M

merilalama

Head of Operations @ Epoch AI
178 karmaJoined Working (0-5 years)
epochai.org/

Comments
6

Topic contributions
1

Good point, thank you for the flag! There's no deadline; we are accepting rolling applications, and we will close the role if and when we make a hire. I've edited the note at the bottom to reflect this.

Epoch AI is looking for an Operations Associate to help us grow and support our team. This person will manage our recruiting, onboarding, and offboarding processes, and support our staff in various other ways to help our organisation thrive. It's a great opportunity for generalists looking to contribute to a mission-driven team working on making sure AI goes well.

Salary: $60,000 to $70,000 pre-tax depending on previous experience. This role is open to full time candidates only.

Location: Remote. We are a fully remote organization, and we are able to hire in many countries.

Application: Apply here by May 15.

Suggested skills and/or requirements:

  • An operations mindset
  • Great communication skills, and comfort with open and direct communication
  • Having a low-ego, supportive mindset and being comfortable working behind the scenes.
  • Experience in similar roles or managing projects that involve logistics.
  • Deep interest in Epoch AI’s mission.

If you think you'd be a good candidate but you don't check all these boxes, please still apply!

About Epoch: Epoch is a non-profit research institute investigating the trajectory and impact of artificial intelligence for the benefit of society. We help policymakers and the public think more clearly about AI through scientific research and data. Our work informs policy-making at key government institutes and governance at leading industry AI labs.

Contact me if you have questions about the role!

Hey Robi! Yeah, I agree fiscal sponsorship can be a misleading term, since "sponsor" suggests someone who provides money. In the case of fiscal sponsorship, what the sponsor provides is tax-exempt status. I'd be somewhat reticent to use another term because this one is widely used in the nonprofit world. From Wikipedia:

Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups (...). It typically involves a fee-based contractual arrangement between a project and an established non-profit.

I do think the EA community could use a bit more clarity around what fiscal sponsorship is, though. Maybe us at RP will write some posts about this soon.

I should note also that fiscal sponsors often don't provide operational support, as RP does for Epoch and other fiscally sponsored projects. So that's not what the term "fiscal sponsorship" primarily refers to. Outside of EA, I think it's more commonly just a way for non-profit projects to accept tax-exempt donations.

Also, to be clear, QURI didn't end up using this system to distribute prizes. 

FYI, the lottery system described above as a means to distributing prizes is illegal in the US (states have a monopoly on random lotteries, unfortunately)

Basically, if a payment system involves three features together, it will likely be illegal:

  • Consideration (e.g. you need to spend money or time to be considered for the prize)
  • Chance 
  • Prize (cash or anything of value)

The typical way around this is to get rid of consideration and give an alternative means of entry, e.g. “you can also enter by emailing this email” or similar. This is why promotions often have the “no purchase necessary” language in the US. There are ways around this, but typically you need to apply for a license.

 [Credits to Abraham Rowe for catching this.]

Location: London, UK

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Skills:

  • Communications consulting (I started and still own a copywriting and communications company in Mexico City  https://www.contexto.studio/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/contextoestudio)
  • Strong generalist start-up/interpersonal/operations skills
  • Clear and persuasive writing (experience in journalism, consulting, and the publishing sector)
  • Research in the philosophy of the social sciences

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merilalama/

CV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xzjvJt-LwY_lcPKfVgo3lSQdxFt_64VO/view?usp=sharing

Email: merilalama@gmail.com

Notes

  • I'm thinking a lot about longtermism, but I'm willing to work in whatever field I can be most impactful.
  • I believe I'm a good fit for operations/communications/generalist jobs
  • Looking to switch full-time to something more impactful than my business. I don't care about glamour; I'm looking for impact.

Involvement with EA:  

  • I'm attending the Open Student Workshop on GPR at the GPI, Oxford.
  • Attended and volunteered in EAGxOxford and EAG London this year.
  • My master's dissertation is on a subject recommended by GPI's research agenda.
  • Involved with LSE's EA Student Society.
  • Received 1-1 advice from 80k.
  • AGI Safety Fundamentals Programme by EA Cambridge, 2022

Drop me a message if anything above sounds potentially useful; I will be glad to hear from you :)