Social Research Division Manager - Emirati Talent

Role overview

The Department of Community Development is seeking a Social Research Division Manager to join its monitoring and impact function in Abu Dhabi. This position is focused on guiding, improving, and expanding social research work that supports the social sector strategy.

The selected professional will be responsible for ensuring that research is dependable, strategically relevant, and useful for shaping decisions that improve social impact. The role also involves working with local and international partners to strengthen research outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Set the direction for the organisation’s research agenda and annual plan, keeping it aligned with national and sector-level priorities.
• Make sure research findings feed into policy development, future planning, and social innovation efforts.
• Oversee major studies and theme-based research programmes that address important social issues.
• Create and maintain collaborations with universities, think tanks, and research institutions around the world.
• Handle partnership documents and coordination, including MoUs, NDAs, and data-sharing arrangements with bodies such as OECD, UN agencies, and the World Bank.
• Develop funding approaches that help sustain and grow research activities over time.
• Identify opportunities for named research chairs, joint funding arrangements, and academic partnerships that support long-term financial stability.
• Lead proposal writing for external funding opportunities, including programmes such as EU Horizon, UNDP, and the World Bank.
• Introduce funding and partnership models tied to performance and measurable policy impact.
• Build and enforce research governance structures, ethical standards, and peer review processes.
• Ensure studies meet strong standards for scientific quality, openness, and reproducibility.
• Supervise publication outputs such as policy briefs, working papers, and journal articles.

Minimum requirements

• Must be an Emirati national.
• Master’s degree in quantitative studies, research, statistics, economics, mathematics, or a related field; a PhD is considered a strong advantage.
• At least 10 years of full-time experience in research, quantitative analysis, and advanced statistics.
• Current or recent experience at the level of Research Section Head or Research Manager.
• Prior peer-reviewed publication in the social sector.
• Experience in project and team leadership.

Additional information

This role is part of the monitoring and impact team and is intended to strengthen social research capabilities in Abu Dhabi. The job description also indicates a focus on strategic decision-making, collaboration with international entities, and building a sustainable research ecosystem.

No stipend or salary details were provided in the source.