ABOUT POWER FOR DEMOCRACIES
The Situation  
Liberal democracies are globally being challenged on various levels. The overwhelming majority of empirical evidence shows a significant decline in the number of democracies and, to an even greater extent, a decline in the number of people who live in democracies. And the trend continues: In 2022, according to the latest V-Dem report, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen is down to 1986 levels. And only 13% of world population live in liberal democracies.
However, there is little scientific evidence or practitioners’ consensus on how to best defend or advance democracy. In fact, a significant number of democracy experts polled in a 2021 expert panel commissioned by legacies.now suggested not to direct funding to any specific intervention or organization – but to start a democracy charity evaluator instead. And here we are.
The Founders
Power for Democracies was founded by Markus N. Beeko, secretary general of Amnesty International (Germany), together with Stephan Schwahlen and Stefan Shaw, founders of legacies.now, an EA-aligned philanthropic advisory in Munich, as well as co-founders (Stefan) and advisors (Stephan) at effektiv-spenden.org, the German language EA-aligned donation platform based in Berlin. We are a non-profit and funded by four clients of legacies.now who share a particular interest in promoting democracy effectively.
The Vision  
We envision a world in which liberal democracies around the globe excel - and continuously improve - at the provision and protection of civil and social human rights for their citizens.
We also envision a world in which the virtues of liberal democracy are understood by very many people - and in which liberal democracy is widely acknowledged, across citizens and countries, as the preferable mode of governance.
The Mission
In order to defend, strengthen and advance liberal democracies, we research, analyze, and publish highly effective interventions executed by outstandingly efficient not-for-profit organizations.
In doing so we help donors everywhere who are committed to safeguarding and advancing liberal democracy to achieve maximum impact with their democracy donations.
The Challenge
The science and practice of democracy is highly complex and both national and global in scope. Knowledge and research on the topic tend to be scattered across - and ‘siloed’ within - a wide range of academic disciplines. Most of it is non-quantitative and hard to generalize from. Critically, there are no established methodologies for evaluating measures used by non-profit organizations to defend or advance democracy – and too few evidence-based donation recommendations that pro-democracy donors can confidently rely on.
Power for Democracies wants to close these gaps. We aspire to build an evidence base, almost from scratch, on effective pro-democracy interventions and efficient NGOs carrying them out, covering a wide geographic and topical landscape. This will require gathering and processing existing knowledge as well as initiating our own research, likely using external partners or fellows as well as internal resources. And once we have arrived at solid recommendations they need to be publicized far and wide to mobilize substantial additional donor funds for our recommendations.
ABOUT THE 'KNOWLEDGE & RESEARCH' TEAM
1. The team’s objective is to
a) devise and execute a ‘knowledge building roadmap’: Our north star on how to develop, over time, a growing set of methodologies with which we can evaluate an increasing scope of pro-democracy interventions and NGOs.
b) apply these methodologies: Our process to generate a growing yet carefully devised number of concrete donation recommendations (likely not more than 5-10 at end of year 3).
2.  Given these objectives, the ‘Knowledge & Research’ team is expected to
a) monitor, systemize, and evaluate, in an ongoing manner, 3rd party scientific evidence on the effectiveness, globally, of pro-democracy measures and the efficiency of related NGOs. This obviously entails the challenging yet exciting task of managing ‘achievable scope’ over time.
b) identify and prioritize research needs and manage processes to enable such research e.g., through international partnerships, fellowships, or internal efforts. Again, ‘achievable scope’ over time poses a core challenge.
c)  condense the knowledge generated via a) and b) into a select set of methodologies and apply them to identify highly effective interventions and the most promising NGOs to apply them.
d) manage the knowledge building and output generation described in a)-c) by means of a dynamic roadmap that can serve as a north star of intellectual progress for the organization.
e) write our knowledge publications: on the development of our methodologies and, of course, on the donation recommendations. This will be supported by the Media & Distribution team.
3.  Given the startup nature of the organization further tasks may arise ad-hoc e.g., contributions to the branding and communication of the organization.
4.  The ‘Knowledge & Research’ team is expected to grow to 5-6 people by end of 2024 latest. Close collaboration with the ‘Media & Distribution’ team will be key to success for all of us. 
5.  As part of our recruiting process for this team, we are also looking for our future Director of Knowledge & Research. In this role you take on the responsibility to
a) oversee and drive the development of the knowledge building roadmap, our methodologies, and their application.
b) position Power for Democracies within the scientific community and with academic partners.
c)  lead the ‘Knowledge & Research’ team.
d) be part of the management team of Power for Democracies.
ABOUT YOU
We are looking for a diverse set of people from around the world, with complementary academic backgrounds and practical experiences. Therefore, we do consider the following list of potential qualifications relevant, but it will hardly be complete or fully correct/ optimal. In fact: We might be off in certain ways, and your profile may be extremely well-suited to the task despite not being well-captured by our requirements. So, if in doubt – please do apply!
  • A good understanding of and enthusiasm for democracy in its entirety and facets.
  • Preferred but not a must: Experience in mapping and measuring democracy e.g., at organizations like V-Dem, Freedom House, EIU.
  • Work experience in research settings clearly relevant to the task.
  • A Bachelor, Master or Doctoral degree in Political Sciences, Political Economy, Data Science, Social Statistics, Sociology, Law, International Relations, Social Psychology, History or Philosophy (even more backgrounds may be suitable; we are happy to be convinced) – or proof of equivalent competency to such degrees acquired by other means.
  • Strong quantitative skills are a plus.
  • Preferred but not a must: Pertinent knowledge of intervention evaluation methods in the social sciences (even better: evaluation of interventions and NGOs in the pro-democracy space).
  • Good writing skills.
  • High digital literacy and ability to manage significant amounts of heterogeneous input.
  • A can-do objectives-oriented mindset and an appreciation for a high share of self-directed work.
  • English proficiency at scientific publishing level.
In addition, we would love to hear from candidates who also have:
  • A good understanding of Effective Altruism, its core concepts, and related publishing requirements.
  • Fluency in further major world languages.
For the Director role:
  • Work experience in research settings should typically be 10+ years.
  • Experience in leading a heterogeneous team and managing a demanding knowledge building roadmap.
  • Proven capability in collaborating within the scientific community on an international level.
 
ABOUT THE PROCESS AND TERMS
  • We will start interviewing in June 2023.
  • All roles will be filled over the course of 2023/2024 (the sooner the better).
  • The Director role will ideally be operational by September 2023.
  • Power for Democracies is formally based in Berlin, Germany, but we will work as an international team with a strictly global perspective.
  • We aim for a ‘remote first’ hybrid organization in which most collaboration can take place online but is complemented by regular in-person meetings. If you choose to work from your current home, we will help you set up a good work environment, whether it is in a co-working space or at home.
  • The preferred time-zone of team members’ residence is CET/CEST +/- 6 hours. Typically, there will be 3-4 ‘core collaboration hours’ on 4 working days per week, leaving a lot of room for flexible working hours.
  • Primary language both internally and in our publishing is English.
  • Some international travel may be required, especially for the Director position.
  • Salary, depending on role fit, seniority, and your location:  55.000-120.000 EUR. (+10% in USD).
  • Additional benefits might apply depending on your location / country and your personal situation.

Are you interested? We would love to hear from you.

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