Social Scientist in Arlington, Virginia at Organizational Development Resource Group
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Job Description
Position: Social Scientist - Synthesis & Systematic Reviews
Location: Remote
Clearance: Active Secret
Overview:
We are seeking a highly qualified Research, Analysis, and Knowledge Products Lead to support the research-based mission and training programs of CY-RALLI. This role will help strengthen the Security Cooperation workforce by developing evidence-based knowledge products, job aids, research repositories, systematic reviews, and applied analytic products that translate complex research into practical, actionable guidance.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead the creation, sustainment, review, and dissemination of Security Cooperation knowledge products and job aids.
- Establish priorities for content vetting, product development, stakeholder coordination, and final product review.
- Conduct research, literature reviews, and analysis using existing research materials, catalogs, and diverse source findings.
- Translate research findings into actionable indicators, evidence-based recommendations, and practical tools for the Security Cooperation workforce.
- Identify information gaps, usability issues, and opportunities to improve the clarity and usefulness of knowledge products.
- Develop approximately 15–20 final job aid products annually using a cumulative total of 35–45 verified data sources.
- Prepare, update, and manage the Quarterly Knowledge Products Plan.
- Manage the technical, administrative, and logistical workflow for producing a Catalogue of Existing Evidence and rigorous systematic reviews of social scientific literature related to Security Cooperation.
- Develop recommended system designs, methodologies, and draft standard operating procedures for systematic literature reviews and evidence cataloging.
- Coordinate methodology panels, field expert panels, and peer-review activities involving academic and social science experts.
- Engineer database architecture and draft standardized codebooks to support structured, queryable research data.
- Develop training materials for scholars producing systematic reviews and contributing to the evidence catalogue.
- Analyze academic literature to recommend operational research topics and strategically relevant debates for Government review.
- Draft systematic reviews and manage workflows for external scholars, including schedules, quality reviews, and administrative coordination.
- Support approved AI-assisted or AI-only workflow testing by generating test versions, coordinating blind peer review, and documenting comparative findings.
- Manage workflows that translate social scientific theory and evidence into policy-relevant applied research products.
- Formulate applied research frameworks, methodologies, and procedural workflows for Analytic Source Documents.
- Coordinate applied research methodology panels and support peer-review assessment activities.
- Design and deliver training materials on policy-translation techniques for Government-selected scholars.
- Identify and recommend Security Cooperation concepts and operational challenges where applied research can provide strategic value.
- Draft, compile, and technically develop Analytic Source Documents, or coordinate development with external researchers.
- Track milestones, conduct technical and policy-translation reviews, and prepare administrative support packages for Government review.
- Support approved AI-assisted applied research workflow testing and deliver comparative findings.
Expected Impact:
- In this role, you will help produce approximately 15–20 final job aids each year, drawing on 35–45 verified data sources, while supporting related planning, review, documentation, and repository management activities.
What's Required:
- Master’s degree or higher in Social Sciences, Political Science, Sociology or a related field.
- An active Secret Clearance. A government background investigation will be conducted on selected applicants to determine whether they qualify for access to classified information.
- 8-10 years of experience in research design, systematic review methodology, and evidence synthesis.
- Proven experience developing knowledge products, job aids, or similar practical guides for a professional workforce.
- Demonstrated ability to conduct literature reviews and synthesize scientific information.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex research findings into actionable insights and clear visualizations for non-academic audiences.
- Experience with knowledge management systems (e.g., SharePoint) and developing SOPs.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
What We Offer
- The opportunity to shape the knowledge base of a critical national security mission.
- A collaborative and intellectually stimulating work environment.
- Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
Compensation:
The pay range for this job is determined by various factors, including but not necessarily limited to location, responsibilities of the job, and alignment with market data. When determining a salary for this role, the following factors may be taken into consideration: contract-specific affordability, education, knowledge, skills, competencies and experience. The estimate displayed represents the salary range for this position and is just one component of ODRG's total compensation package for employees. It is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee. The pay band for this position is $100-135k.
About Us
Organizational Development Resource Group (ODRG), LLC is a management consulting company that provides professional services to organizations within DoD, Federal, Commercial, and non - profit sectors.
About the Team
ODRG professional consultants provide management consulting and administrative support services. We assist our customers with strategic direction, implementation, and evaluation efforts that optimize their workforce and ultimately enhance the effectiveness of the organization. Our consultants have designed and delivered value added solutions for government and private organizations that have resulted in organizational effectiveness; process efficiency, strengthen workforce, and cost savings.
What you'll be part of - ODRG Culture
We foster a winning culture of solution creators built on innovation, collaboration, flexibility, and work-life balance. Our success is measured by the level of impact we have on our clients, and we are prideful of the ability we have to solve difficult problems through collaboration with government agencies as well as other organizations, along with our ability to deliver the results they need. There is a great deal of passion in the people who make up our organization when it comes to the causes we support.
ODRG is committed to affording equal employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candidates for employment may inform their recruiter if they need a reasonable accommodation in all phases of the application and employment process. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.