The Cooperative AI Foundation (CAIF), was founded in 2021, backed by a $15 million philanthropic commitment from Macroscopic Ventures. CAIF is a grantmaking and research organisation dedicated to supporting the growth and impact of cooperative AI, an emerging research field that strives to improve the cooperative intelligence of advanced AI for the benefit of all. We believe this field is critical because advanced AI could help address some of humanity’s most difficult cooperation problems, such as climate change or geopolitical conflict. But emerging dynamics between AI agents could also lead to serious harm.
Our mission is to ensure that, as AI systems increasingly interact with each other and with people, we can understand and control the extent to which those AI systems cooperate. We also want to expand the potential of AI to improve human cooperation. You can read more about our mission here.
The ‘benefit of all’ sits at the heart of everything we do. We are relentless in our ambition to have the greatest possible positive impact, both supporting and trusting our staff to perform at their best. We strive to learn from our failures, through a culture of curiosity, openness, and compassion, alongside evidence-based reasoning and rigorous evaluation. With a diversity of perspectives and values forming the core of any cooperation problem, we must also practise what we preach, maintaining plurality, equity, and inclusiveness in all that we do.
We are seeking a CEO with vision, ambition and a strong link to cooperative AI, who will shape CAIF’s direction over the coming years. Since our founding in 2021, advanced AI has progressed rapidly, with much shorter timelines to the integration of advanced agents into society than previously expected. Our existing portfolio of activities, research priorities, and even our foundational understanding of what cooperative AI means may need to evolve for us to have the impact we're aiming for. Therefore, the CEO will articulate an ambitious actionable vision for Cooperative AI to guide the organisation through its next phase, advancing our mission.
Your responsibilities will include:
We are a fully remote organisation, with regular opportunities to meet colleagues in person (team members are currently based in the UK, Sweden, Netherlands and France). The successful candidate will work from home or from a workspace local to them.
We are expecting to appoint someone based in the UK for this leadership role.
Salaries at CAIF account for demonstrated competencies and location-based cost of living. For this role we expect salaries offered to be between £90,000 and £140,000.
Our benefits package includes home office equipment; travel expenses to co-locate with colleagues; 33 days of paid holiday (including bank holidays); a 5% pension contribution; a generous learning and development budget; and health and wellbeing support.
The Cooperative AI Foundation is being supported in this search and appointment process by SCHC Advisors. To learn more about the role, please contact Sophia Copeman at sophia@schcadvisors.com.
Applications should consist of:
Applications can be uploaded here. The deadline to apply is 9 am BST on Monday, 27th April 2026.
If you use AI tools to help with your application, please follow these guidelines. Your application will be read by SCHC Advisors, and generic responses will be screened out at an early stage. Your data will be processed in accordance with our privacy policy.
Our assessment process is designed to test for the elements outlined in the 'Qualifications'. The assessment process will include an initial screening interview, followed by sequential interviews with CAIF trustees in which you will be asked to present your vision for CAIF. The final stage of the process will be a meeting with the full CAIF board.
We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, and we encourage people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply, particularly those from underrepresented groups. If you have specific needs or circumstances that require accommodation, please contact Sophia Copeman: sophia@schcadvisors.com.
You are an experienced, visionary leader with a drive to grow our organisation and the field. You see the immense potential in CAIF, our team and ecosystem. You are seeking to make a tangible impact in this role, and are passionate about technology's potential for positive impact.
