Head of Programmes

PRISM; United States; Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% pension

25 days annual leave

Wellbeing budget

In-office meals

Job summary

PRISM (Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines) is seeking a Head of Programmes to lead its portfolio of Digital Minds initiatives, including fellowships, workshops and online courses.

This senior role requires strategic vision, people leadership, and the ability to build partnerships with universities and research organisations while shaping how the field grows.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of owning and delivering programmes end-to-end.
• Experience growing programmes during expansion while maintaining quality.
• Strong people-management skills and team leadership capability.
• Sound judgement under uncertainty and prioritisation ability.
• Reliable handling of a high-volume workload.

Responsibilities

• Lead the field-building portfolio from strategy through delivery.
• Grow and scale the Fellowship, Strategy Workshop, and online course.
• Build the Summer Gathering in Cambridge as an international hub.
• Lead and hire the field-building team as programmes scale.
• Contribute at Senior Leadership level within PRISM/CDM leadership.
• Develop partnerships and community infrastructure for the field.

Skills

Programme management

People management

Strategy development

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Head of Programmes

Location: Cambridge, UK preferred; open to remote (US/EU with overlap with UK hours)

Type: Full-time (part-time options will also be considered)

Reports to: CEO

Compensation: salary commensurate with experience typical range $100,000 - $180,000

Level : open to hiring at the \"Head of Programmes\" and \"Programmes Manager\" levels

Overview

We have run successful pilot versions of our field-building projects, and we are now looking for a Head of Programmes to take leadership of the portfolio and grow it. You will own the programmes that bring new people into digital minds, develop the most promising talent, and convene experts to do serious collaborative work. This is a senior, high-trust role for someone who can run excellent programmes, build a team, and make good calls about where to invest as a young field grows quickly.

About PRISM

PRISM (Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines) is a UK-based registered charity helping to build the field of digital minds. We support research and educational initiatives that prepare society for the challenges posed by AI consciousness, digital minds, and AI moral status. We raise awareness among non-expert audiences, develop talent to help the field grow, and convene the researchers and experts for important conversations.

Field building sits at the heart of our direction. As a young field, digital minds need infrastructure: ways for newcomers to orient themselves, and spaces that keep researchers and practitioners connected and collaborating. A key part of the role is our partnership with Cambridge Digital Minds (CDM), with whom we run the Fellowship and the online course. Our collaboration with the University of Cambridge is a major advantage, giving our programmes the reputation, networks, facilities, and convening power to attract exceptional applicants, speakers, and senior researchers.

Our programmes

• Digital Minds Fellowship. An in-person taught programme that identifies and develops promising new talent. We received more than 3,600 applications in 2026 and selected 14 fellows, each matched with an expert mentor.


• Digital Minds Strategy Workshop. A structured working meeting that convenes around 50 experts for focused, output-oriented collaboration.


• Digital Minds Summer Gathering. Clusters the Fellowship and Strategy Workshop in Cambridge each summer for several weeks.


• Online Course: Introduction to Digital Minds. A structured eight-week course for those looking to deepen their knowledge.


• Digital Minds Newsletter. Brings new people into the field and keeps the field informed on the latest research and developments.


• Community infrastructure and new initiatives. The Digital Minds Community Slack, which supports cross-organisational coordination, and the Beginner’s Guide to Digital Minds.

In 2027, we want to grow each of these: a longer, more structured Summer Gathering built around month-long Senior Fellowships, a larger Strategy Workshop, a deeper Fellowship with extensions for the strongest fellows, and more course cohorts.

What you’ll do

This is a broad role and not all of it happens at once. In your first year, we would expect you to focus on.

• Lead the field-building portfolio. Take ownership of some of the programmes above, from strategy through to delivery, and decide where the portfolio should grow, consolidate, or stop.


• Grow the programmes. Deepen the Fellowship, scale the Strategy Workshop and the online course, and make sure quality holds as numbers rise.


• Build the Summer Gathering. Turn Cambridge into a vibrant international hub for digital minds work each summer, bringing senior researchers, fellows, and organisational leaders together in one place.


• Lead and hire the team. Take leadership of the current field-building team and hire into it as the programmes scale.


• Contribute at Senior Leadership level. Help set organisational direction as part of the joint PRISM / CDM Senior Leadership team.


• Build community and partnerships. Grow the Community Slack toward becoming the field’s main online hub, and develop partnerships with aligned fellowship programmes, research organisations, and funders.

Who we’re looking for

You may be a good fit if you have:

• A track record of owning and delivering programmes end-to-end, ideally talent programmes, courses, fellowships, convenings, or events.


• Experience growing something through a period of expansion, where quality had to hold as scale increased.


• Strong people-management instincts and readiness to build and lead a team.


• Good judgment under uncertainty. You know what to prioritise, when to bring in a specialist, and when to escape.


• Reliability across a broad, busy workload. You will keep several programmes moving at once and rarely drop the ball.


• Enough comfort with research content to design curricula, select speakers, and hold credible conversations with experts.


• Genuine care for PRISM’s mission, and a view of your own on where the field most needs help.

Strong candidates may also have:

• Familiarity with digital minds, AI welfare, AI safety, or the EA ecosystem.


• Experience working with universities or academic partners.


• Experience designing curricula or training facilitators.


• Experience running residential or in-person programmes.

Compensation and benefits

• Salary: $100,000 to $180,000 per annum


• 8% pension / 401(k) employer contribution


• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays


• Wellbeing budget of up to $3,500 a year


• Support for setting up a productive work environment


• Personal development budget


• In-office meals, snacks and drinks (when in office)

Hiring Process

• Application Review


• Screening Interview


• Paid Work Test


• Team Interviews


• Paid Work Trial


• Reference + Offer