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Three desks. Two houses. One mission.

Iron Rice Bowl prepares Hong Kong's most disciplined civil service candidates. Coloring.Life Hong Kong tends to the community around them. These three roles sit between the two houses.

Co-shared with Coloring.Life Hong Kong

Line-art portrait of a calm young man in a navy jacket at a desk — Public Affairs
Public Affairs

The desk we have in mind

Role 01

Associate (Public Affairs)

Hong Kong · HybridPart-time · Co-shared with Coloring.Life Hong Kong

Carry our voice into the rooms where Hong Kong's policy is shaped.

You assist on the materials. You adapt them — for the press, for the partners, for the public.

What you will do
  • Draft funding proposals and bids to sponsors, investors, universities and the government.
  • Draft and review op-eds, policy briefs, and press statements.
  • Build a working list of journalists and NGO partners. Keep it warm.
  • Prepare Mike talking points, Q&A drills, post-mortems.
  • Track government consultations and LegCo agenda items. Flag what matters.
What we ask for
  • A good Bachelor's degree (or third or final year undergraduates), preferably in communications, public policy, public health, marketing, political science, law, or a related field.
  • Three years of relevant hands-on experience (intern exposure for third or final year undergraduates).
  • Native Cantonese. Strong written English and Traditional Chinese.
  • A clean prose style. Short sentences. No jargon.
A plus, not required
  • Familiarity with Hong Kong civil service grades, the JRE, the CRE, and the recruitment cycle.
  • Existing relationships with Hong Kong newsrooms or policy desks.
What you get back
  • Equitable pay.
  • Meal allowances if you physically work with us.
  • Co-shared exposure across Iron Rice Bowl (civil service preparation) and Coloring.Life Hong Kong (community wellbeing).
  • Companions Rewards Club Patron tier from day one.
Apply for this roleReports to Founders of Iron Rice Bowl and Coloring.Life Hong Kong
Line-art portrait of a warm young woman in a pink blouse at a desk — Publicity & Engagement
Publicity & Engagement

The desk we have in mind

Role 02

Associate (Publicity and Engagement)

Hong Kong · HybridPart-time · Co-shared with Coloring.Life Hong Kong

Keep the IRB Companion community close. Keep the channels alive.

You run the rhythm of the house — the social channels, the Know Each Other sessions, the Companions onboarding, the alumni circles, and the small WhatsApp threads that decide whether a candidate sits the JRE in good spirits or quits in silence.

What you will do
  • Assist in maintaining and updating the relevant social media platforms and websites for Iron Rice Bowl and Coloring.Life.
  • Promote the related products and services of Iron Rice Bowl and Coloring.Life across owned and earned channels.
  • Co-ordinate online and offline dissemination — seminars, workshops, and community gatherings, end to end.
  • Craft engagement materials — decks, one-pagers, social posts, and email — to inform and appeal to candidates, partners, and the wider public.
  • Conduct regular surveys with Companions on IRB's services and products and collate relevant data.
  • Onboard new Companions. Walk them through points, tiers, and the first bundle.
  • Run the alumni roster. Match veterans with newcomers in the week before the JRE.
  • Listen to the WhatsApp groups. Surface what candidates actually need. Bring it to product.
What we ask for
  • Bachelor's degree in any discipline.
  • Two years in community management, social media, customer success, alumni relations, events, or front-of-house in a hospitality or education brand.
  • Native Cantonese. Working written English.
  • Warm in person. Patient. Quick on a keyboard.
  • Comfortable with inventing your productivity tools, shared calendars, and a basic image and video editor.
A plus, not required
  • Has sat — or come close to sitting — the JRE or a disciplined-services interview.
  • A small portfolio of social posts, newsletters, or event recaps.
What you get back
  • Direct authorship over the candidate experience.
  • Co-shared programming with the Coloring.Life Hong Kong wellbeing community.
  • Companions Rewards Club Patron tier from day one.
Apply for this roleReports to Founders of Iron Rice Bowl and Coloring.Life Hong Kong
Line-art portrait of a thoughtful young man in a pink shirt with a research notebook — Research (Projects)
Research (Projects)

The desk we have in mind

Role 03

Research Associate (Projects)

Hong Kong · HybridPart-time · Co-shared with Coloring.Life Hong Kong

Read the cycle. Build the curriculum and research. Ship the report and analyses.

You take a question — why did this year's JRE essay favour Mainland–Hong Kong economic integration? — and you come back with the answer, the data, and the slide. Then you write it into the next bundle.

What you will do
  • Lead the annual Fast Lane Report production.
  • Build and maintain a structured archive of JRE essays, AO group exercise prompts, and disciplined-services scenarios from public sources.
  • Draft new bundle curriculum and assessment rubrics with the founder.
  • Run university-collaborated mixed-methods research studies on social equity — surveys, interviews, light statistical work — for Coloring.Life community programmes.
  • Edit the Mindful Equinox long-reads. Tighten the argument. Cut the fat.
What we ask for
  • A good Bachelor's degree, Master's degree preferred (public policy, public health, social science, economics, education, or related).
  • Two years of research experience — academic, think tank, consulting, or in-house at a media or education company.
  • Comfortable with Excel, Google Sheets, basic statistical reasoning, and at least one of Python, R, or SPSS.
  • Reads policy documents the way other people read novels.
  • Writes clean, declarative English. Edits without sentiment.
A plus, not required
  • Published work — journal articles, op-eds, think tank reports, or substantial blog essays.
  • Familiarity with Hong Kong administrative data sources (C&SD, GovHK, LegCo papers).
What you get back
  • Your name on the Fast Lane Report and Mindful Equinox, as well as journal publications of the Founder of Coloring.Life Hong Kong.
  • A co-shared research portfolio across civil service preparation and community wellbeing.
  • Companions Rewards Club Patron tier from day one.
Apply for this roleReports to Founders of Iron Rice Bowl and Coloring.Life Hong Kong
How to apply

One email. One page. One sample.

Send your CV, a one-page cover letter, and one piece of work you are proud of — a press clipping, a memo, a research note, an event recap. We read everything we receive. We reply within two weeks.

careers@iron-rice-bowl.com
Or write us first through the contact page.