Non Charity Employer
0 About us
Who we are
Social Development Direct (SDDirect) is an SME (small or medium sized enterprise) social enterprise, with a 24-year track record as a leading global provider of high-quality and innovative social development consultancy and research services. We specialise in gender equality and social inclusion, applied across a broad range of programme areas, and have worked exclusively on these issues in over 50 countries, including fragile states and post-conflict settings.
We work to build inclusive societies in which all women, men, girls and boys and people of all identities are valued and empowered to make choices about their own development through greater social, economic, and political inclusion and increased accountability in the development process. We deliver this through technical advice to inform and shape policy, intersectional gender analysis and research, including evidence and literature review, strategic planning, business case and programme design, programme implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and the development and implementation of programmes at country and international level.
We work across different thematic areas, including safeguarding, inclusive education, gender-based violence prevention and response, governance and inclusive societies, climate, inclusive economic empowerment and digital. We serve a range of clients including leading development agencies such as the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), Australia’s Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the United Nations, including UNICEF and UN Women, INGOs, multilateral development banks, private sector partners and foundations, supporting them to realise their ambitions for global gender equality as part of their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our partners trust us to provide honest, robust advice that is underpinned by the latest evidence.
Our culture and values
Social Justice: We put gender equality and social inclusion at the heart of everything we do. We strive for a more just, inclusive and sustainable world where everyone can realise their human rights and participate fully in social, economic and political life, in line with the principles of feminism and racial justice.
Empowering people: Diversity is a source of strength. We are committed to 1) advancing inclusion, diversity and racial justice, both inside and outside our organisation. We foster a work culture that supports well-being and enables people to maximise their potential.
Professional Excellence: Our commitment to impact in social development is underpinned by the expertise and professionalism of our team. We promote continuous learning and improvement to provide best in class advice, management and innovation in all of our professional engagements.
Trust and Integrity: Relationships of trust are fundamental to the way we work. We build trust by nurturing a culture of openness, inclusive dialogue, respect and accountability. We hold ourselves and partners to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct, non-discrimination and safeguarding.
Passion and courage: We are passionate about social justice and courageous in our commitment to gender equality and social inclusion, even when this requires us to ask hard questions or face challenging situations. However difficult the context, we approach our work with enthusiasm and resilience.
Equality, diversity and inclusion policy
SDDirect’s office is located in central London. We operate on a hybrid working basis with a combination of in-office collaboration time and support for flexible and remote working/working from home.
You can expect to join a diverse and friendly team of people who are experts in their field and strive to make an impact. When asking staff what they most like about working for SDDirect, the highest response seems to be “the people!”.
As an organisation, we are values-driven and collaborative - you’ll be part of an open and consultative culture, where no major decision or new initiative is made without consulting you. Your opinion matters. We provide ongoing support for internal employee-led initiatives through our variety of working groups that you could be part of, including our Ethnic, Diversity and Racial Justice group; Disability Inclusion group; Gender, Sexuality and Inclusion group; Business Health Check group; and Eco-Committee.
Overall, we endeavour to keep our employees happy and have a track record of achieving high levels of staff satisfaction in annual surveys.
