Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
International Biodiversity & Climate Scientist
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Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York
Job Summary
In Defra, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly affect people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have a lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. Defra is also an important international Department, and we leverage our domestic expertise and learning to drive transformational and systemic change globally. Over the next four years, the International Biodiversity and Climate Directorate will continue work to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework and its vision to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
International Biodiversity & Climate (IBC) uses a range of skills and levers to deliver our shared aim of halting and reversing global biodiversity loss by 2030 and the plans beyond that. This includes policy development and implementation, preparing legislation, Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme delivery, international negotiations, evidence and analysis, and engagement with national and international partners. Our work will enable you to develop a wide range of skills, with a particular emphasis on working collaboratively, influencing others and thinking creatively.
In IBC’s International Science, Evidence and Analysis Division, you will lead scientific input on high-profile policy priorities at the intersection of nature, resilience, risk and security. This is a technically demanding role that requires strong scientific judgement, confidence working with uncertainty, and the ability to translate complex environmental evidence into clear, practical advice.
You will support priority work on nature security, environmental crime, sustainable agriculture, and evidence needs linked to future G7 and G20 priorities. This includes helping to build on the UK's Nature security assessment on global ecosystems and exploring how environmental crime and wider pressures on nature (such as land and sea-use change, invasive non-native species and over-exploitation) affect ecosystem degradation, resilience and security. Across these areas, you will bring together emerging evidence and analysis to shape policy choices and programme design.
Job Description
As an SEO scientist, you will lead evidence synthesis and forward-looking threat and opportunities analysis across issues related to nature security, resilience and risk. You will act as an intelligent customer of science and analysis, designing, procuring and managing targeted research projects, critically assessing the quality, limitations and implications of complex evidence, and turning that judgement into clear, defensible advice for policy teams.
You will act as a trusted scientific adviser, applying environmental systems thinking to help policymakers understand how nature-related risks may affect food systems, economic resilience and wider policy objectives. You will develop practical tools and advice, communicate evidence clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences, and provide scientific input in a fast-moving policy environment.
You will work collaboratively across Defra and with external partners, building trusted relationships that help bring science, evidence and policy perspectives together. You will be part of a motivated multidisciplinary team of scientists, economists and social researchers, combining evidence, analysis, and evaluation to help IBC policy teams respond to complex nature security risks and challenges.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide authoritative scientific advice and constructive challenge on nature security, resilience and risk, translating complex evidence into practical insights and advice for policy teams.
- Act as an intelligent customer of science and analysis, critically assessing evidence quality, methods, assumptions and limitations, and commissioning further work where needed.
- Lead evidence synthesis and forward-looking threat and opportunities analysis across IBC nature and climate priorities, identifying emerging risks, evidence gaps and future research needs, including on the links between environmental crime, ecosystem degradation, resilience and security.
- Work closely with policy teams and the long-term R&D team to connect immediate policy questions with longer-term evidence development, ensuring emerging needs are captured and translated into future research priorities.
- Deliver applied research projects by scoping, designing, procuring and quality assuring external experts and contractors
- Apply environmental systems thinking to assess links between nature-related risks, food systems, economic resilience, security and wider policy objectives.
- Develop practical tools and frameworks that help policy teams understand complex evidence and apply it to policy and programme design.
- Build strong relationships across Defra, wider government, academia and external partners to strengthen the use of science and analysis in both near-term decision-making and longer-term evidence planning.
- Communicate complex scientific evidence clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences, including explaining uncertainty, limitations and implications for decision-making.
- Provide rapid, high-quality scientific expertise and technical input into priority IBC work as needed.
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Person specification
We Are Looking For a Candidate Who:
- Is a technically strong scientist with relevant expertise in nature security and environmental risk, resilience and pressures.
- Can apply specialist scientific expertise to complex policy and programme challenges involving uncertainty, emerging risks and interconnected systems.
- Can act as an intelligent customer of science and analysis, critically assessing evidence quality, methods, and limitations, and translating complex findings into clear, practical advice.
- Can apply environmental systems thinking to understand links between nature-related risks and pressures, food systems, economic resilience, security and wider policy objectives.
- Can make sound scientific judgements in a fast-moving policy environment, including where evidence is incomplete, evolving or contested.
- Has experience of evidence synthesis, forward-looking threat and opportunity scanning, research commissioning, strategic evidence development or scientific quality assurance in a relevant environmental risk or resilience context.
- Can work effectively across disciplines and with multiple partners, building trusted relationships and strengthening the use of science and evidence in decision-making.
- Has strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex scientific concepts clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Essential Criteria:
- Strong specialist knowledge of environmental science concepts, methods and analytical approaches, with experience applying systems thinking to complex environmental risks.
- Experience acting as an intelligent customer of science and analysis, including assessing evidence quality, methods, assumptions and limitations and synthesising evidence to identify evidence gaps and future research needs.
- Experience translating scientific evidence into clear, practical advice to inform policy or strategic decisions in complex and fast-moving environments.
- Strong ability to communicate complex evidence, uncertainty and trade-offs clearly and confidently to technical and non-technical audiences.
Qualifications
- Educated to PhD level or equivalent experience in a relevant scientific discipline related to environmental science, nature security, environmental risk or social-ecological resilience.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
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- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Making Effective Decisions
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Government Science and Engineering Framework
Alongside your salary of £44,052, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £12,761 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 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 employer contribution of 28.97%
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Application Process
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a 500 word personal statement, CV & behaviour statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to set out how you meet the skills and experience for the role.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where we will assess you against the behaviours and technical skills set out in the advert, alongside a five minute presentation.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).
Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all
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