Land and Community Engagement Specialist (Social Scientist II)

Overview

Position summary

Banyan Global is recruiting a Land and Community Engagement Specialist (Social Scientist, Level II) for an upcoming Millennium Challenge Corporation procurement and is contingent on an award. Experience in Fiji or the broader Pacific region is preferred.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities

• Analyze and advise on the social, cultural, and community-level dynamics that shape land rights, land use, consent processes, and benefit-sharing.
• Assess how households, customary institutions, men, women, and youth participate in decisions about land access and investment.
• Examine how norms around stewardship, compensation, and dispute resolution influence community responses to proposed public and private projects.
• Identify community expectations and concerns, sources of conflict, and opportunities for inclusive engagement that build trust and transparency.
• Develop strategies so project designs respect customary governance, promote meaningful participation, and deliver benefits that local landholders understand and share equitably.
• Help design approaches that let investments proceed with community support, reduce social risk, and strengthen the long-term legitimacy of land-related interventions.

Qualifications

Required qualifications

• 10 to 14 years of experience in economic and social analysis, design, and/or implementation, including conducting social analysis or applying it to project design or implementation in a relevant technical field.
• A bachelor's degree in a related field.
• Expertise in a social science (sociology, anthropology, demography, geography, economics, or community development) or a related discipline.
• Experience in land rights, land use, or community engagement on land and investment, gained in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
• Experience conducting social analysis that includes stakeholder engagement.
• Strong written English. Depending on the country assignment, MCC may also require Spanish, French, or Portuguese.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in Fiji or the Pacific region.
• Experience with customary land tenure systems and customary institutions.
• Experience with land access, consultation, or benefit-sharing for infrastructure or private investment projects.
• Proficiency in additional languages.
• Prior experience working with MCC.

How to apply

Please upload your CV and a brief cover letter with the subject line "Land and Community Engagement Specialist" to https://banyanglobal.com/careers/.

This position is contingent on Banyan Global being awarded the contract.