Context

Founded in 2021 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Simon Institute for Longterm Governance (SI) works to support the governance of emerging technologies and existential risks, building on Herbert Simon's vision of future-proof policymaking processes. Operating at the interface of science and policy, SI synthesizes research and connects thought leaders to decision-makers.

SI’s work is focused on the UN system as a key catalyst for multilateral cooperation, which is necessary for humanity to flourish sustainably. Being embedded in international Geneva and the wider Swiss foreign policy community, SI supports Switzerland in its role as the global hub driving a scientific multilateralism focused on furthering universal values.

The Operations Associate will support SI’s mission with a broad range of activities. As SI grows, it will be increasingly important for us to put in place operational processes that allow us to expand sustainably and that enhance the team’s productivity and wellbeing. Similarly, putting on well-planned events and communicating our activities will be increasingly important for us to fulfill our goals.

The Operations Associate is a full-time, in-person position. It is one of 3-4 roles that we expect to hire for until the end of 2022. As such, it will play a key role in defining the organization’s culture and processes as we grow.

Application deadline: 21. October 2022

What this role will do

This is a dynamic role: we expect the applicant to be interested in taking the initiative in continually identifying new things that SI should be doing, and we’re excited to hear new ideas.

Therefore the following should not be taken as an exhaustive list, but should instead give a good idea of the role’s core responsibilities:

Operations (40%):

• Team executive assistance
  • Including helping team members with productivity processes, organizing travels and appointments, and assisting with emails
• Project management
• Team coordination
  • Including organizing team trips, quarterly internal team retreats and weekly coordination meetings 
• Office management
• Accounting, budgeting and financial modeling
• Salary calculation, payment infrastructure, insurance and employee benefits
• Hiring and HR, including hiring process design
• Documentation of operational processes to improve team coordination and productivity

Events (30%):

• Event planning and management
  • Including concept design, budgeting, location and food search, developing contingency plans, and partnership-building with local & international events partners
• Organizing retreats for our academic and policy networks
• Coordinating the writing of briefings for events

Communications (10%)

• Writing monthly organizational updates for select partners
• Writing a quarterly newsletter for our broader network
• Copywriting and website updates
• LinkedIn and Twitter updates

Other (10%)

• Assisting the rest of the team in developing Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems
• Contributing to models and assessments of SI’s impact
• Helping SI in our career advice to students and young professionals
• Writing updates for SI’s board and advisors
• Co-writing grant applications
• Co-running workshops and talks

What we expect

The ideal candidate will be ambitious and eager to learn and develop themselves. You will have to be willing to move to Geneva, as we do not yet have the capacity for continuous remote work. We expect you to be motivated to stay for at least 3 years while we grow into a mature organization. As SI is young, you will have to show initiative, and demonstrate transparency and good communication to resolve conflicts and differences of opinion. We value the perspectives that come from operations, events and communications work and we expect the applicant to actively contribute to SI’s strategy. 

Below is an overview of the knowledge and skills we expect the ideal candidate to have:

• Fluent English (bonus: proficient in French, B2 or above)
• Experience in operations management (especially in rapidly-growing organizations)
• Experience organizing and managing high-profile events
• Experience leading teams
• Strong ability to prioritize between different tasks based on knowledge of organizational strategy
• Strong communication and writing skills (feel free to share writing samples)
• Highly-organized: comfortable coordinating activities with a team using task management software
• Optimisation mindset: you’re always looking for ways to improve processes
• Clear-thinking and analytical
• Experience working in a rapidly-evolving environment

Desirable:

• Experience with, or knowledge of, fundraising
• Experience with, or knowledge of, impact-modelling, impact evaluation and red-teaming

These aren’t necessary conditions: as this is our first hiring round, we are not highly confident in our ability to predict the profile of the perfect candidate. We therefore encourage anyone who can handle the responsibilities listed above to apply. If you’re on the fence about whether you’re a good fit, we think you should apply! 

SI works with a global community including people and organizations across the world. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, and we encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experience to apply. We particularly encourage applications from women, citizens of low- and middle-income countries, gender minorities and people of color who are excited about contributing to our mission.

What we offer

• A dynamic environment with an ambitious co-founder team of 7 years
• An opportunity for varied personal development in an impact-focused organization
• An inclusive and feedback-rich culture with plenty of intellectual stimulation
• An office in the beautiful Maison de la Paix in Geneva’s international district
• A network from civil society, to academia, the private sector and governments
• Visa sponsorship for exceptional non-EU candidates