Chief Operating Officer
The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a leading research and field-building organization on a mission to reduce societal-scale risks from AI. Alongside our sister organization, the CAIS Action Fund, we tackle the toughest AI issues with a mix of technical, societal and policy solutions. Our work includes publishing a global statement on AI Risk signed by Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio and CEOs from the major AI labs and running a large compute cluster for global academic researchers working on AI safety research.
CAIS is seeking a strategic Chief Operating Officer (COO) to partner with the Executive Director, Dan Hendrycks, to establish and drive initiatives that will shape the future of AI safety, ensuring that our research translates into real-world impact and influences global policy on AI. The COO will have a broad scope of responsibility, focusing on strategic planning, execution, and continuous improvement to align the organization's efforts with its mission. In this role, you will provide strategic oversight for internal operations, ensuring that staffing, program management, finance, compliance, and legal functions are well-integrated and optimized for scalability. Externally, you will lead initiatives in communications, partnership development, and fundraising to expand CAIS's reach and impact.
We are looking for a senior leader with a proven track record of helping small, high-impact organizations (<50 people) achieve strategic clarity and align teams toward shared goals. The ideal candidate will bring 10+ years of leadership experience, with demonstrated success in scaling organizations, leading multiple teams, and driving operational excellence. They should possess strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills, and have a familiarity with and commitment to AI safety and risk reduction.
In this role, you will provide:
Organizational Strategy: Partner with executive leadership to define and drive organizational strategy, set clear priorities, and ensure alignment across teams. Regularly assess progress toward strategic goals, identify areas for improvement, and spearhead initiatives that advance CAIS’s mission and impact.Program and Partnership Development: Lead the development and scaling of strategic programs and partnerships by aligning organizational activities with program goals, strengthening existing relationships, and identifying new collaborative opportunities.Team Leadership and Development: Build and nurture a high-performing team by fostering a positive and collaborative culture. Oversee recruitment, training, and professional development. Provide actionable feedback through regular performance reviews, and ensure effective resource planning to support organizational growth. Operational Oversight: Partner with the Operations Manager to provide strategic oversight of organizational operations. Focus on optimizing processes, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, tracking key performance metrics, and allocating resources to maximize productivity and scalability.Fundraising and Stakeholder Engagement: Develop and execute high-level fundraising strategies to secure resources for CAIS’s growth. Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with donors, partners, and stakeholders. Collaborate with the Director of Communications to amplify CAIS’s message and visibility through impactful marketing and engagement campaigns. We're looking for someone who is great at:
Strategic Leadership and Collaboration: You are a natural leader who thrives in guiding teams toward shared goals. You collaborate effectively with program, operations, and executive teams to ensure alignment and achieve high-impact outcomes.Proactive Problem-Solving and Strategic Thinking: You are a forward-thinking and creative strategist who can anticipate challenges, tackle complex problems, and implement innovative solutions that align with organizational goals.Organizational Operations and Compliance: You bring significant experience in overseeing organizational operations, including goal-setting, project management, legal compliance, financial oversight, and process optimization to support scalability and efficiency.Program and Partnership Development: You have a proven ability to develop and scale strategic programs, identify new opportunities for collaboration, and cultivate partnerships that amplify organizational impact.Communication and Networking: You excel at building trust and forging strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders through clear, compelling communication and exceptional interpersonal skills.Attention to Detail and High Standards: You are detail-oriented, organized, and set high standards for your work, maintaining quality and focus even when managing multiple priorities. You might thrive in this for this role if you:
Are passionate about CAIS’s mission and are motivated by work that focuses on AI safety and societal impact.Enjoy setting big-picture strategic goals and have the drive to translate them into actionable, measurable outcomes.Provide strong, empathetic leadership, leading by example while mentoring and empowering teams to excel.Have a proven ability to build, develop, and inspire effective, high-performing teams.Are a self-starter who works well independently but thrives in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.Adapt quickly to fast-paced, evolving situations, staying flexible and adjusting strategies as new information emerges.Take ownership of your work, balancing short-term priorities with long-term goals, and value feedback as a tool for continuous improvement. The Center of AI Safety is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The Center for AI Safety values candidates of all backgrounds. If you find yourself excited by the position but you don't check every box in the description, we encourage you to apply anyway!
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