Senior Operations Manager

Key information 

Apply here until Sunday, 26 April 2026.

Role: Full time.

Location: Remote, UK-based. Exceptional US-based candidates may be considered.

Compensation: £81,826–£94,509 annually (£74,387–£85,917 base salary, plus 10% unconditional pension contributions).

Ideal start date: As soon as possible.

 

About SAIF 

The Safe AI Forum (SAIF) is a US 501(c)3 dedicated to advancing international cooperation to reduce extreme AI risks and ensuring the benefits of AI are shared by all. We specialise in international AI governance—fostering coordination, cooperation, and communication between states and non-state actors across the most important AI jurisdictions.

Our work focuses on building a trans-Pacific ecosystem of high-trust dialogue on extreme risk and international coordination, identifying the most important and tractable international governance interventions through research, and providing advisory services to key stakeholders. Our flagship programme (the International Dialogue on AI Safety) brings together senior computer scientists and AI governance experts from multiple jurisdictions to collaborate on AI risk, and we also run workshops and working groups.

We're a team of 11 based across the UK and US. We're impact-focused and move quickly, balancing rigour with speed and taking genuine ownership of outcomes. Our culture is warm and collaborative. People make time for each other and assume good intentions, even while working at pace on high-stakes problems.

 

About the role

Help scale the operational foundation for global coordination on frontier AI risk

We’re hiring a Senior Operations Manager to strengthen SAIF’s operational foundations as we scale. You will be part of the Operations Team led by Harsimrandeep Malhi, and working alongside an Operations Associate who leads day-to-day ops admin work, and a Special Projects Lead who works on strategic initiatives.

Your centre of gravity will be in multi-entity operations, finance, and compliance, with collaboration across the broader operations work. This is complex work requiring judgement, context, and the ability to work effectively with external stakeholders. You’ll have significant autonomy in your domain, and coordinate with Harsimrandeep and Fynn Heide (Executive Director) on strategic decisions.

This is a high-leverage role for someone who enjoys working across domains and bringing rigour to complex problems. The role will evolve. Initially broad, we expect it will increasingly consolidate around finance and compliance as we establish our UK entity and navigate the complexity of operating across two jurisdictions. We’re looking for someone mid-career (typically 4–6+ years of relevant experience) who is excited by SAIF’s mission and is energised rather than frustrated by evolution. 

We’re a growing organisation operating in a fast-moving space. Our operational needs and priorities will shift as we scale and as the external landscape evolves. The right candidate will see this as energising—someone who finds purpose in the mission and is willing to adapt, pivot, and build alongside us rather than needing a fixed, well-defined role.

What you'll do

SAIF is growing and our operational needs will evolve. We expect this role to take on workstreams that don't exist yet, and to help shape what those look like. The right candidate will be excited by this. The responsibilities below reflect our current best estimate:

• Finances
  • Manage financial operations: Manage the relationship with our accountants, ensure monthly close runs smoothly, and maintain clear visibility into SAIF's financial position.
  • Coordinate expense and invoice processing: Review and approve routine expenses, ensure accurate coding, and maintain clean financial records.
  • Coordinate audit and tax filings: Coordinate with external vendors on annual financial audit, 990 filing, UK tax filing, and charitable solicitation renewals. 
  • Manage funder reporting: As needed, prepare financial reports for funders and ensure grant tracking is accurate and timely.
• Compliance & Legal Coordination
• Own compliance calendar: Track and manage filing deadlines across US and UK jurisdictions, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
• UK entity administration: Support the initial setup and own ongoing compliance requirements of our planned UK entity such as Companies House filings, accounts filing, and coordination with UK advisors.
• Support contract management: Coordinate contract workflows, track renewals, and ensure proper documentation and filing.
• Manage insurance and vendor relationships: Handle renewals, maintain vendor records, and ensure appropriate coverage is in place.
• Operations & Infrastructure
  • Contribute to operational systems: Help build and maintain the processes, documentation, and infrastructure that enable SAIF to operate reliably as we scale.
  • Support cross-functional projects: Contribute to and lead special projects as needs arise. This might include supporting a new entity or programme setup, helping design a new workstream, or solving problems that do not fit neatly into any box.
  • Drive process improvement: Identify inefficiencies, propose solutions, and help implement improvements to how we operate day-to-day.
• Emerging Workstreams
  • New operational capabilities: As SAIF grows, new needs will emerge, potentially including grant management, new entity structures, expanded funder relationships, or other functions that don't exist yet. You'll help scope what's needed, figure out how to build it, and potentially own it once it's running.

