Click any role in the chart below to see a description of responsibilities, time commitments, compensation, and current members.
See also: team page with photos · full role descriptions (GitBook) · team list (GitBook)
Founding Director
Current member
Role description
The Founding Director provides overall organizational direction, leads fundraising and partnerships, and co-directs day-to-day operations with the Co-Director. David Reinstein initiated The Unjournal in 2022 and has shaped its model of journal-independent evaluation for impactful research.
Co-Director
Current member
Role description
The Co-Director shares leadership responsibilities, coordinates evaluation management, and supports organizational growth. Anirudh Tagat brings expertise in behavioral economics and developing-world research contexts.
Management Committee
Current members
Role in the organization
The Management Committee guides Unjournal decision-making, vision, and structure. It does not manage Field Specialists or URAs in a line-management sense — those roles operate with substantial autonomy. MC members are typically senior researchers who also serve as evaluation managers for specific research areas.
Responsibilities
- Setting research focus, priorities, and evaluation guidelines
- Reviewer/evaluator assignment and evaluation pipeline decisions
- Prize distribution and recognition programs
- Defining rules, metrics, and organizational policy
- Planning organizational direction and strategy
- Serving as evaluation managers for specific research areas
Commitment & compensation
15–20 hrs/year minimum $57.50/hr for first 20 hrs $300–$450/paper as evaluation manager
Advisory Board
Current members
Responsibilities
- Listing on organizational webpage as an advisor
- Optional Slack participation and occasional input on policy
- Optional attendance at video meetings
- Consultation on specific work assignments when needed
Commitment & compensation
Flexible — no minimum requirement Paid for substantial work beyond regular employment
Operations Lead (currently unfilled)
About this role
The Operations Lead works closely with the Founding Director on day-to-day administration and budget oversight. This is a paid, ongoing role (not project-based). The former Operations Lead was Davit Jintcharadze.
Responsibilities
- Day-to-day organizational administration and coordination
- Budget oversight in collaboration with the Founding Director
- Contractor management and project delivery coordination
- Internal and external communications management
- Supporting evaluation pipeline logistics
- Onboarding of new team members and evaluators
Commitment & compensation
Ongoing paid role ~$30–55/hr
Interested? Email contact@unjournal.org or see unjournal.org for any current postings.
Ops / Project Contractors
About this role
Contractors provide operational and technical support across a range of functions including communications, web development, data management, outreach, and coordination. Roles are project-based and vary in scope and duration.
For current openings, see unjournal.org or contact contact@unjournal.org.
Field Specialists
Current members — by cause area
Some members span multiple areas or also hold Management Committee / Advisory Board roles.
Responsibilities
- Monitor a designated research field monthly; source ~3 papers per academic term
- Write "second opinion" assessments on submitted research
- Vote on papers for evaluation commissioning
- Attend quarterly field group meetings (approximate)
- Optionally serve as evaluation managers ($300–$450/paper)
- Represent organizational mission to colleagues and on social media
Target profile
Active researchers and practitioners with strong publication records and policy engagement. Typically PhD-level in economics, social science, or related quantitative fields.
Commitment & compensation
1–4 hrs/month, flexible Paid for research surveying Incentive pay for recommendations
Unjournal Research Affiliates (URAs)
About this role
27 URAs contribute to research prioritization, evaluation management, and field expertise. The URA role is designed for early-career researchers and PhD students who can assess research impact but have limited time.
Responsibilities
- Recommend 2–3 papers per academic term with impact rationale
- Complete three "second opinion" assessments per term
- Participate in monthly voting on prioritized papers
- Maintain semi-active Slack presence
- Attend minimum one annual meeting (1 hour)
- Optionally advise on evaluation manager suggestions
Target profile
Early-career researchers and PhD students who can assess research impact in quantitative social science fields. Designed for busy schedules with no strict baseline commitment.
Commitment & compensation
Low time commitment; no strict baseline No baseline pay; incentive pay for recommendations
Evaluator Pool
Scale & independence
Over 200 people have signed up to assess research for The Unjournal, including approximately 90 PhD holders and 40 professors. The Evaluator Pool is a distinct, separate role — members in any other role (Management Committee, Advisory Board, Field Specialists, URAs) may also participate in the Evaluator Pool for specific papers where they have relevant expertise.
Subject areas
What evaluators do
- Provide substantive written feedback on assigned research papers
- Rate papers on quality, rigor, and relevance metrics
- May provide quantitative predictions about research claims
- Evaluations published publicly on unjournal.pubpub.org
Compensation
Paid per evaluation completed Annual evaluator prizes ($6,500 total, 2024–25)
Proposed future roles (not currently filled)
click to expandCommunications / Writing & PR Specialist
Promotion, internal and external communications, process documentation, and research dissemination. Skills: strong writing across academic, journalistic, and technical contexts; understanding of research institutions.
~200 hrs budgeted $30–55/hr Not currently hiring
Research and Evaluation Specialist
Identify and synthesize relevant research, build evaluator pools for new areas, synthesize evaluation insights into accessible summaries, liaise with researchers and policymakers.
~300 hrs budgeted $25–55/hr Not currently hiring
Interested in a future role? Email contact@unjournal.org to express interest.
The chart shows formal role categories. The Management Committee guides Unjournal decision-making, vision, and structure — roles like Field Specialists and URAs operate with substantial autonomy. Anyone in any role may also participate as an evaluator. The Evaluator Pool is an independent, parallel track.
Roles at a Glance
The Founding Director and Co-Director lead The Unjournal's overall strategy, fundraising, and operations. The Management Committee consists of senior researchers who guide decision-making, organizational vision, and structure — including research priorities, evaluation policy, and prize programs. Typical commitment is 15–20 hours per year at $57.50/hr, plus $300–$450 per paper as evaluation managers. The Advisory Board provides broader institutional guidance and disciplinary expertise with a flexible time commitment. The Operations Lead (currently unfilled) works closely with the Founding Director on day-to-day administration and budget oversight.
See full details: organizational roles and responsibilities (GitBook)
Field Specialists are active researchers who monitor designated fields monthly, sourcing and assessing papers — 1–4 hours/month, paid for their work. Unjournal Research Affiliates (URAs) are typically early-career researchers contributing paper recommendations and second-opinion assessments on a flexible schedule. Ops/Project Contractors support communications, web development, data management, and event coordination on a project basis.
Interested in any of these roles? Apply here or email contact@unjournal.org.
The Evaluator Pool is The Unjournal's largest group — over 200 researchers who have signed up to conduct paid evaluations of specific assigned papers. Evaluators are recruited by evaluation managers, matched to their expertise, and paid per evaluation. Their work — written feedback, ratings, and quantitative predictions — is published openly on PubPub. Annual prizes of $6,500 recognize outstanding evaluation work.
Related pages
Photos and bios for management team, advisory board, and field specialists
Full role descriptions with time commitments and compensation details
Full team list auto-synced from Coda
Sign up to evaluate research, learn about compensation and process
Apply to join as a field specialist, URA, evaluator, or management team member
Published evaluations, ratings, and author responses