Grade 7 Lead Analyst, Resilient infrastructure – (Ref: 5166)

London (region)

This position can be based at 1 Victoria St, Westminster, London SW1H 0ET

Organisation Description

 

The Climate Change Committee is the independent expert statutory adviser to Parliament and the UK Government on climate change policy. It was created as a key part of the long-term legal framework set out in the Climate Change Act (2008). The Act sets a long-term target for 2050 (Net Zero, a 100% reduction in net emissions from 1990) and requires that carbon budgets (five-year caps on emissions) are set on a path towards the long-term target. The Act also requires that the UK assesses and responds to the risks that it faces as the climate changes.

The CCC has established itself as a high-profile, high-impact expert body in the analysis of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Its reports can be accessed from the CCC’s website: www.theccc.org.uk. The CCC is comprised of two Boards, ‘the Committee’ (covering expertise in mitigation) and ‘the Adaptation Committee’ (covering expertise in adaptation); and an analytical secretariat. The Committees have a distinguished membership of leading experts from the fields of climate change, science, engineering and economics: https://www.theccc.org.uk/about/.

The Committees are supported by a secretariat of around 50, including economists, operational researchers, scientists and other analysts. The CCC was the first body of its kind in the world and brings together different strands of expertise from its members, from government, the research community and business. It draws on existing information and undertakes its own analysis to provide expert advice to Ministers and to Parliament. It is required to give advice to Ministers on climate change matters covered by the Climate Change Act and on an ad-hoc basis as and when requested.

Job description  

Role Description

 

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is seeking a high-performing senior analyst to lead our work on building climate resilience across the UK’s infrastructure systems – electricity, fuel supply, water, telecoms & ICT and transport. This role offers an exciting opportunity to further develop the evidence base on climate change impacts on UK infrastructure systems and to drive forward policy action to address these risks.

 

Job description

 

This role will sit across two teams: a newly established infrastructure team that leads the CCC’s work on both reducing emissions from, and building climate resilience in, infrastructure systems (transport, water, telecoms & ICT) and the energy supply team, which also looks at decarbonisation and adaptation of the energy system (covering the production and transport of electricity, gas, and hydrogen among other fuels). The team, alongside the CCC’s other analytical teams, develops analysis, research and policy advice and communicates the Committees’ conclusions through various outputs, including published reports.

 

The postholder will lead the CCC’s work on climate resilience across infrastructure systems, collaborating with other experts across the team to deliver on the CCC’s statutory outputs, in addition to ad hoc reports and advice. They will represent the CCC in forums and advisory groups across the infrastructure sectors, sharing expertise and communicating the Committee’s advice on climate resilience for infrastructure.

The significant majority of this position’s focus will be on adapting to climate change, and the interaction of adaptation and decarbonisation issues, ensuring that the UK’s transition to Net Zero adequately considers future climate risks.  This will include analysis and advice on the resilience implications of decarbonising key infrastructure systems such as energy and transport, working together with other analysts within the team.

The successful candidate will join the team at an exciting time, with a number of important and high profile reports in development:

• The CCC is beginning the development of the fourth UK Climate Change Risk Independent Assessment (CCRA4). This will likely involve providing input and subject matter expertise to research specifications for analytical deep-dives into infrastructure risk assessments and the potential impacts of adaptation measures to improve resilience – reviewing literature to build robust assumptions and communicating these within the secretariat, engaging with infrastructure stakeholders to ensure their views are appropriately captured throughout delivery of CCRA4 analysis and maximising the impact of the findings.
• The secretariat are also now embarking on the development of the Seventh Carbon Budget – seeking to provide Ministers with advice on the volume of greenhouse gases the UK can emit during the period 2038-2042. We will need to consider how the steps that we take to drive down carbon emissions can be delivered so as to simultaneously address the adaptation challenges we face (for instance, building decarbonised infrastructure such that it is also resilient to a changing climate).
• In addition to these deliverables, the successful candidate will lead biennial progress reports on adapting to climate change in England, and regular progress reports on adapting to climate change in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They will also have a role in feeding into mitigation progress reports to ensure the CCC continues to provide advice on a holistic basis.

