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Take ownership of the largest AI safety research fellowship in the field and make it dramatically more ambitious. Note: This role description is a first draft. Scope, salary, and responsibilities may evolve as our plans develop over the coming weeks, and we’ll keep you in the loop about any changes if you apply. ABOUT KAIROS Kairos is a nonprofit accelerating talent into AI safety and policy. In just under two years, we’ve trained over 1000+ people through our flagship programs: - SPAR: The largest AI safety research fellowship, with 400+ mentees per round mentored by researchers from Anthropic, Redwood Research, RAND, MIT, the UK AI Security Institute, and others. - Generator Residency: In partnership with Constellation, a platform for generalist talent to pitch, build, and ship projects that build capacity and infrastructure across the AI safety ecosystem, with advisors from OpenAI, AI Futures Project, METR, and more. - Global Challenges Project: A workshop series introducing promising students to careers in AI safety and biosecurity, run several times a year across Oxford, Boston, and Berkeley. - Pathfinder Fellowship: Helping grow the global network of AI safety university groups from a few dozen to nearly 100, with $1.4M+ in funding to support their work. We see ourselves as a portfolio of highly impactful projects in a fast-evolving field. By the end of 2027, we expect to double in size and launch several new initiatives addressing critical gaps in the ecosystem. THE ROLE We’re looking for a Head of SPAR to own and grow our research mentorship program, SPAR. SPAR is a remote, part-time research program that runs twice a year, with 400+ mentees, 130+ mentors, and 2,000+ applicants per cohort. SPAR has outgrown the bandwidth currently available to it, and we want to put renewed effort into making it bigger, better, and overall more ambitious. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Own SPAR end-to-end. You’ll set the timeline, run mentor and mentee recruiting, manage project matching, overall oversee and own the whole program. Most of the team contributes to SPAR in some capacity, but you’re the one accountable for the round. - Push SPAR to be more ambitious. There are many directions we’re considering: mentor and/or mentee stipends, a third round per year, higher-touch research management, and more. It’ll be up to you to decide and lead the vision for how SPAR will grow and change. - Hire and manage research managers. The plan for a more ambitious version of SPAR likely includes bringing on more people, notably research managers. You’ll own their hiring, onboarding, and management, and likely grow this team further as the program scales. - Maintain and grow mentor relationships. You’ll cultivate relationships with researchers at top labs and orgs, recruit new mentors, and make sure existing ones have a great experience. - Improve the program’s systems. SPAR has a lot of moving parts: applications, matching, check-ins, feedback, project grants, Demo Day. You’ll work with the team to improve and grow these systems. - Contribute to Kairos beyond SPAR. As bandwidth allows, you’ll help shape org-wide strategy, weigh in on new programs, and participate in cross-cutting work. WHO YOU ARE - Experience running similar programs. We want someone who can take ownership quickly, so experience running a comparable research, fellowship, or mentorship program is a strong signal. - Deep AI safety context. SPAR sits in a specific niche, and decisions about its theory of change require a clear picture of how it fits into the broader landscape of fellowships, hubs, labs, and talent pipelines. - Mission-aligned. SPAR exists to train researchers who go on to do work with real bearing on how AI development plays out. You care about that, not just the program for its own sake. - Ambitious. You’re excited to push SPAR well past its current size and quality bar. - Highly organized. SPAR’s 400