Work at Wild Animal Initiative

 

Hiring Manager

 

Applications closed

As of 18 January 2022, we are no longer accepting applications for this position.

This is an archived copy of the job description for your reference.

 

Basics

Job title: Hiring Manager

Department: Operations

Application period: December 20, 2021 to January 17, 2022

Earliest start date: February 28, 2022

Duration: One-year contract with the opportunity for extension if we continue to grow or if you take on other responsibilities within the organization.

Application materials:

  • A one-page resume concisely describing your educational, professional, and other relevant experiences (PDF).

  • A one-page cover letter that, together with your resume, makes a compelling case for your fitness for the position (PDF).

  • A brief response to the following question: "What are the three most important things an employer can do to reduce bias in their hiring process?"

  • Submit an application using this form.

Revision note, Jan. 14, 2022: This job posting has been revised to include the short answer question above as part of a test we are conducting on the value of requiring resumes and cover letters in our hiring applications compared to the value of requiring only responses to 1-2 short answer questions. Applications submitted prior to this revision do not need to be resubmitted and will be evaluated alongside all other applications submitted prior to this date.

 

About our mission

Wild Animal Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to understand and improve the lives of wild animals. 

Even in nature, most wild animals struggle to survive every day. Unfortunately, preserving habitats or species does not guarantee that animals themselves have good lives. At Wild Animal Initiative, we believe we have a responsibility to act to improve the well-being of wild animals, whether they live in captivity or somewhere else. 

Yet, responsible action requires sound science. There is still so much we don’t know about which animals are sentient, what their lives are like in the wild, and how we can responsibly help them. Our work supports the study of wild animal welfare by funding cutting-edge science, supporting the careers of researchers in the field, and contributing original research.

The success of our mission depends on the diversity of our team. We are looking to work with people that approach our mission as an inherently inclusive endeavor and celebrate the differences of others. We strongly encourage people of every color, religion, age, origin, class, citizenship, parental status, disability status, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender to apply. Note that we are unfortunately not able to sponsor work visas at this time and require candidates to already be eligible to work in the jurisdictions where they live or will live by the start of their employment.

Please feel free to reach out to Executive Advisor Mark Onley at mark.onley@wildanimalinitiative.org if:

  • You have any questions about our hiring process or open positions;

  • You would like to help us find excellent candidates to join our team; or

  • You are interested in working with us in a capacity not listed below (in which case, a resume and some details about your professional interests would be helpful to receive).

Thank you for considering Wild Animal Initiative as the next part of your vocational journey, we hope to hear from you!

 

Terms of employment

Location:

  • Full-time remote

  • U.S. preferred. Must be able to work with colleagues in U.S. Pacific, Central, and Eastern time zones on most days of the week. Must be able to meet with colleagues on U.K. or Central European time a few times a week.

  • Note: We are not able to sponsor work visas and are only considering applicants who are eligible to work in the country they plan to work in.

Reports to: Operations Director

Travel:

  • Potential travel within the U.S. and internationally to attend in-person staff retreats (maximum of two per year and minimum of zero)

  • As desired for professional development (e.g. attending in-person conferences or training workshops)

Salary: $44,784 to $59,136

Benefits:

  • Comprehensive health and dental insurance.

  • Four weeks of paid vacation, 12 holidays, and two weeks of sick leave.

  • A fully remote work environment that allows you to choose when and where you work.

  • A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback, collaboration, experimentation, and evidence-based innovation.

  • Opportunities for advancement as our team and programs continue their growth trajectory.

  • Note: This benefit structure is what we use for our U.S. staff and largely similar to what we offer to many non-U.S. staff, but may be different depending on the legal requirements of the country you work in.

 

Responsibilities

Position mission statement:

As Hiring Manager, you will enable WAI to improve the lives of as many wild animals as much as possible by helping us to bring excellent staff into our organization in a sustainable and equitable manner.

Supervisory responsibilities: None

Core Responsibilities:

  • Recruitment: You will manage the recruitment of new staff; identify priority positions to hire for and the technical and interpersonal qualifications they require; craft accurate and detailed job descriptions following best practices for increasing diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion; and market new job opportunities internally and on external job boards.

  • Hiring: You will manage small hiring teams of other full-time staff throughout the recruitment and hiring process; provide training in structured interviewing and bias-reducing evaluation practices; and serve as the point person and primary interviewer during the interview process. You will often conduct the first interview after a candidate passes through the initial screening and ensure everything stays on schedule through their hiring journey.

  • System design: You will implement and improve systems to optimize the efficiency of our hiring process, the accuracy of our evaluation systems, and the experience of participating candidates.

 

Qualifications

This role will require you to have the following qualifications:

  • Ability to organize and manage projects over 3-month and 6-month periods, setting realistic timelines and efficiently managing the involvement of multiple stakeholders.

  • Ability to coordinate with staff and candidates across multiple U.S. and European time zones.

  • Commitment to combating bias in the hiring process and investing in making our team more diverse and inclusive.

  • Ability to communicate with clarity and kindness over phone and video calls and write clear and well-organized emails and job materials.

  • Ability to solicit and incorporate feedback from staff and candidates and communicate changes to those who need to know.

  • Ability to effectively guide hiring discussions to identify important priorities of a role and candidate.

This role might also benefit from you having some of the following qualifications. Even if you don’t have some or all of these qualifications, you should still apply:

  • Ability to make hard decisions, especially when outcomes may be unpopular.

  • Motivated by a desire to improve the lives of wild animals.

Credentials and experience:

Note that we do not require any specific academic credentials or prior work experience for you to be considered for this position, as research shows that such requirements can diminish the quality of candidate pools by deterring individuals who would otherwise be a great fit for a role from applying.

 
 

Feel free to email mark.onley@wildanimalinitiative.org with any questions about the role or the application process.