Country Opportunity Research and Partnership Scout, Japan (W1-01-JP)

About the opportunity

Crew Scaler is seeking a Country Opportunity Research and Partnership Scout, Japan to help Crew Scaler determine whether a small, funded AI upskilling pilot in Japan would solve a real need and have credible local partners.

English is a key requirement for this role. The Crew Scaler team works in English: orientation, the weekly check-in, written notes and the evidence brief are all in English. Applicants must be comfortable speaking and writing in English; stakeholder conversations in Japan will often be in Japanese.

This is a discovery role, not a sales quota and not a promise that a pilot will launch. You will work with one other scout and a Crew Scaler lead. The team will provide an interview guide, note template, partner brief, and decision criteria.

You will receive a written scope, a 45-minute orientation, templates or examples, and a named Crew Scaler contact. Most work is asynchronous. We use short meetings and written progress notes so volunteers in different time zones can contribute. We will not add major duties without discussing the time and scope with you first.

About Crew Scaler

Crew Scaler is a U.S. tax-exempt nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)). The U.S. IRS certified us, and we are committed to U.S. rigorous standards for certified non-profit organizations. Our board brings ~66+ years of U.S. Government & Military Experience and ~20+ years total Private Sector Experience with Apple, IBM, Tesla, and Synact. Our founder runs an AI Upskilling program for the U.S. Government, and we presented at NIST on Security Considerations for Multi-agent AI Systems. We help students, displaced workers, practitioners, and small organizations build useful AI capability with clear safeguards through open learning resources, applied research, small peer learning groups, and partnerships, including other AI research results and award-winning applications. We are exploring opportunities in Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, and will launch only where demand, funding, local capacity, and learner protections are credible.

What you will do

• Build a focused map of 15 to 25 relevant universities, employers, workforce groups, professional associations, funders, and community hosts
• Analyze national and regional AI and workforce-skills policies in Japan and local job ads to map skill demand and higher education computer science prerequisites
• Help arrange and join 4 to 6 substantive conversations with learners, practitioners, host decision-makers, and budget owners
• Record needs, barriers, available resources, language/access issues, and prospective institutional hosts capable of hosting peer-learning groups
• Co-write a 2- to 3-page evidence brief with a proceed, investigate further, or pause recommendation, maintaining strict compliance with Crew Scaler’s policies by avoiding commercial contract commitments or price quotes without CEO sign-off

What you will complete

By the end of the initial term, the expected outputs are a stakeholder map, conversation notes, and a short country recommendation. The normal collaboration pattern is one 30-minute team check-in each week plus asynchronous notes. If evidence, approvals, or partner timing blocks an output, you will document the blocker and complete the parts within the volunteer team's control.

What you bring

• Working knowledge of the education, technology, workforce, or professional-development landscape in Japan
• Professional spoken and written English (key requirement). The Crew Scaler team, orientation, weekly check-in, notes and deliverables are all in English. You must be able to hold a 30-minute conversation and write clear notes and short briefs in English without assistance
• Clear professional communication in Japanese, to run stakeholder conversations in the local language
• Comfort contacting people respectfully, taking accurate notes, and hearing “not now”
• Ability to distinguish evidence from enthusiasm and avoid making unauthorized promises

Helpful, but not required:

• Existing relationships with universities, employers, professional groups, funders, or workforce programs
• Experience in stakeholder research, interviews, partnerships, policy, market discovery, or community organizing

What you can learn and build

• Practice structured country and stakeholder discovery instead of unbounded desk research
• Learn how a nonprofit uses evidence, readiness gates, and stop decisions before launching a program
• Build a concise regional market brief and opportunity brief that can be adapted into a professional portfolio sample with confidential details removed
• Develop cross-sector outreach, interviewing, synthesis, and recommendation skills, with eligibility for a LinkedIn recommendation and formal service verification

Support and boundaries

This is an unpaid volunteer opportunity. It does not promise employment, compensation, certification, academic credit, immigration benefits, or future paid work. After successful service, Crew Scaler can confirm your hours and completed outputs, provide public credit with your consent, and consider a reference based on work we directly observed.

How to apply

Write your application and the requested screening answer in English, and include a resume, LinkedIn profile, portfolio, or short work sample only where relevant. We review on a rolling basis and aim to reply within 7 days. The next step is a 20- to 30-minute conversation in English, followed by references or a work sample only when the role's access or professional duties justify them. Questions: volunteer@crewscaler.org. Learn more at https://crewscaler.org.