Grantmaking roles with the Animal Welfare Fund (multiple seniority levels)
About CEA
The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) stewards the movement of people putting effective altruism principles into practice to solve the world's most pressing problems. We're working to build a flourishing future by applying evidence, reason, and compassion to challenges like global poverty, animal suffering, and existential risks.
Our work centers on growing and supporting a global community of people who rigorously analyze where they can do the most good—and take action on those insights. Current strategic priorities include increasing understanding of effective altruism and its principles, growing the number of people who are motivated by EA principles to take significant action to address pressing problems, and diversifying funding sources for high-impact work.
About EA Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund
Effective Altruism Funds (EA Funds) is the grantmaking arm of CEA and aims to increase the amount of funding that is dedicated to particularly cost-effective and altruistically impactful projects across global health & development, animal welfare, long-term future and EA infrastructure. The EA Animal Welfare Fund (AWF) exists to reduce animal suffering by rigorously evaluating, funding, and catalyzing the most effective interventions for the world's most neglected animals, supporting the people and programs with the greatest potential to create lasting impact.
We fill critical gaps in the animal advocacy ecosystem by:
Identifying and supporting work across regions and species where suffering is the largest yet remains neglected
Funding promising early-stage projects and helping them get off the ground until other funders can take over
Scaling proven work that other grantmakers won't or can't fund
Pushing frontiers by actively seeking interventions to address emerging or newly recognized sources of suffering
Deploying rigorous evaluation to ensure maximum impact per dollar
Coordinating with other funders to strengthen the entire movement
Key long-term objectives we are working towards include (but are not limited to):
End the confinement of egg-laying hens in cages globally, focusing on accelerating this transition in the Global South
Improve the welfare of aquatic animals in the Global South by establishing and scaling on-farm welfare improvements
End the worst forms of death for billions of animals by making effective, humane slaughter for farmed shrimp the default standard in European and U.S. supply chains
Protect numerous and neglected species from intensive confinement systems as new forms of animal agriculture emerge
Reduce wild animal suffering at scale by validating and implementing cost-effective interventions in urban and agricultural settings
Improve farm animal welfare in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where the scale of production is the largest
You can read our 3-year grantmaking strategy here.
Since its founding in 2017, the AWF has emerged as a major funder in effective animal advocacy, distributing $24.1M across more than 362 grants. We've experienced rapid growth, raising $10M in 2025 alone – more than the previous two years combined. In 2026 we plan to raise and regrant at least $20M+, with potential to scale to ~$50M+ as funding opportunities materialize, and we expect further growth beyond 2026. This growth trajectory means your work will directly shape how tens of millions of dollars flow to the most impactful interventions for animals.
We've also built a reputation as a recognized leader in the space: Giving What We Can lists the AWF as one of only two top-recommended effective animal advocacy charities due to our high potential for impact, and in the two most recent years, AWF was recommended by Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy) staff, as the sole best giving opportunity in farmed animal welfare due to our program officer’s experience and focus on tangible impact for animals.
About the role
This role puts you at the center of decisions that could transform the lives of billions of animals. As part of AWF allocating tens of millions of dollars, in the role of a Program Officer, you'll evaluate grant opportunities, shape funding strategy, and direct resources toward interventions with the greatest potential for impact – from ending cage confinement for hens globally to establishing humane slaughter standards for farmed shrimp to protecting wild and invertebrate animals at scale.
This is a high-impact opportunity to directly shape how resources flow in the animal welfare space. Recent AWF grantees have banned caged hen production in an European country, secured welfare commitments affecting billions of shrimp, grown a cage-free supply and demand in Africa and seeded pioneering organizations working on invertebrate welfare. Your decisions will help determine which innovative projects get funded next, which proven interventions scale up, and which critical gaps in the ecosystem get filled. You will work alongside intellectually curious, experienced program officers who have deep expertise across different intervention types, and who share a profound drive to make the biggest difference they can for animals. As AWF scales from $10M to potentially $50M+, team members will have outsized opportunities to grow their responsibilities, develop new skills, and shape the fund's direction.
Key responsibilities
We're hiring 1-3 Program Officers and are open to hiring at multiple levels with increasing responsibility at each: Senior Program Associate (level 1, junior), Associate Program Officer (level 2, mid seniority), and Program Officer (level 3, senior). The core evaluation and decision-making responsibilities apply to all levels, with additional strategic and management responsibilities at higher levels.
Core responsibilities (all levels)
Core responsibilities apply to all levels and represent the core function of the Senior Program Associate (junior level). Additional responsibilities for higher levels are described below.
