Social Transformation Researcher

Are you passionate about the role of companies in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Are you knowledgeable around social impact and experienced at corporate disclosures? The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) is now recruiting for a:

Social Transformation – Researcher

WBA is building a movement to measure and incentivise business impact towards a sustainable future that works for everyone. The private sector has a crucial role to play in advancing the SDGs, but to boost companies’ motivation, there needs to be real change in the way that their impact is measured. That’s why we are assessing 2,000 companies on a Social Transformation as part of our plans to produce publicly available and free rankings of corporate performance on the SDGs. Our benchmarks are used by investors, civil society, governments and companies to accelerate a race to the top. We are now recruiting a researcher to join our Social Transformation team with a strong background in social sustainability issues and familiarity on how companies disclose on them. In this role you will project manage the delivery of the core social assessment of the 2,000 companies in scope and support the broader work of the Social Transformation team. You should thrive in a fast-paced and purpose-driven work environment that provides high levels of autonomy.

What you will do

• Review and coordinate assessments produced by WBA researchers and third parties on Social Transformation topics and analyse the findings to decide on scores of company performance.
• Use scoring guidelines and the final methodology (due January 2021) to check scores for hundreds of companies across all WBA benchmarks – e.g. answer technical queries and manage quality control from third parties.
• Engage companies and other stakeholders in the benchmark process – e.g. lead company calls to explain decisions on scoring and answering technical queries on how disclosures have been interpreted.
• Write social components of company scorecards that will be used by investors, policymakers and WBA Allies.
• Provide training and coaching to colleagues on benchmarking social issues to build our research capacity.
• Wider Social Transformation work including inputting to our annual cycle of reviewing methodologies, indicators and scoring guidelines and developing new methodologies for social topics like living wages.
• Support our wider engagement to ensure different stakeholders contribute to explaining the importance of transforming the role of business such that they respect human rights, promote equality and empower people.

What we are looking for

• 7+ years of experience in project management, research oversight and analysis of (social) sustainability issues.
• Expertise on corporate impact in relation to WBA’s Social Transformation topics, such as human & labour rights; gender equality; living wages; anti-corruption, lobbying and political influence; corporate taxation.
• Excellent project management skills and adept at building relationships and working across various virtual teams.
• Strong academic qualifications and qualitative and quantitative analytical skills, adept at interpreting and analysing corporate disclosures and data on social issues.
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills, able to write clearly and concisely on social topics for professional audiences. Additional language skills are an advantage.
• Passion for making a difference with a ‘can do’ mentality and professional attitude.
• Comfortable in an agile environment that promotes flexibility whilst able to meet competing deadlines.

Our offer

A challenging job with room to grow in a driven team focused on impact, ambition and teamwork. We stimulate personal growth, believe in flexible working arrangements and you will receive market-based employment benefits. WBA has a physical presence in Amsterdam and London alongside many employees who work remotely across the world. You can be based anywhere as we values-led organisation committed to inclusive employment. We particularly welcome applicants from the global South.

Interested?

Send your resume to careers@worldbenchmarkingalliance.org addressed to Ciska de Hilster (Lead People) with a brief cover letter explaining why you are interested in joining the WBA and how you meet ‘What we are looking for’ (above). In case you have any questions regarding the role, you can reach out to Shamistha Selvaratnam. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible but at latest on 15 November and the first virtual online interviews will be held on 23 & 24 November. For more information about the WBA and our benchmarks, visit our website or follow @SDGBenchmarks.