to make the ED more effective across everything they touch.
This is a generalist role with real range. A day in this role could go from drafting a briefing note on which AI companies have put in place safeguards for mirror life, to troubleshooting a last-minute logistics issue, to crafting high-stakes stakeholder communications, to preparing an agenda for the weekly All-Hands meeting and then hopping on a flight to join the ED for a stakeholder meeting. The work spans communications and writing, research and synthesis, executive and meeting support, project and task management, and the tools and workflows that keep the office running.
Much of the value you create is anticipatory. You'll develop a sharp sense of the ED's priorities, voice, and working style, then use it to get ahead of what they need: surfacing the decision a document is really asking for, flagging the risk no one has named yet, and following up on commitments so nothing falls through the cracks. You'll exercise judgment constantly about what matters, what can wait, and when to escalate, and you'll handle sensitive stakeholder dynamics and high-stakes communications with discretion.
The role rewards low ego and a bias for action in equal measure. You're as comfortable formatting a deck and chasing a signature as you are scoping a new initiative. Because MBDF is small and the field moves fast, the scope of what you own will grow as quickly as you can earn it.
For the right person, this role is a deliberate launching pad. The trust, proximity, and breadth of exposure build deep context on the organization's strategy, its stakeholder relationships, and the craft of leading a high-stakes nonprofit. This is not primarily a strategy or leadership role today., but for the right person, the trust, exposure, and responsibility it offers are a genuine foundation for growth, and there is a clear path to a more senior role over time.
You will draft a wide range of professional communications on behalf of the ED:
You will be asked to turn a question or topic into a clear, usable output:
While our Operations & Executive Coordinator handles basic admin for the ED, you will provide targeted support that keeps operations running smoothly:
As a key extension of the Executive Director, you'll keep critical work moving by having oversight on projects and helping the ED focus their time where it matters most by:
You will help the ED work more efficiently by strengthening the tools and systems that support the office:
In your first 30 daysYou've built a clear picture of the ED's priorities, voice, and working style, established yourself as a reliable and trusted presence, and come up to speed on the organization's people, workflows, and processes. You're already drafting straightforward communications on the ED's behalf and tracking follow-ups from their meetings. In your first 90 daysYou've become a true extension of the executive office. The ED is meaningfully less time-constrained, and the team reports that ED approval is no longer a bottleneck thanks to your work. You're producing written communications in the ED's voice that need little revision and go out faster, and commitments coming out of the ED's meetings are reliably tracked and driven to completion. The ED now walks into meetings, calls, and events fully prepared, because you're consistently turning questions into crisp briefing notes, one-pagers, and talking points, and the research and analysis you produce is trusted enough to directly inform organizational decisions. |
Why MBDF?
MBDF is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.