Grant Evaluation & Decision-Making
Investigate, evaluate and recommend grant opportunities, assessing projects for the strength of their theory of change, scale of counterfactual impact, cost-effectiveness, strengths of the team and their plans, and more
Review and engage critically with other program officers' grant recommendations
Contribute your perspective and expertise to collective decision-making
Monitoring & Evaluation
Conduct monitoring and evaluation (M&E) on your grants to inform future grant decisions
Active Grantmaking
Source high-quality grant applications based on your strategic insights and the fund's priorities
Network strategically within the animal welfare space to discover promising interventions and organizations
Grantee relationships
Build relationships with potential grantees and help them develop fundable proposals
Manage relationships with grantees, offer support and guidance to increase the impact of their work
Associate Program Officer-level additional responsibilities
Beyond the core responsibilities, the Associate Program Officer (mid seniority level) version of this role includes:
Strategic Portfolio Management
Manage a portfolio of grants within your focus areas, ensuring they collectively advance key objectives and complement each other strategically
Proactively identify funding gaps in your focus areas and create new opportunities to address them
Enhanced M&E
Draw learnings from the M&E process to inform grantmaking priorities in your focus area
People Management
Possibly manages (Senior) Program Associates
Program Officer-level additional responsibilities
Beyond all previous responsibilities, Program Officer (senior level) version of this role includes:
Strategic Leadership
Shapes strategy and priorities for major grantmaking portfolio area(s) with AWF
Represent your portfolio area(s) in strategic planning discussions and contribute to EA funds-level decision-making
Occasionally represent AWF in external fora and fundraising efforts
Additional AWF-wide responsibilities based on needs and interest (for example, M&E, active grantmaking, evaluation and other processes)
People Management
Over time, manage a team of (Senior) Program Associate(s) and/or Associate Program Officer(s)
Beyond the responsibilities at each level, you'll also have opportunities to shape AWF's direction and contribute to the broader ecosystem – whether that's providing input on new evaluation methodologies, helping build partnerships with other funders, representing AWF at conferences, or sharing your thinking through grant reports and EA Forum posts.
What we're looking for
We are interested in a wide range of backgrounds: experienced grantmakers, animal advocacy professionals (such as campaign managers, policy experts, corporate outreach specialists, or program coordinators), researchers, and junior applicants eager to build experience in grantmaking. What matters most is your analytical rigor, strategic thinking, and commitment to helping animals.
Core qualifications (all levels)
You might be a great fit for this role if you are:
Analytically rigorous, with strong experience assessing others' work and making evidence-based decisions
An effective communicator who can articulate reasoning clearly and with strong reasoning transparency
Highly organized and reliable, and able to manage multiple work streams and deadlines simultaneously
Eager to learn new methods to improve your evaluation skills and judgment
Well-networked in the animal welfare space, with connections to identify promising opportunities
Level-specific qualifications
Senior Program Associate
Knowledge: Developing knowledge of effective animal advocacy, with curiosity and capacity to learn quickly across focus areas
Strategic thinking: Able to think critically about theories of change and what constitutes effective work
Experience: Some relevant experience in animal advocacy, research, or adjacent fields; junior applicants looking to build grantmaking experience welcome
Associate Program Officer
Knowledge: Deep expertise in one or more specific focus areas (e.g., chicken welfare, invertebrate welfare, wild animal welfare)
Strategic thinking: Able to develop strategic frameworks within your focus areas and identify the most promising intervention opportunities
Experience: Track record of success in your focus area(s), whether in grantmaking, running campaigns, research, or other relevant work
Program Officer
Knowledge: Broad and deep knowledge across AWF's focus areas, with strong understanding of key priorities, opportunities, and challenges in each
Strategic thinking: Strong strategic thinker who can set direction across the fund's portfolio, manage competing priorities, and make judgment calls about where AWF can have the greatest impact
Experience: Significant experience in grantmaking or senior roles in animal advocacy, with demonstrated ability to oversee complex portfolios and manage others
Other information
This is a full-time, remote position. We prefer applicants who are able to work in time zones between US Pacific Time and CET.
Start date: As soon as possible
Reports to:
Senior Program Associate and Associate Program Officer reports toNeil Dullaghan, Program Officer, Animal Welfare Fund
Program Officer reports to Karolina Sarek, Chair, Animal Welfare Fund
Compensation
Senior Program Associate (junior level)
US: total compensation package of $90,026, comprising a base salary of $81,842, and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK: total compensation package of £54,159, comprising a base salary of £49,235, and a 10% pension contribution.
Associate Program Officer (mid seniority level)
US: total compensation package of $109,867, comprising a base salary of $99,879, and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK: total compensation package of £66,095, comprising a base salary of £60,087 and a 10% pension contribution.
Program Officer (senior level)
US: total compensation package of $131,988 comprising a base salary of $119,989 and a 10% unconditional 401k contribution.
UK: total compensation package of £79,402, comprising a base salary of £72,184 and a 10% pension contribution.
Other locations: For candidates outside the US and UK, we base compensation on our UK salary structure and adjust for the cost of employment and fixed local benefit costs to create an equivalent package
Benefits in the US/UK include private insurance, flexible work hours, a $6,000 / £5,000 annual professional development allowance, a $6,000 / £5,000 mental health support allowance, extended parental leave, ergonomic equipment, 25 days of paid vacation, and more.
This role will involve travel. Depending on the location, there are likely 4–6 trips annually, including several international trips to attend team retreats and events worldwide.
We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. We especially encourage applications from self-identified women and people of colour who are excited about contributing to our mission. The Centre for Effective Altruism is an equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, or have questions about applying, please contact jobs@centreforeffectivealtruism.org.
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If you're uncertain whether to apply, we encourage you to submit an application. You don't need to have it all figured out, including which level might be right for you. We'd rather help a great candidate find their fit than have them self-select out.
Interview plan
We expect the interview process to include the following steps, subject to minor changes:
Application
Test task 1
Short interview
Test task 2 (for Associate Program Officer and Program Officer level positions only)
Final interviews (3-4)
Reference checks