Research Analyst - IQ Talent Marketplace

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) is a global organisation building a movement to measure, incentivise and encourage business’ impact towards a sustainable future for everyone. To empower this movement, we publish free and public corporate benchmarks on systemic issues related to sustainable development. We assess and engage with 2,000 companies across seven system transformations: digital, food and agriculture, nature and biodiversity, decarbonisation and energy, finance, social, and urban, and we collaborate with more than 350 Allies worldwide to facilitate the use of our research insights for stakeholder action.

In the coming year, we will be working towards the publication of all our corporate benchmarks: climate and energy, food and agriculture, finance, digital inclusion, human rights, gender, social, nature, and urban. We are seeking to scale up and strengthen our research on how companies perform on a range of sustainable development topics and we are therefore looking to grow our research team.

We have several openings for the role of “Sustainability Research Analyst”. In this role, you will undertake research, from data collection to analysis, to shed light on how companies are contributing to the positive system changes needed to achieve the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. You will be objectively assessing companies to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. You should thrive in a fast-paced and purpose-driven work environment that provides high levels of autonomy.

What you will do:

• Accurately and objectively assess company performance on sustainable development by applying several WBA benchmark methodologies and scoring guidelines on publicly available information. This could involve undertaking initial data collection from corporate disclosures and public databases and/or reviewing the initial data collected by external research partners.
• Draft company scorecards that provide clear insights into a company’s leading practices as well as risks and opportunities.
• Communicate and engage with benchmarked companies to ensure they understand the relevant methodologies, provide feedback or additional information, share their experiences on how benchmarking influences positive changes at the company level, and participate in peer learning activities and other relevant WBA convenings.
• Participate in the team’s effort towards data cleaning, data management, data analysis, and data visualization.
• Contribute towards the drafting of key findings, research reports and articles.
• Suggest ways to improve methodologies, scoring guidelines, research workflows, and analytical techniques.
• When required, undertake additional data collection and analysis to support the development of more nuanced and contextualized insights on corporate performance.
• Cooperate with your team to deliver accurate research outputs in a timely manner.
• Continually upskill on research methods and tools while enhancing your understanding of relevant industry trends and policy environments.

What we are looking for:

• At least three years of professional research experience in relevant fields. For this recruitment round, we are especially interested in candidates who are knowledgeable on the topics of decarbonisation and energy (particularly on Oil & Gas, Electricity and Transport sectors but others are possible) and willingness to become familiar with Assessing Low-Carbon Transition (ACT) methodologies, OR candidates with training and experience relevant to Biodiversity and nature topics OR candidates with interest and experience on digital inclusion and related digital sector topics.
• Strong academic qualifications and research skills, or equivalent hands-on experience. A relevant research PhD is an advantage and counts towards years of professional experience.
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills; able to write clearly and concisely for professional audiences. Additional language skills are a plus.
• Solid grasp of applied statistics and data analysis as well as facility with database querying and spreadsheets. Ability to script in R or Python is a plus.
• In addition to the above, Data visualization and graphical design skills are a plus.
• Strong interest in research, especially on corporate performance on sustainable development and the business and policy environments that shape that performance.
• Passion for making a difference with a curious mindset and a ‘can do’, hands-on and professional attitude.
• Potential to thrive in a teal culture based on self-managed teams, able to take initiative, self-reflect and collaborate with colleagues.
• Comfortable in a globally inclusive, multi-cultural, fast-paced, agile, and virtual/hybrid environment that promotes flexibility whilst being able to meet deadlines.

Our offer:

We stimulate personal growth and believe in flexible working arrangements, and you will receive market-based employment benefits (the equivalent of the all-in annual compensation range of €44k – €49k gross). We have a physical presence in Amsterdam and London, alongside many employees who work across the world. You can be based anywhere for this role as inclusivity is one of our values.

Interested?

To submit your application, please click the ‘Apply for this Job’ button. Address your application to Aarti Misal and include a brief cover letter explaining your interest in joining the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and how your skills align with the role description. Additionally, please include a link to a writing sample within your resume.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Question for Research Analyst Application May 2024.”

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. The final deadline for applications is 5 PM CET on 15 May 2024. The first round of virtual interviews will be held from the first week of June 2024 onwards.

For more information about WBA and our benchmarks please see our website or follow @SDGBenchmarks on Twitter.