Job Description
About the Role
The Aid Report Research Assistant plays a critical role in maintaining the accuracy, consistency, and credibility of The Aid Report’s core database. This junior position supports the day-to-day identification, vetting, and inputting of impact anecdotes that illustrate how U.S. foreign aid cuts are reshaping programs and services around the world.
This fully remote role is ideal for someone who is organized, detail-oriented, comfortable with data and working in Google sheets, and able to distinguish credible evidence from noise.
1. Input and Organize Data Findings
- Input new data entries into the database with accurate tagging, sourcing, and concise summaries.
- Complete the Vetting Checklist for each entry prior to editorial review, including triangulation or supplemental research as needed.
- Maintain and review the data dashboard to monitor workflow status, bottlenecks, and weekly priorities.
- Track published dates, pending entries, and verification status to support timely site updates.
2. Review Source Materials and Extract Key Evidence
- Monitor email submissions, news alerts, and partner inputs for potential new impacts.
- Extract and summarize relevant evidence from reports, articles, datasets, and interviews.
- Add compelling quotes to the Quotes Hub for use in editorial stories, briefings, and data highlights.
- Flag emerging sectors, geographies, or trends that may warrant deeper analysis or visualization.
3. Support Virtual Events and External Briefings
- Assist with planning and logistics for virtual briefings, webinars, and data presentations.
- Support speaker outreach, scheduling, and coordination with journalists, researchers, and partner organizations.
- Help prepare background materials, speaker briefs, run-of-show documents, and follow-up notes.
- Track participant lists and support post-event synthesis or documentation of key insights.
Qualifications
Required
- Exceptional attention to detail and demonstrated comfort working in Google Sheets or other data management systems
- Strong ability to synthesize complex information quickly and accurately into concise, neutral summaries.
- Confident research, fact-checking, and source evaluation skills, including the ability to assess credibility across media reporting, NGO documentation, academic research, and practitioner testimony.
- Experience tracking multiple parallel tasks and workflows without losing accuracy or deadlines.
- Clear, precise written communication, with an ability to write for both internal documentation and public-facing audiences.
- Comfort working independently in a remote, fast-moving editorial environment, with good judgment about when to flag questions or uncertainties.
Preferred
- Background or demonstrated interest in global development, global health, humanitarian response, governance, or democracy assistance.
- Familiarity with U.S. foreign assistance, USAID, State Department programming, or major implementing organizations (NGOs, multilaterals, faith-based organizations).
Note: This short-term, grant-funded position runs through August, 2026
About the Organization
The Aid Report is a news site dedicated to tracking the real-world impacts of U.S. foreign aid cuts. We combine original reporting, verified crowdsourced updates, and curated data and stories from credible sources to provide a clear, evidence-based view of what’s happening on the ground — across sectors, around the world.
Our goal is to inform the debate about the future of U.S. international aid. We do that by delivering real-time intelligence on the human and national security effects of aid decisions for policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the general public.
The Aid Report begins with no assumptions about the effectiveness of U.S. international aid policy. Our reporting follows the evidence wherever it leads, spotlighting both challenges and solutions. Every original story or anecdote in The Aid Report is grounded in rigorous reporting and verification according to an editorial policy outlined below.
This project is supported by a media grant from the Gates Foundation. Devex, the platform for insider journalism on global development, maintains full editorial independence for this initiative. This means funders have no influence over story selection, reporting, or publication.
For more information: https://www.theaidreport.us/about