About you

There is no single background that predicts success in this role. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who don't tick every box. If you are excited about this role and think you would be great at it, we want to hear from you, even if your background doesn't perfectly match our list. 

We care most about judgment, reliability, demonstrated learning agility, and commitment to the mission. We expect strong candidates will resonate with several of the following:

Essential requirements

• Comfort with financial operations: You can read a P&L, understand basic accounting concepts, and manage relationships with bookkeepers and accountants effectively. You don’t need to be a qualified accountant, but numbers shouldn’t intimidate you.
• Organised and detail-oriented: You track many threads simultaneously, build systems that prevent things from falling through the cracks, and catch errors before they become problems.
• Strong judgement: You know when to solve something independently and when to escalate. You can work with external stakeholders (accountants, lawyers) effectively and can synthesise their input into actionable decisions.
• Clear communication: You communicate clearly, concisely, and demonstrate a high level of reasoning transparency.
• Adaptability and mission alignment: You’re genuinely motivated by reducing AI risks, and you’re excited by a role that will evolve as the organisation grows. You’re willing to do what is needed, even when it is outside your core scope. You find satisfaction in bringing order to ambiguity and building foundations that scale.
• Relevant professional experience: Typically 4–6+ years in operations, finance, nonprofit administration, special projects, or similar roles. Experience in fast-growing or early-stage organisations is particularly valuable

Strong preferences

• Nonprofit or multi-entity experience: You have worked with nonprofit finances, charity compliance, or organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions.
• UK knowledge: Familiarity with UK charity or company compliance (Companies House, Charity Commission, UK accounting standards) is highly valuable.
• Builder mindset: You enjoy creating structure where none exists and improving systems over time.
• Experience with external advisors: You have worked with accountants, lawyers, or other professional services and know how to get value from those relationships.

Nice-to-have

• Familiarity with the AI safety and/or effective altruism ecosystem
• Experience with US 501(c)(3) compliance
• Comfort with operational tools (accounting software, project management systems, etc.)

Why you might be excited about this role

• You want to meaningfully reduce catastrophic AI risks.
• You enjoy complex, cross-functional work that requires judgement rather than following established playbooks.
• You find satisfaction in bringing order to ambiguity and building foundations that scale.
• You want significant ownership and the ability to shape how a function develops.
• You are energised by a role that will evolve as the organisation grows.
• You want to be part of a small, high-trust team where your work directly enables SAIF's impact.

Why this role might not be for you

• You want a highly defined role with clear, static boundaries.
• You need extensive existing processes and infrastructure.
• You want close management and regular oversight (you’ll have substantial independence within your domain).
• You find ambiguity or shifting priorities frustrating.
• You want work that is primarily technical or research-focused.
• You are not motivated by SAIF's mission specifically.

We’re trying to be transparent about what the work is actually like. The role requires balancing multiple priorities, working across time zones, and building systems from scratch whilst keeping operations running. It's genuinely challenging work—but if you're excited by the mission and energised by building operational foundations, we expect you’ll find it uniquely rewarding.

Other details 

Start date: We expect to make an offer by May 2026, and with a preferred start date as soon as possible after that. We understand that some candidates may need longer to exit existing commitments. If this timeline doesn’t work for you, please err on the side of applying anyway and let us know in your application in case we can make alternate arrangements.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance
• Equipment and wellness budget
• Professional development support
• In-person team building events

Working arrangements:

• Fully remote position with flexibility on working hours
• Some meaningful overlap with EST time zone for collaboration
• International travel required for team events and conferences (~4-6 times per year)

Diversity:

• We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our mission. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race, religion, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

Requests for accommodation:

• If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, or have any other questions about applying, please contact careers@saif.org.

Application process

To apply, please fill in this application form by 11:59 PM local time on Sunday, 26 April 2026. 

Early applications are encouraged as we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The application process will vary depending on the candidate profile, but is likely to include written work and interview components, and potentially a work trial. We offer payment for work samples and trials, conditional on your location.

If you have questions about this role, please contact careers@saif.org.

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