Program Associate / Senior Program Associate, Fellowship

Date Posted	October 16, 2025
Industry	Nonprofit
Specialty	Not Specified
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	$70,000 - $125,000 in the US ; £45,000 - £75,000 in the UK

Description:

Program Associate / Senior Program Associate, Fellowship

Job Description

The next generation of AI journalists needs world-class training in both journalism and AI. We're hiring a Program Associate or Senior Program Associate to help recruit, train, and support the community of expert journalists who will hold frontier AI companies accountable, investigate emerging risks, and shape how the world understands transformative AI.

You'll work with our Program Manager/Director to execute our fellowship at scale: vetting 2,000+ applications, teaching core skills (either journalism craft or AI fundamentals), and mentoring fellows through their placements at outlets like Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Time.

About the Tarbell Center

The Tarbell Center for AI Journalism supports journalism that helps society navigate the emergence of increasingly advanced AI. We provide funding, training, and a professional network to strengthen AI reporting at major news outlets.

Our programs include:

• Tarbell Fellowship: A 12-month program providing early-career journalists with AI training, competitive stipends, and a 9-month placement at a major newsroom (e.g. The Guardian, Bloomberg, MIT Tech Review, Time, and more).

• Tarbell Grants – Awards of $1,000–$15,000 to support original AI reporting. So far we’ve distributed >$200k in grants, supporting freelance journalists, staff reporters, and small teams at newsrooms and we plan to distribute >$500k in 2026.

• Residencies – Provides senior writers with the time and resources to produce in-depth AI reporting. In 2025, we’re supporting Yi-Ling Liu (former China Editor at Rest of World) and we’ve previously supported journalists with experience at the New York Times and The Economist.

• Transformer – Our in-house publication which covers the power and politics of transformative AI.

Since launching in 2022, Tarbell has grown rapidly — supporting 50+ journalists through our fellowship, grants, and residencies. By 2030, we aim to support 10,000 high-quality stories on AI and ensure that reporting about AI is treated with the urgency of other transformational topics such as climate change.

About the role

Your mission will be to find and train the next generation of leading AI reporters. As a core member of our fellowship team, you'll help scale our impact from 15 fellows to 30+ annually by 2027, while maintaining the exceptionally high bar that has made the fellowship one of the most competitive and prestigious journalism programs in the world.

This role combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution. You'll own parts of our recruitment and vetting process, design and deliver training in AI or journalism fundamentals, and ensure flawless execution across all fellowship operations.

Program Associates typically bring 2-3 years of relevant experience, while Senior Program Associates typically bring 4+ years. Strong performers will take on increasing responsibility over time, including significant input into Tarbell's strategic direction and an opportunity to lead new programs.

Core responsibilities include:

• Training program design and delivery (40%)

• Design and deliver a world-class 10-week training program in your area of expertise. You’ll lead either our AI or journalism module, ensuring that fellows gain the skills they need to excel in their placements. You’ll curate a curriculum, facilitate seminars, invite and coordinate expert speakers, and provide detailed feedback on fellows’ assignments.

• Meet with fellows weekly throughout the training program, working closely with them to shape their reporting by connecting them with sources and helping develop story ideas that drive impact. You’ll continue as a strategic advisor throughout their placements and careers.

• Help run our week-long training week in the San Francisco Bay Area each year, which in 2025 featured speakers such as Kevin Roose (NYT) and Jack Clark (Anthropic).

• Fellow recruitment and selection (35%)

• Recruit 2,000+ applications each year from top emerging journalists and AI talent globally. You’ll lead our digital marketing campaign, deliver talks at top universities, and reach out to top candidates directly.

• Screen applications, evaluate writing samples, and run interviews to help ensure the top 0.1% of potential candidates end up in our program. Your goal is to identify the very top 20 candidates each year from a pool of thousands.

• Program operations (25%)

• Manage logistics for training programs, events, and fellow-outlet matching

• Track fellow progress and program metrics

• Handle administrative tasks that keep the program running smoothly

• Support the Program Manager/Director with operational needs

Who might be a good fit

We expect the strongest candidates to have:

• Relevant knowledge in journalism, AI, or both. You’ll either have: 

• A strong understanding of advanced AI. You understand basic concepts in machine learning (e.g. transformers, gradient descent), can explain various governance topics (e.g. responsible scaling policies, compute governance, capabilities evaluations), and are deeply familiar with the key players & factions in the AI landscape; OR

• A deep familiarity with journalism. You have strong editorial judgment, an excellent understanding of what makes impactful reporting, and a knack for identifying newsworthy story ideas.

• Strong project management skills. You can manage multiple complex workstreams, stay organized under pressure, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. You're comfortable with systems-building and process improvement.

• Ability to execute quickly. AI capabilities are advancing rapidly. You understand we have limited time to build the journalism infrastructure needed to ensure AI goes well, and you'll move fast to make it happen.

• Excellent communication abilities. You write and speak clearly, can explain complex ideas to diverse audiences, and build rapport easily. You're comfortable having difficult conversations constructively.

• Interpersonal skills and good judgment. You build strong relationships with fellows, colleagues, and external partners. You know when to escalate issues and when to handle them yourself.

• Passion for Tarbell’s mission of supporting journalism that helps society navigate the development and deployment of increasingly advanced AI.

The ideal candidate will possess many of these qualities but not necessarily all. If you're on the fence about applying because you're unsure whether you're qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply. 

Location

We strongly prefer candidates based in London or San Francisco, or those willing to relocate. In London you’ll work 2 days per week from our office space in Shoreditch. We expect to establish an office space in San Francisco in 2026 with a 2 day per week in–person requirement for staff.

We're also open to candidates in New York or Washington DC. In exceptional circumstances, we may consider remote candidates in other locations. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to sponsor US or UK work visas for this role.

All staff spend 1 week per quarter on site (typically London or San Francisco). Additionally, occasional travel may be required (approximately 1 week per quarter).

Benefits

Our benefits include:

• 33 days of paid holiday in total (including national holidays)

• $4,500 annual budget for equipment and office space.

• $2,000 annual budget for personal development and productivity.

• Standard pension/401(k), with 5% contribution from employer. 

• [US] Platinum health, dental, and vision plans, with 95% of premiums paid for by Tarbell

• Flexible work schedule & location (when and where you work is mostly up to you). 

• A supportive work environment to grow and do your best work

Operating Values

• Focus is good: Do fewer things. When it matters, do them to a world-class standard.

• Hire the best, then invest: We hire people in the top 10% and then help them get to the top 1%.

• Freedom & responsibility: We trust people to own their work and outcomes, pairing autonomy with accountability.

• Radical candour: We provide direct feedback that is kind and clear, honest and sincere (even when it’s difficult).

• Safe to speak, safe to fail: We create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of blame. Feedback is about learning, not punishment

• Truthful & transparent: We believe in being truthful & transparent, even when it's difficult or disadvantageous to do so.

Application process

• Round 1: Apply by 2 November 11:59pm, Anywhere on Earth

• Round 2: We’ll then invite candidates to complete:

• A 3-5 hour work task. We will compensate candidates $60 / hour for time spent on work tasks.

• A 30-60 minute interview

• Round 3: A 2 day work trial with our team in January (in-person in London strongly preferred). We offer a $1,000 total stipend for the two-day trial, plus reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs.

Tarbell is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The emergence of increasingly advanced AI poses a risk to everyone. Grappling with this technology will require the participation of all of society and is undermined by discriminatory hiring practices which pit factions of humanity against one another.

We do not discriminate against qualified employees or applicants based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, sexual preference, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law or local ordinance.

Apply

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