Director, Research & Origination

The mission of Renaissance Philanthropy is to fuel a 21st century renaissance by increasing the ambition of philanthropists, scientists, and innovators.

Our aim is to activate a virtuous loop of increasing ambition and impact between philanthropists and innovators: by identifying frontier experts both in science and in new ways of solving problems; by tapping into the growing number of emerging philanthropists; and by building multi-sector initiatives that can harness the power of philanthropy, markets, and governments.

We advance our mission by advising philanthropists, surfacing breakthrough ideas, and incubating ambitious initiatives. Read more about our philanthropic fund model here.

Role and Responsibilities

The Fund Ecosystem program strengthens the broader ecosystem of thesis-driven philanthropic funds. We do two things: evaluate existing opportunities and recommend grants to the philanthropists and foundations we advise, and start new funds and initiatives where we see a clear gap. Across both, we want to move the philanthropic ecosystem toward greater impact and effectiveness.

As Director, Research and Origination, you will lead a central part of Renaissance Philanthropy's work: advising major donors, and designing, launching, and evaluating new thesis-driven philanthropic funds.

This is a senior individual contributor role with no direct reports. Your influence will come from the quality of your research and judgment, and from bringing colleagues, fund leaders, and philanthropists along on the strength of your thinking.

The ideal candidate is a technically sophisticated polymath and proven builder who thrives on breadth (working across a wide range of areas), depth (running intense diligence on specific ideas), and agency (spotting an important gap and filling it). You set your own research agenda and make judgment calls without a playbook. We’re especially interested in people who have got things done at scale, and people who have worked closely with governments in low- and middle-income countries.

The role focuses mainly on pressing health and development challenges in low- and middle-income countries (~70%). The rest of your time (~30%) spans other topics, from science commercialization to climate stabilization to state capacity.

Compensation: base range of $180,000-$240,000, plus a generous benefits package and 401(k) contribution.

We have offices in New York, Washington, DC, and London. This role is remote and open to candidates anywhere. Given current hiring priorities, we have a strong preference for candidates based in, or with deep existing networks across, Sub-Saharan Africa (for example Ethiopia, Kenya, or Nigeria) or India. Candidates outside New York, DC, or London should expect to travel around two weeks per quarter.

Your core responsibilities:

Evaluation (~60%)

• Evaluate existing thesis-driven philanthropic funds and initiatives, ending in a clearly argued, written fund/don't-fund recommendation for the philanthropists we work with

• Source funds and initiatives for us to evaluate in key areas, building and managing philanthropic dealflow

• Run shallow reviews to identify the "cruxes" — the open questions most likely to shift our recommendation

  • Over a year, expect ~100 shallow evaluations, with 20-30 proceeding to further investigation and 10-15 to a full, in-depth evaluation

• Interview fund leaders and outside experts to understand a fund's theory of change, its approach, and the leader's suitability to drive the effort.

• Build independent cost-effectiveness analyses, benchmarking opportunities against target metrics such as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of doubled consumption, and tons of CO2e averted. We care deeply about cost-effectiveness (high value for money against our target metrics) and about scale. Our goal is for the good we do to be competitive with some of the biggest successes of the 20th century, like the Green Revolution and eliminating leaded gasoline, so we focus on the biggest problems.

Origination and Incubation (~40%)

• Conduct research to identify high-impact opportunities that could be addressed through new thesis-driven philanthropic funds and initiatives

• Build and run systematic processes for originating new funds, including finding and vetting the talent to lead them

• Support early-stage projects and fund directors in taking a promising thesis and either disproving it or turning it into a project that’s ready to fund and scale

• Build and maintain relationships across topic-area ecosystems: policymakers, scientists, and technical experts in low- and middle-income countries

Across both parts of the role, you will produce the research, analysis, and investment cases behind RenPhil's recommendations to philanthropists, and join donor conversations as the subject-matter expert on the areas you cover.

Two years in, success looks like this: 20+ high-impact philanthropic initiatives and funds you helped start or support, led by exceptional leaders working on critical global challenges; a deep pipeline of fund opportunities that you own end to end; and Renaissance Philanthropy established as a trusted partner for both ambitious philanthropists and field-leading experts.

Key Qualifications

• 10–25 years of experience in nonprofit or for-profit entrepreneurship, science or social science research, investing, philanthropic grantmaking, project design and incubation, policy entrepreneurship, or topic-relevant program leadership in government

• Depth and breadth: you have gone very deep in at least one area, whether leading an organization, building a portfolio, or executing at scale, and you have worked effectively across multiple topics or used very different approaches (government, business, nonprofit) on a single topic

• Deep networks and substantive experience in Sub-Saharan Africa (for example Ethiopia, Kenya, or Nigeria) or India, including on the ground rather than only from a distance, especially collaborating with governments in those geographies, along with demonstrated passion for global health and development

• Exceptional research and analytical skills: you can do high-quality quantitative analysis such as cost-effectiveness modeling, find and understand the research frontier of a scientific question, and uncover high-impact opportunities

• Excellent written and verbal communication: you can translate complex concepts for different audiences

• The instincts of an entrepreneur and the discipline of an investor: you can generate ideas and kill them when the evidence demands it

• A track record of self-direction: you've owned consequential decisions end to end without a manager in the room, and you're accountable for outcomes rather than outputs

• Fluency with AI tools as a core part of how you research, model, and write, plus the appetite to keep improving as the tools do

Values

You will thrive on our team if you:

• Have strong mission and vision alignment. You believe in the power of science, innovation, and technology to create a brighter future for all.

• Exhibit high agency. You can move mountains and break perceived constraints.

• Inspire others and are highly collaborative. You can motivate others to join your mission and goals, and you understand the value of going further by working with others.

• Value exceptional talent and the power of network. You can spot and nurture exceptional talent, and you believe in building networks and in the power law of talent.

• Are comfortable working in fast-moving and ambitious teams. You are not afraid of ambiguity and you enjoy working at pace.

Diversity

We encourage anyone interested in this role to apply, whether or not you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries, along with many but not necessarily all of the skills listed above.

Recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Renaissance Philanthropy is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.