Senior Social Researcher Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Social Impact is seeking Senior Social Analysis Experts to support the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on a multi-year Social Analysis Due Diligence Support program focused on infrastructure Compacts. The work will support MCC's Social Analysis Practice Group across the full MCC Compact lifecycle-from country and sector analysis and problem identification through project design, implementation, monitoring, and closeout. The work spans major infrastructure sectors, including transport, energy, water and sanitation, and digital services. Social Analysis at MCC applies social science, political economy, stakeholder engagement, and social risk analysis to help ensure that investments are context-informed, broadly beneficial, sustainable, and responsive to social and political realities.

Senior experts may be required to serve in a variety of leadership and technical capacities, including Technical Directive Managers/Team Leaders, Social Scientists, and Social Analysis Technical Experts. We are looking for candidates who bring a combination of strong social analysis expertise, international development experience, technical leadership, stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver high-quality products for senior government and development-sector audiences.

 The position may involve international travel to MCC partner countries, as well as collaboration with MCC headquarters in Washington, DC. MCC anticipates that new countries may be added over the life of the program as new sectors and country programs are identified. Current MCC country Compacts anticipated to be supported under this opportunity include: Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kosovo, Liberia, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Zambia.

Position Responsibilities

Depending on the assignment, the Senior Social Analysis Expert may be responsible for the following:

Social Analysis & Technical Leadership

• Conduct and/or lead social, political economy, institutional, and contextual analysis to identify constraints to economic growth, poverty reduction, investment, and program viability.
• Assess social and political risks, barriers, incentives, institutional dynamics, and opportunities for change and incorporate findings into project and program design.
• Apply social science methodologies to infrastructure and economic development programs, including analysis of how projects may affect different populations and how program design can maximize broad-based benefits.
• Develop technical recommendations, project concepts, activity designs, work plans, budgets, staffing approaches, and other inputs to support MCC program development and implementation.
• Integrate social analysis findings into program logic, monitoring and evaluation approaches, indicators, and beneficiary analysis.
• Conduct literature reviews, desk research, field assessments, interviews, stakeholder consultations, and other qualitative and quantitative research as appropriate.

Program & Technical Directive Management

• Lead and coordinate multidisciplinary teams of social scientists, sector specialists, technical experts, social safeguards specialists, local coordinators, and other personnel.
• Manage multiple concurrent technical assignments, ensuring work plans, schedules, deliverables, and resources remain on track.
• Serve as a senior point of contact with MCC, country counterparts, implementing entities, consultants, and subcontractors.
• Integrate contributions from multiple technical disciplines and ensure that final deliverables are technically sound, coherent, timely, and responsive to MCC requirements.
• Provide quality control and technical oversight of reports, analyses, presentations, terms of reference, assessments, and other deliverables.

Stakeholder Engagement & Capacity Building

• Design and facilitate stakeholder engagement with government institutions, communities, civil society, private-sector stakeholders, and other relevant groups.
• Develop stakeholder maps, research questions, interview guides, consultation approaches, and engagement strategies.
• Facilitate consultations and workshops and synthesize stakeholder perspectives into actionable recommendations.
• Provide training, mentoring, capacity building, and technical assistance to MCC staff, country-based counterparts, implementing entities, and other stakeholders.

Social Risk & Safeguards

• Identify and assess social risks associated with infrastructure investments and develop practical mitigation measures.
• Support social safeguards activities, including issues related to IFC Performance Standards, Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP), sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and workplace safety, as relevant to the assignment.
• Support development and implementation of social risk assessments, mitigation plans, grievance mechanisms, and related tools.
• Integrate social risk considerations into project design, procurement documents, implementation plans, and contract oversight.

Implementation, Monitoring & Learning

• Support implementation of Social Analysis and Implementation Plans (SAIPs), monitoring and evaluation plans, and other program implementation tools.
• Review contractor and partner deliverables and provide technical feedback and recommendations.
• Support impact evaluations using qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
• Participate in field missions and provide implementation oversight.
• Develop lessons learned, case studies, technical papers, guidance, training materials, presentations, and other knowledge-management products.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in social science, international development, economics, sociology, anthropology, demography, geography, community development, political science, public policy, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of professional experience in international development, social analysis, social research, political economy, community development, or a related field. Candidates for the most senior assignments typically bring 15+ years, including design or implementation of programs in developing countries.
• Demonstrated application of social science methods to infrastructure, economic development, public sector programs, or institutional reform, including analysis of the social, political, and institutional factors that shape whether programs succeed.
• Experience conducting or overseeing qualitative and/or quantitative research, assessments, stakeholder consultations, interviews, field research, or other evidence-gathering activities.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex research and analysis into clear, actionable recommendations for government, donor, or senior development-sector audiences.
• Experience working on multidisciplinary teams and coordinating contributions across multiple technical areas.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with MCC or other bilateral/multilateral development institutions.
• Experience with large-scale infrastructure or economic development programs, particularly in transport, energy, water and sanitation, or digital services.
• Experience in political economy analysis, institutional analysis, governance, policy and regulatory reform, labor force participation, entrepreneurship, access to markets/finance, information and communication campaigns, monitoring and evaluation, or organizational change.
• Experience with social safeguards, IFC Performance Standards, C-TIP, SEA, sexual harassment, or workplace safety.
• Professional proficiency in languages relevant to MCC partner countries is a plus.
• Experience working in one or more of the MCC countries or regions listed above.
• Strong team leadership experience, including experience managing work plans, deliverables, schedules, budgets, consultants, or subcontractors.

What We're Looking For

We are particularly interested in senior professionals who can operate at the intersection of technical expertise, social science, program management, and international development. Successful candidates may have different professional backgrounds-for example, a senior social scientist with extensive infrastructure experience, a development professional who has led multidisciplinary teams, or a political economy/social safeguards specialist with strong program design experience.

Candidates do not need to have held the title "Social Analysis Expert" previously. We are interested in professionals whose experience demonstrates the ability to apply social analysis to real-world development challenges, lead complex assignments, engage diverse stakeholders, and translate evidence into effective program and project decisions.