The work of the CCC to date has been influential in setting the direction of UK and devolved administration climate policy, and in the development of policy in highly challenging areas. This post provides an excellent chance to work on high-profile policy areas with a strong analytical focus, a high degree of autonomy and within a supportive team environment. The postholder will also benefit from exposure to the distinguished members of the Committees – the Adaptation Committee in particular – and have the opportunity to develop analysis, report writing, project management, influencing and stakeholder relation skills.

Requirements

 

For this post we are looking for candidates with very strong technical, analytical and writing skills (for example those working in scientific, economic or operational research disciplines) backed by an ability to engage a range of stakeholders and communicate results in an insightful, compelling way. Expertise and previous experience working in climate risk analysis and infrastructure resilience is highly desirable, though not essential. This post requires a self-motivated, enthusiastic person with excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.

Specific responsibilities and tasks will include:

• Project management. Managing high priority projects, shaping the direction of the work, and managing consultants.
• Analysis. Undertaking desk-based analysis and research. Developing and continuously improving and quality assuring analysis, including spreadsheet-based models, and working to ensure our advice is based on the best available evidence and assumptions.
• Communication. Drafting clear, well-evidenced and engaging inputs to CCC reports and other outputs. Presenting findings at monthly Committee meetings and to senior members of the CCC secretariat, clearly articulating your analysis and its complexities to help the Committee understand the issues and reach its conclusions.
• Stakeholder engagement. Engaging widely, including with relevant stakeholders in academia, business, NGOs and across Government and representing the CCC at high-profile engagements.

 

Working at the CCC

 

The CCC takes personal development seriously and is proud to maintain a highly effective and well-motivated workforce. There will be opportunities for the successful candidate to develop both technical and general skills via on-the-job learning, training and attendance at conferences and seminars. This post, in particular, offers opportunities for developing skills in climate change risks and adaptation, policy, communications, project management and leadership. Successful applicants will agree a development plan with their manager. 

 

The Climate Change Committee are committed to creating a workplace culture where all staff feel valued, supported and can develop their potential. We work hard to ensure all staff can flourish and succeed, working with and respecting people’s different backgrounds and personal circumstances.  We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for this position. For more information on our EDI commitments, please read our strategy here https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/

 

The CCC office is based at 1 Victoria Street London, with staff expected to attend the office for at 40% of their working hours. The pay band for this role is £54,693 – £61,800 and the expectation is that the successful candidate will join on the minimum of the CCC Grade 7 pay band. We support a wide variety of working patterns such as compressed hours, hybrid working, part time hours, job sharing and flexi time. National pay bands may be used where staff apply to work from home for more than 40% of their working hours and live outside London. Regular attendance at our London office, for example for meetings and training, will still be required. The national pay band for this grade is £50,547 – £58,041.

Please refer to Job Description

• Must have the technical ability to apply appropriate quantitative analytical tools and techniques, and synthesise evidence from a range of sources, as appropriate. Assess the reliability and relevance of evidence and give objective evidence-based advice. Quality-assure models, challenge input data and assumptions and interpret output data for the purposes of providing supporting evidence.

• A degree in a numerate discipline (e.g. engineering, environmental science, economics) is essential. The CCC has affiliation with the Government’s analytical professions (GES, GORS, GSS, or GSR) and it is possible for analysts to maintain these memberships at the CCC. If you are a member of one of these professions, please indicate this in your application. We also welcome applications from outside these professions.

• Minimum of two years’ relevant experience, ideally including knowledge of climate risks and infrastructure resilience.

• Excellent numeracy and spreadsheet skills. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clear reports on complex subject areas ensuring these are appropriate for the given audience.

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

• 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%

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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Job contact :

• Name : Bianca de Farias Letti
• Email : bianca.letti@theccc.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@gov.sscl.com