Duration of appointment: the consultancy post is available from March 1 2021 through to August 28 2021 in the first instance.

Salary: £36,028 to £43,533 (inclusive of London Allowance) per annum, based on qualifications and experience

Reports to: Marina Romanello, Data Scientist, the Lancet Countdown

To apply to this position please email your CV and cover letter by February 24 2021, stating how you meet the criteria set out below, and why you are interested in this role, to: info@wordpress-908066-3979812.cloudwaysapps.com

For general enquiries, please contact Marina Romanello, m.romanello at ucl.ac.uk

General Description

We are looking for a motivated individual with a keen interest in the links between human wellbeing and global environmental change, to work with a diverse team of Lancet Countdown researchers with expertise health adaptation to climate change.

The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change is an internationally renowned research collaboration. It brings together over 120 leading experts from over 35 academic institutions and UN agencies to build evidence and understanding of the interrelationship between health and climate change, and ensure health is at the centre of the world’s response to this challenge. Publishing annually in the medical journal, The Lancet, the collaboration produces a yearly report with over 40 indicators, tracking the health dimension of climate change. Working Group Two of the Lancet Countdown is focussed on the delivery of indicators related to Adaptation, Planning and Resilience for Health.

The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating Working Group Two and its delivery of its section of the 2021 Report of the Lancet Countdown. The Working Group includes members from a number of institutions across the world, including University College London, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the University of Washington, Yale University, and Umea University.

This will require an adaptable candidate, able to leverage and coordinate the technical expertise of the Lancet Countdown to deliver its academic and outreach objectives. They will need to be able to work independently whilst facilitating consensus amongst the various partners.

Responsibilities

Coordination of the delivery of Section Two of the 2021 Report of the Lancet Countdown

• Scheduling regular meetings with the whole Working Group.
• Following up individual Working Group members to maintain regular status updates of each indicator to ensure the analysis, data and appendix is returned within the required deadline.
• Undertaking data analysis as required.
• Assisting with the writing and editing of Section Two of the report.
• Data checking and processing into the correct format for each of the indicators.
• Sharing the drafts of the report and returning Working Group author comments on the drafts.
• Assisting with the collection of other information, such as forms and acknowledgements.

Supporting the Lancet Countdown’s Working Group Two on Health Adaptation

• Work with the Working Group members to continue to develop its research strategy up to 2023, including supporting the development of a robust intellectual framework.
• Supporting the convening of the Working Group by coordinating the logistics of physical and online meetings, and preparing the technical documents for these.
• Facilitating the various reporting requirements of the Working Group, including to the collaboration’s Scientific Advisory Group, its Board, and the Wellcome Trust.
• Working with co-authors to improve the consistency between the various indicators, providing for common baselines and data sets where possible, common assumptions, and common reporting.

Supporting the Lancet Countdown’s communications and policy outputs

• Support the Data Scientist with the building of the data visualisation platform, including suggesting the best ways to present the indicator data.
• Working with the collaboration’s Communications Manager to communicate the technical work of the Lancet Countdown in a variety of forums, including traditional media resources and social media.
• Coordinate with the Policy Manager to translate the relevant indicators to the national policy level in the form of policy briefs, and an expanding programme of national affiliates.

Person specification

Essential

• MSc or equivalent experience, with expertise public health, climate change, environmental sciences, or any other relevant field.
• Knowledge in climate change, health, and (ideally) adaptation.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience working in an academic environment, including the development and drafting of academic research papers.
• Excellent command of written English with the ability to draft and edit academic manuscripts for publication.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft office applications.
• A hard working self-starter, with demonstrated interest in, and passion for sustainable development or global health.
• Flexibility, creativity and good interpersonal communication.
• Ability to work both independently and within a multidisciplinary team.
• The ability to respond creatively and rapidly to requests for new analysis with novel approaches, to support policy engagement and communications outreach efforts.

Desirable

• Experience coordinating large academic or technical projects across multiple disciplines and cultures, especially including work at the interface of academic research and public policy.
• Familiarity with a variety of quantitative methods used in public health and/or environmental sciences.
• Experience providing quantitative analytical support and expertise across a broad array of sectors and methodologies.