Head of climate data and modelling services

Defra is looking for someone to lead on the modelling and data management for the two Climate Divisions, adaptation and mitigation. This is a new and exciting opportunity that will suit a motivated person with a passion for creating new products and  analysing and visualising data to inform decision-making at the most senior level. The successful candidate may have a background in economics, data science, operational research or statistics. 

In 2021, the UK government published its Net Zero Strategy followed by its Net Zero Growth Plan in 2023, together these set out how the UK will achieve Net Zero by 2050. Defra has a significant role to play in achieving that goal. Defra sectors contribute a significant and rising proportion of current UK production emissions, due in large part to emissions from agriculture and waste sectors. Data play a critical role in translating, explaining and enabling understanding of the complexity of the Defra Net Zero policies and our potential policy pathways. Defra’s ambition is one of a data driven department, this role will play a key part in bringing data front and centre to our implementation of Net Zero policies and programmes.

Defra’s two Climate Divisions sit in the Environment Strategy Directive. They contain three Deputy Director led teams of policy officials that lead on three policy goals – 1) achieving Defra’s contribution to UK climate mitigation (incl. Net Zero and Carbon Budgets), 2) developing UK resilience to climate change (incl. through a Climate Change Risk Assessment and a National Adaptation Plan), and 3) management of phase-down of use of F-Gases (incl. delivering on international commitments and the Montreal Protocol).

The Climate Divisions host a fourth team, Evidence, whose purpose is to develop, communicate and apply evidence to ensure policy across these three areas is evidence based. It comprises approximately eleven people, with a mixture of economists and scientists. The role advertised will sit in the Climate Evidence team and provide support across at least two of the policy areas. It is a close team – informal, supportive but very focused on excellence in evidence.

There is scope for the role to evolve overtime to suit the candidate’s skills but initially there are two areas of focus: 

1. Climate modelling – the team is looking to bolster our modelling capabilities related to climate analysis and policy impacts. We are looking for someone with coding skills to develop and maintain a quota and emissions model for Fluorinated Gases (F-Gases), which helps us to understand and simulate the impact and cost of alternative policy options. Following EU exit, Defra Climate Division lead on management of F-Gases, and are currently carrying out a policy review with a view to establishing new and more ambitious legislation. This analysis will form a vital part to developing our policy thinking and approach. F–Gases are a potent GHG widely used in refrigerators and aerosols. There has been significant success in reducing consumption of these gases over time, largely due to tightening quota, and technological developments. However, significant challenges and opportunities remain, including to further reduce consumption, ensure roll out of heat pumps, recover ‘old gas’ and promote alternative technologies.

Longer term, we believe that the model can be significantly developed to incorporate emerging data and new functions, to provide ongoing support to policy development. There will be a role also to ensure the model is properly documented, is robust, widely used including by Other Government Departments (OGDs) with a stake (such as the Department for Net zero and Energy Security), and capability built to ensure it is maintained – we want a model that will live on.

The model is relatively complex and built in R, and we believe it will be necessary for the post holder to have numerical programming skills, which may be in R or similar, and some basic understanding of economic choice and mathematical optimisation. The post holder will work with and be supported by two economists and a small F-Gas team of policy officials.   

2. Net Zero data and systems – this work stream will be working with part of the wider Net Zero evidence and central policy team to establish and develop key data products and systems to understand Defra’s NZ objectives and performance. There is significant demand from ministers and senior policy officials for data to inform decision making at pace  

The post holder will be developing and maintaining our core data dashboard. This is underpinned by existing databases that reports GHG emissions baseline and projections to 2050 across Defra sectors and multiple policies (waste and wastewater, agriculture, land-use and land-use change) as well as data on delivery confidence and some on costs.   

This is an evolving landscape, so would require the postholder to understand how methodologies underpinning data changes, and how updates in policy impacts trends and outcomes. Understanding how data is interoperable and managed by best practice is key. The candidate will have the opportunity to lead on the development of our reporting dashboard, which will include establishing what data users want and conceive attractive products that visualise data, convey key messages and are efficient to deliver, with automation to our underlying databases and products. 

There is space in this role to take on additional objectives which, depending on the background of applicants, could be in our wider evidence functions, so welcome applicants with range of backgrounds, so long as they have the core data science and coding capability. The team comprises scientists who manage and support significant efforts to develop and dissemination knowledge to policy, including through programmes such as the Climate Change Risk Assessment, and the NZ R&D programme. Our economists are heavily engaged in the data and undertake relevant climate analysis. For an ambitious and innovative candidate, within the breadth of our climate goals, there is enormous scope to develop and shape a role.  

The expectation is that the successful candidate will quickly develop knowledge in F-Gas and NZ subject areas, and embed themselves in Defra’s wider data capability, to ensure professional support and QA, and promote own career development. The post will be based and managed in Defra’s Climate Evidence team.

The role requires:  

• A degree or advanced degree in a numerical subject
• Strong analytical and mathematical modelling skills using a range of software and techniques, including open source software
• Experience of building data dashboards and modelling
• Proficient with coding (preferably in R and Python). Able to create new packages and interact with external libraries and toolkits for predictive analysis and machine learning, including using cloud-based services for data analysis
• Core data skills including experience of automation of data, data quality assurance, data visualisation, user requirements analysis, and communication of data and its analysis 
• Work collaboratively and in partnership with colleagues to discuss and develop analytical ideas and to help develop policy thinking
• Prioritise and plan their work effectively, managing demands to deliver high-quality outcomes
• Have a strong focus on quality assurance, ensuring their work is robust and meets the needs of policy customers
• Effectively lead and manage their own work area
• Resilience to work in an environment where there may be unexpected demands

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Skills in dashboard development
• Skills in coding and modelling

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Blended Working

Defra operates a blended working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.

Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending minimum of 40-60% in the workplace, unless exceptional circumstances apply and/or you are a contractual home worker.

Job contact :

• Name : Nigel Miller
• Email : nigel.miller@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk