VACANCY: Join the Lancet Countdown Academic Leadership Team!

The Lancet Countdown is seeking to appoint globally-recognised academic leaders to steer its new phase of increased ambition. 

As it enters a new phase of increased ambition, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is seeking to appoint, through an open recruitment, five new Working Group Chairs and five new Working Group Co-Chairs, to steer its academic activities.

These posts provide the opportunity for established academic leaders to elevate diverse local perspectives and steer the direction of the Lancet Countdown’s research within their field of study, and inform a health-centred approach to global action on climate change.

Individuals from underrepresented groups within our collaboration are strongly encouraged to apply. 

These new positions will be initially appointed on a three-year fixed term, with a possibility for further extension. 

• Applications should be sent to info@lancetcountdown.org (find further information below).
• Applications will close on 8 January 2024 at 23.30 PM GMT.
• Further information on the application requirements and process can be found below.

To learn more about these positions, please contact Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, at m.romanello@ucl.ac.uk; or Anthony Costello, Chair of the Lancet Countdown, at anthony.costello@ucl.ac.uk.  

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Background

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is an independent, international, multidisciplinary research collaboration that brings together almost 300 researchers from across the world, to track the evolving links between climate change and health. 

Following a successful first phase of funding, the Lancet Countdown is now entering a new phase of increased ambition, with focus on cross-disciplinary and cross-geographical collaboration, and increased representation. To fulfil this vision, newly-created senior academic leadership roles have been created, to lead the strategic development and delivery of academic activities across the programme. 

These include five new thematic Working Group (WG) Chairs, and five new thematic WG Co-Chairs, to oversee the academic collaboration’s activities across each of its core themes: 

• WG1: Health Hazards, Exposures, and Impacts
• WG2: Adaptation, Planning, and Resilience for Health 
• WG3: Mitigation Actions and Health Co-Benefits 
• WG4: Economics and Finance 
• WG5: Public and Political Engagement in Health and Climate Change 

These roles represent a unique opportunity for globally recognised experts in each of the thematic areas to leverage their research and expertise to guide a global health-centred response to climate change.  

Role Descriptions

Working Group Chair

WG Chairs will be at the heart of the Lancet Countdown’s work, and will contribute substantially to the strategic leadership of the programme. They will be globally respected academics, who have significantly contributed towards developing their field of study, and who remain involved in leading research.  

WG Chairs will be responsible for leading the academic WG, overseeing the delivery of the respective sections to the programme’s flagship global Lancet report, refining the indicator framework, and identifying research priorities and opportunities.  

In addition, WG Chairs will lead the research strategy for the broader collaboration, as chairs of the cross-Centre WG Steering Groups, supporting a synergistic approach amongst the research activities of Lancet Countdown’s global and regional centres, promoting collaboration cross-centre collaboration, cohesiveness and knowledge exchange.  

For further information on the WG Chair role, including information on the desired experience, time commitment required and support available, please read the full role description. 

Working Group Co-Chair

WG Co-Chairs will occupy an important role in the Lancet Countdown’s strategic leadership, with a particular focus on incorporating different regional perspectives into the global operations of the Lancet Countdown.  

Within the Lancet Countdown, WG Co-Chairs will offer support to the Global WG Chair in an advisory capacity,  promoting a globally representative and inclusive global report; providing expert input into the development and updating of global indicators; and deputise in chairing global WG meetings on exception. 

In addition, WG Co-Chairs will support the WG Chair in coordinating collaboration and knowledge sharing across the Lancet Countdown regional centres, advising the WG Chair on the development of an inclusive and representative WG indicator framework and on priorities for allocation of research funding. 

For further information on the WG Co-Chair role, including information on the desired experience, time commitment required and support available, please read the full role description. 

Appointment Process

If you are interested in applying, submit the following documents to info@lancetcountdown.org by 8 January 2024, specifying which role (Chair or Co-Chair) and which thematic WG (1-5) you would like to be considered for. Your application should include: 

• An academic CV 
• A cover letter of no-more than 500 words, describing your commitment to this role, your vision for the WG, and outlining how your previous experience makes you a good candidate for the role. 

We are looking forward to hearing from you!