Social Impact, Reputational Risk Analyst

National Journal; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Gravity Research, based in Washington, DC, is hiring a Social Impact and Reputational Risk Analyst to support Fortune 500 and other clients. The role involves researching societal issues, benchmarking actions, and delivering bespoke insights and recommendations.

The team works with senior leaders and client executives in a hybrid office setting. The ideal candidate has 1–3 years in related domains, a Bachelor's degree, and strong writing and presentation skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 1–3 years in strategy consulting, policy analysis, risk analysis, Capitol Hill or related fields.
• Strong analytical, qualitative research and writing skills.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and deliverables.
• Experience leading teams or mentoring interns.
• Familiarity with social issues and media/political environment.

Responsibilities

• Managing research for 4–6 client accounts and ensuring timely delivery of all project work.
• Collaborating with team to develop research methodologies to answer client questions.
• Leading associates and interns supporting the client research process.
• Developing nuanced analysis on societal issues and synthesizing findings into strategic recommendations.
• Drafting deliverables (PowerPoint presentations, memos) to communicate findings.
• Presenting findings and interacting with clients to understand their needs.
• Staying current on societal issues and their impact on business to inform research and analysis.
• Contributing to product development by crafting new approaches to analytic work.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Project management

Strong writing

PowerPoint

Strategy consulting

Policy analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Gravity Research is hiring a Social Impact and Reputational Risk Analyst.

Gravity Research, born of National Journal, is a premier custom research and insights organization supporting corporate, association, and nonprofit clients. Our mission is to empower organizations to anticipate risk, spot opportunities, and rationalize reputational concerns against a backdrop of evolving public pressures.

What is Gravity Research's Societal and Reputational Intelligence Service?

Gravity Research’s newest product is a research service that helps Fortune 500 companies make informed decisions about when and how to engage on societal issues, such as racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, climate, and human rights. We support clients by monitoring the current conversation around these issues, benchmarking our clients’ actions compared to their peers, and analyzing the advantages and risks of engaging on specific issues.

We are looking for curious and innovative researchers and consultants interested in helping corporations smartly navigate society’s most important and challenging issues.

The Role

Social Impact and Reputational Risk Analysts are responsible for contributing to all aspects of SRI client engagements. Analysts on the social issues benchmarking team use our media monitoring tools and a range of qualitative research methods to identify and track trending issues, produce custom analysis for our clients, and develop bespoke insights and recommendations. Analysts work directly with senior leaders at Gravity Research and senior public affairs and C-suite executives at client companies.

Qualifications of the Ideal candidate

The ideal candidate will have strong familiarity with the range of contentious societal issues currently at play, a solid understanding of the media and political environment, and excellent qualitative research and analysis skills. The candidate will have the ability to execute against tight deadlines to develop professional and intellectually sound deliverables for clients, both independently and in close collaboration with team members.

Your responsibilities will include

• Managing research for 4-6 client accounts and being responsible for the timely delivery of all project work.
• Collaborating with team members to develop research methodologies and approaches to answer client questions.
• Leading associates and interns who are supporting the client research process.
• Developing smart, nuanced analysis on how societal issues may impact corporations, their workforces, and their consumers, and synthesizing findings into strategic recommendations for clients.
• Drafting deliverables, including PowerPoint presentations, memos, and other formats, to communicate findings and recommendations to clients.
• Presenting findings and interacting with clients to better understand their needs, serving as a trusted expert and advisor on challenging societal issues.
• Regularly consuming news about a range of societal issues and their impact on the business community to incorporate current trends into research and analysis.
• Contributing to product development by crafting new and innovative approaches to producing the analytic work, optimizing operations, and perfecting the research product.
• To perform this job successfully, each essential competency and responsibility must be performed satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable an individual with disabilities to perform essential functions. Other duties may be assigned to meet organizational goals.

Specific qualifications include

• A highly analytic, natural problem solver.
• The ability to highlight key insights within a complex set of data, synthesize large amounts of information, and then clearly explain these insights to clients.
• A skilled project manager, able to independently manage competing priorities and adhere to timelines.
• A strong writer able to clearly frame issues for a variety of audiences; some experience with PowerPoint or other visual presentation formats highly preferred.
• An individual with 1-3 years of experience in at least one of the following domains: strategy consulting, policy analysis, risk analysis, Capitol Hill or executive agency experience, or political science research.
• Earned Bachelor's degree required
• Entrepreneurial spirit; Track record of building new initiatives from conception to execution.
• Creative thinking and resourcefulness in problem-solving.
• Prodigious work ethic and spirit of generosity.

$60,000 - $65,000 a year

Start Date

Available immediately

Application Deadline

August 21, 2026

Employment Type

Full-time

Location

This job is based in Washington, DC. Gravity Research operates on a hybrid schedule, with employees required to be in the office every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During the month of August 2026, Gravity Research teams will be fully remote.

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About Us

Across Gravity Research, generally, the firm looks for three “pillar gifts” in you, and everyone else. In all of us, these are more aspirational than actual, but they are central in our intentions –

Force of Ideas

At the center of Gravity Research’s work are the ideas within our work. We believe that ideas—the good and not—have consequences. Our ultimate objective is to bring rigor, insight, and intellectual honesty to the goal of separating the bad from the good, and giving voice, argument, and flight to maintaining the latter.

Spirit of Generosity

Gravity Research seeks in its ranks a spirit of generosity: a natural disposition in each colleague toward service and selfless conduct. Our writing should be cut from the same cloth—critical on the merits, but informed by charity and forbearance in measuring motive and personal character.

Radical Responsibility

We give our people a lot of responsibility early on, and our top performers embrace it. We believe in holding ourselves and our colleagues accountable, taking ownership over big things, striving for excellence, and celebrating success.

Gravity Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.