Co-Director of EA Czechia

The Association for Effective Altruism Czechia is looking for a Director to join the core organizational team. The application form is here.

Effectve Altruism Czechia

We want people to consider the aspect of the degree of positive impact on the world during their life decisions regarding the focus of their studies, work or volunteer activities. We provide a variety of support and guidance. We make available tools and analyses to help those interested to manage their resources in a way that maximises their positive impact. We seek to popularize research questions and fields that need more skills and brainpower.

Why is our mission important

Many people have versatile talent and want to make a positive impact. In order to find their fit, they need to not only know themselves well, but also make a good overview of important issues. In the association we try to create an environment where people will motivate each other in studying current issues and testing their abilities. We believe that many people, without such a space and connection to a motivated community in the country and abroad, would stay on their original more arbitrary paths or not consider any particular important options.

We see ourselves as multipliers of the positive impact of others, guides for individuals on the path to fulfilling impact work, and supporters of organizations already striving for positive impact. In our local setting, we are betting that many of the important issues to be solved are still constrained by the lack of people working on them, rather than the money allocated to do so (fundraising tends to be done by more western local associations). So we keep abreast of new technologies and research methods in order to be good guides for others in forming a kind of relevance map.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for an Executive (Co-)Director to join our core organizational team.

The candidate must have:

• A deep understanding of the philosophy of effective altruism
• Strategic thinking, good judgment, ability to make decisions under high uncertainty
• Demonstrable ability to lead people effectively, give constructive feedback and delegate
• Demonstrable ability to manage projects effectively
• Practical analytical skills (goal-setting, estimating, analysis, ability to identify opportunities and adapt to change)
• Communication skills
  • Networking and partnering
  • Conflict management
  • Understanding members‘ needs
• Excellent command of English, including writing and revising texts
• Willingness to get involved in the community

These things are a plus:

• Trade license (if working on grants, funding arrangements will be part of the agreement)
• Driving licence
• Residency in Prague

What we offer:

• The space to have a positive impact through others, to innovate and lead by example, autonomy
• Great colleagues, a motivated community and a high-trust environment with network from around the world willing to share their strategies
• Once a year, a multi-day retreat in England for local association leaders and attendance at EAG(x) conferences, including travel expenses
• Salary between 70,000 and 110,000 CZK for 1 full-time position (160 hours) per month depending on experience
• Possibility of reduced hours – minimum 0.5 FTE
• Budget for self-development

How is the work in EA Czechia specific?

The management of the association has some common features with the management of the company:

• It is necessary to set goals (the association has no prescribed agenda, there are many ways to support people in making a positive impact, you need to be able to choose what is realistic and stick to the chosen direction),
• We need a good theory of the change for what we want to achieve,
• We need good evaluation methods to measure whether the desired effect has been achieved.

Other features it has in common with community management :

• The key is to work with motivation,
• having a good estimate of the personal fit for specific people,
• being able to assign tasks in an appropriate size (the volunteer often has only a few hours),
• being able to solve problems when necessary (with the help of ombudsmen).

We emphasize well-reasoned decisions, counterfactual reasoning, and, in a given capacity, verifying results as rigorously as possible.

The core responsibilities & practical information

The Director is the final authority responsible for the entire running of the association. She acts as the central coordinating link between the Czech community of effective altruists, the global movement and the board, which co-determines the long-term direction of the organization. She coordinates with the global community at the annual retreat and monthly sharing calls, and the board also meets with the executive leadership almost monthly. More on relationships in the statutes and internal regulations.

Typical director’s responsibilities are:

• overseeing the achievement of goals, strategy implementation, development and growth
• coordinating the activities of effective altruists in the Czech Republic and around the world
• cooperation with other entities at national and international level
• responsibilities for public relations and the image of the association externally
• drafting cooperation agreements with individuals and organisations
• designing, coordinating and, where appropriate, executing key educational, research and publication projects
• responding to opportunities, new topics in the EA space and appropriately sharing or facilitating the sharing of current trends and needs of the global movement
• (optional) advising donors, foundations and nonprofit organizations on how to give effectively
• securing funding for the association from Czech or foreign donors, legal liability
• writing (or assisting with writing) grant applications for internal grants, or assisting with writing grant applications for external grants
• ensuring internal organisation – Overseeing the formalisation of responsibilities and their handover when teams change, e.g. community management, outreach, and event management

Experience with any part is an advantage. The job description can of course vary depending on what activities the Director takes on and what she decides to delegate.

In the team you will work with our COO Vojtěch Brynych, who takes care of many administrative matters and the development of the association in biosafety issues. Outside of administration, he manages the event management team. You will co-lead the association with Hana Kalivodova, who can provide e.g. philosophical expertise, strategic development of the society and project management. In other countries, the two-director model has worked very well, and Charity Entrepreneurship, for example, is a great resource on how to pull off a two-director organization well. We will especially need to complement the communication and management competencies due to leave of Jakub Sechter, our current Outreach Director who managed the marketing team.

You can see an overview of our activities from previous years in the 2022 Annual Report or the 2023 Annual Report.

Tender process:

1. By 30 November, please fill out this form as the first round of the tender.
2. During the week of 30 November to 15 December, there will be a trial run with existing members of the organising team. We will test how you approach your work, how you think about the EA Czechia’s activities or whether you communicate well. The scope of the work will be individual depending on whether or not we already know each other professionally.
   Expect the task to take no more than four hours of your time. At the same time, a knowledge test on effective altruism (in the form of an interview) will take place. Above all, we want to make sure that you are familiar with effective altruism in depth and that you are already willing to take concrete action in this new position.
3. During the week of December 16-20, a final in person interview will take place with the current members of the organizing team as well as other members of the EA Czechia. Our selection will then be approved by the grantmaker.
4. Starting date is January 1 (specific date can be agreed upon).

Any questions regarding the role should be directed to Hana Kalivodová.