2.5 days a week for 3 months (preferred), at £130 a day (maximum)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 8pm UTC Sunday 18th January 2026
We and AI is a nonprofit organisation set up and run by volunteers. Our aim is to increase the diversity of people meaningfully involved in decision-making about the use of AI. We do this through advice, community-centred research, advocacy, content design and delivery related to critical AI literacy and inclusive communication about AI.
We centre social justice rather than technology, and champion sociotechnical explorations of AI, rather than focus on technical or practical education about AI. We challenge technodeterminist and technosolutionist approaches to AI, and are above all a community.
We work with universities, charitable organisations and major national institutes as well as young people. Our projects inform and deliver methods of developing public evaluation of AI narratives, life cycles, capabilities and limitations in a societal context. We enable the use of critical thinking through creative practice, so people can consider the implications of AI and data-driven technologies for their lives, values and interests.
Examples of our projects range from the internationally recognised Better Images of AI image library, to researching a new taxonomy for AI chatbot harms, to developing a framework for challenging narratives of AI inevitability. We work on Critical / AI literacy programmes, workshops, research and resources on topics such as the materiality of AI, deepfakes for young people, decoding hype, the impact of AI metaphors and visual narratives, and community research and engagement.
As a volunteer organisation, our ability to pursue all the projects we wish to, and opportunities for impact, is limited by our lack of dedicated project management. However, thanks to some funding for 2026 from Changing Ideas, we have a rare opportunity to take on a non-project based role to work across all of our programmes for 3 months. The role has the aim of building our project management capacity so that we can deliver four key programmes in 2026: A Critical AI Literacy resource hub, an interactive database of AI counter-inevitability projects, an AI metaphor encyclopedia, and publishing our projects and partners online.
As a freelance Research Assistant and Project Manager, you will play an integral role in working with the Directors to support the roll out of a new project management function across our research and delivery programmes. As such the scope is broad and will include establishing processes, liasing with our volunteers and partners, as well as being involved in writing up project communications, research and material. However, deliverables will be agreed at the start of the term, so that although initiative and flexibility will be required, the role will be focused on a few key objectives which will make a huge difference to the organisation.
This role would suit an organised and resourceful postgraduate or freelance researcher who has experience in working in public engagement, science communications and/or using digital platforms. It could present an opportunity to build relationships and experience in fields related to community research, AI narratives, critical / AI literacy, and policy related to education, public engagement, public good and AI. It could work well for someone who enjoys a variety of activities and wishes to have a big impact in a high stakes field.
This role would not suit anyone who wishes to work on the development of AI, or education related to technical or functional skills related to AI.
There is potentially the option of a job share across the different elements of the role.
Your work will likely include a combination of the following activities:
You will have a:
Skills and experience required:
Preferred:
This is a remote position, having lived or worked in the UK is a distinct advantage even if you are no longer here. If you have the right to work in the UK, being able to attend monthly meetings in London is also an advantage, and there is the option of more frequent meetings in London.
You will need to have the connectivity required to work remotely on software platforms which require significant bandwidth (for example conference calls, collaborative whiteboards, editing software).
An average of 2.5 days a week for a period of 3 months. The ideal candidate would be available at least 3 days a week, but there is room to discuss a schedule over the period.
We could also discuss spreading the days over a four month time period.
Being available if necessary during UK working hours is essential, however, hours can usually be flexible over the full week, to suit other time zones or commitments.
We can offer £130 a day with an average of 2.5 days a week, over 12 weeks (ideally consecutively, but this can be discussed). The total is £3900 (GBP). Small expenses can be discussed in addition, especially for any accessibility requirements.
Please note that freelancers are responsible for their own tax.
The first stage involves you sending a CV and writing a short response (no more than about 500 words or one A4 page, but less is fine) in answer to the following two questions:
Please state at the end whether you have used generative AI at any point in your process, and if so, how and why.
Please submit your supporting letter and CV to hello@weandai.org using ‘Research Assistant Application’ as the email subject line. If you would like to make a submission in a different format, such as video or audio, please also get in touch at the same address to inform us.
If successful with your initial application, the second stage involves at least one follow-up interview, and then a session to discuss in more detail how the programme can fit into your situation and commitments. Responses will be given to unsuccessful candidates within two weeks of the closing deadline, or within one week of an interview.
We particularly encourage people who come from all kinds of minorities (e.g. related to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, disability), or from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply. We wish to be fully inclusive, welcoming people from all educational backgrounds, or age, and therefore encourage any applicants who don’t meet the full requirements due to any structural or personal disadvantages, to specify this in their application.
Please email hello@weandai.org with any further questions.
PLEASE NOTE: We will not be using any recruitment agencies for this role.