Senior Malaria Researcher

About the role

You will be joining a small grantmaking team to contribute to our ambitious research agenda on malaria. You'll sift through the countless questions we could try to answer, and honing in on those that matter most. You'll also communicate externally about your work and mentor and advise other researchers on the team. You will shape a research agenda that brings rigor and creativity to the thorniest questions the GiveWell malaria team faces. Your work will combine empirical evidence review and critical synthesis, cost-effectiveness modeling, discussions with subject matter experts, understanding of the broader context, and your own judgment. In the course of your work, you might approach questions like these: How should GiveWell's portfolio of investments change in response to new technologies and shifts in government or funder priorities? How does expanding the use of newly-developed insecticides in nets affect cost-effectiveness? What is the potential cost-effectiveness of novel interventions such as attractive toxic sugar baits at scale across contexts? Team structure Our research department has over 60 people, and is currently organized into seven teams: Five of the teams (Water, Livelihoods, Nutrition, Malaria, and Vaccines) focus on specific areas of grantmaking. The New Areas team focuses on interventions in domains that are new to GiveWell. The Cross-Cutting team focuses on methodological issues, research quality, and other big-picture concerns that cut across all of our research work. The Commons team provides generalized research support to each of the other teams, including landscaping research, vetting, and publishing. Our malaria team has three subteams: two of them focus on grantmaking in vector control and chemoprevention, respectively, and the third is focused on cross-team research questions. You might sit on any of the three teams. Team values We think our research team has unique qualities: We care deeply and centrally about finding and sharing truth. Truth-seeking is one of our core values . We post our mistakes and we prize our team members who keep our culture of free-flowing feedback strong. We are independent. We focus 100% on finding the most cost-effective opportunities to save and improve lives. Our researchers assist in communicating our research findings to the public and our donors, and on occasion we provide tailored advice to ultra-high-net-worth donors who want to rely on our expertise to direct their giving-but we never ask our researchers to trade off against honesty, or to hide their real beliefs. We don't waste time. Once it's clear that a particular research question is unlikely to change our bottom-line funding recommendation, we drop it as quickly as possible. We encourage our research staff to constantly re-evaluate their portfolios and only work on the highest-priority questions. Lean research team = huge personal impact. In 2022, we directed about $440 million with a research staff of less than 40 people. We work well together. Our research team is lean because we're able to attract top-tier people, all of whom complete skills-based assessments before joining our staff. We maintain a high-performing, collegial culture and pay our staff accordingly. About you We expect the Senior Malaria Researcher to have A quantitatively oriented advanced degree (e.g., in epidemiology, statistics, economics or related fields) Substantial professional experience in the malaria landscape (broadly defined). This could include experience in epidemiological or health economics modeling, and/or in program implementation or funding. We expect that people with the soft qualities below will be the most successful and happy on our team. This isn't a full list, but hopefully it conveys the gist of our team's professional personality: GiveWell's mission and methods are personally energizing-you like our approach to research and you find personal meaning in our story of impact. You're abnormally curious-you ask lots of questions, and you're willing to interrogate others' work. Your curiosity also extends to your own work-you aren't defensive when your research comes under scrutiny. You routinely think about and surface the value judgments, background knowledge, and strategic commitments that undergird your work. You understand the potential effects of mistaken mental models, so you strive to improve yours and your team's. You dislike it when people express strong confidence in views that don't seem to rely on commensurate evidence. You carefully and legibly communicate about your confidence levels. You appreciate the value of an ex

Benefits

Additional Information

GiveWell is a research organization that identifies and funds cost-effective giving opportunities, focusing on global health and well-being. Our work is funded by tens of thousands of donors who rely on our research to inform their giving. We've grown from directing $1.5 million in 2010 to directing more than $400 million in 2025.

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