Why you should (maybe) apply to the CEA University Groups Team!

jessica_mccurdy; Joris P; Jake McKinnon

The University Groups Team at CEA is hiring a University Group Coordinator! Applications close Wednesday, November 8th and we are hosting a Q&A on the role at 12pm ET on Wednesday, October 25th (call link here).

At the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), we're harnessing students' energy, intellect, and talent globally to drive transformative impact on the world's most pressing problems. On our team, you can support 150+ university EA groups including those at the world’s top universities, mentor emerging leaders, and drive impactful projects. We are seeking both junior and experienced candidates.

Rob Gledhill, the previous Head of Groups at CEA has recently been announced as the new CEO of EV UK. I (Jessica McCurdy), previously University Groups Team Lead, will replace him and Joris Pijpers will replace me. With these exciting changes, we are in need of a new member to join the University Groups Team!

I have absolutely loved working with the University Groups Team. I have gotten to work with some of the most passionate and hard-working people I know, and have seen tangible results like students I recommended going into high-impact jobs and groups flourish that I have helped start. I am also grateful for the flexibility and resources CEA gave me to create new programs and shape the space of university EA groups. This is an exciting position and I encourage you to check it out!

You can read the full role description and apply here.

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We had Chat GPT make us a TLDR below :)

Why this role?:

Massive Reach: With over 150 university EA groups, our influence spans from Stanford to the University of Hong Kong, nurturing the next wave of world changers.
Historical Impact: In surveys of the EA community, university groups were among the top two most common ways respondents entered promising existential risk reduction career paths with hundreds more engaging with effective giving and other high-impact careers.
Dynamic Growth & Exploration: From spearheading new pilot programs to enhancing existing platforms, your role is pivotal for the team.

About the Role: Dive into a multifaceted position where you'll:

Mentor and accelerate promising talent.
Enhance engagement at elite institutions like Oxford and MIT.
Contribute to innovative, scalable programs.
Strategize for high-impact outreach to create ambitious, and epistemically robust EA communities.

Who Are You?

A bridge-builder with great interpersonal skills.
A strategic executor who prioritizes for maximum impact.
A mentor, passionate about nurturing others.
A clear communicator, embodying the core values of EA.
Driven by our mission: maximizing impact.

In Return:

A chance to have a large global impact with mentorship and guidance
Competitive salary adjusted for your location (We prefer people to work from Berkeley or Oxford if possible.)
Comprehensive benefits from professional development to mental health support.
A team that thrives on being supportive, having high output, and making a genuine difference.

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21[Applications Open] CEA’s Organizer Support Program (OSP) & University Group Organizer Retreat

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Isaac Dunn6mo11

Do you have any thoughts on how should people decide between working on groups at CEA and running a group on the ground themselves?

I imagine a lot of people considering applying could be asking themselves that question, and it doesn't seem obvious to me how to decide.

jessica_mccurdy6mo24

Hi Isaac, this is a good question! I can elaborate more in the Q&A tomorrow but here are some thoughts:

Ultimatley a lot depends on your personal fit and comparative advantage. I think people should do the things they excel at. While I do think you can have a more scalable impact on the groups team, the groups team would have very little to no impact without the organizers working on the ground!

I can share some of the reasons that led me to prefer working at CEA over working on the ground:

I value having close management to help me think through my goals (both within my work and those related to more long-term professional development). I have had the benefit of working with some very experienced managers who have both taught me a lot and empowered me to grow myself through increasing levels of responsibility.
I really value learning from an established organization with efficient systems in place. It is pretty nice having most operational things handled and to have pre-existing support for things like budgeting, hiring, management, and performance reviews.
I really love the people at CEA. Don't get me wrong, I also loved the people at my uni group but /everyone/ at CEA is so caring, competent, and hardworking. It is pretty hard to match that with just students (and especially when so many of the students are just volunteers or participants with lots of competing interests)
I personally prefer working with organizers who are already excited about EA and connecting them with the broader community and opportunities. I find it a lot harder to introduce people to EA.
I like to work on building scalable systems, managing people who are full-time, and doing lots of coordination across many geographies and groups of people.
Due to my personal circumstances, I prefer to not be tied to one specific location like a single university. Working with CEA gives me a lot more flexibility (and can help me have a more normal work-life balance)

However, there are some good reasons why you might prefer to work on the ground:

I think the counterfactual impact story on the ground can be easier to see. Although we are able to make counterfactual connections for organizers, a lot of our impact happens through other people whose impact then also happens through others. Taking someone from not knowing anything about EA to transitioning into a high impact career is really fulfilling.
Working on a campus allows you to form deeper relationships with those you are working with and have more face-to-face time. Most of my work is remote and many of my coworkers work around the world let alone the organizers I work with. This works better for some people than others.
If you don't want to be a part of a bigger organization and the bureaucratic costs that come with that. I don't personally think these are that bad but we do have to be very careful about various legal and operational considerations. Sometimes things like budget approvals can feel like they are slowing you down.
Depending on your university, replaceability might be a larger consideration (ie: the difference in impact between you and the next best person on the groups team might be less than the difference in impact between the groups team and working with one uni if no one would replace you.)
Since you are working with so many people and making lots of commitments, it can be harder to rapidly shift directions.

Andreas P6mo1

I'm curious how is this opening related to the opening at CEA for a Groups Support Contractor from last month? Did that process reach fulfillment or is this new posting replacing it? https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/careers/groups-support-contractor?fbclid=IwAR3Tbrf1yqLpCBV60UAwI3FE-rM5GyncAfT4nlM0NZoNUbjPsoph9vWli3A

jessica_mccurdy6mo3

Hi Andreas,

This is a different and unrelated role (you can compare the role descriptions to see more differences)

We are currently doing work trials for candidates for the group support contractor role.