Position: Staff Scientist (between 0.6 and 1.0 full time equivalent)
Duration: Permanent
Salary: £60,000 – £65,000 p.a. (full time equivalent, based on profile and experience)
Location: Remote within the United Kingdom
The Degrees Initiative seeks a Staff Scientist to join a growing dynamic charity working on climate change and solar radiation modification.
About Degrees
The Degrees Initiative is a UK-based NGO that builds the capacity of developing countries to evaluate solar radiation modification (SRM), a controversial proposal for reducing some impacts of climate change by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. Degrees is neutral on whether SRM should ever be used, but we believe that developing countries should be empowered to conduct their own research and to play a central role in SRM discussions.
The Staff Scientist position offers a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to move into or advance in the nonprofit sector while helping scale-up the organisation’s work. They will get to work with some of the world’s leading SRM experts both inside and outside of Degrees and play a central role in building an initiative that is changing the field of SRM.
Job Purpose
The Degrees Modelling Fund was launched in 2018 and has grown into the largest SRM research programme in the world. It supports almost 150 scientists across the Global South as they model how SRM could affect the climate in their regions, and they are becoming influential leaders in the SRM conversation.
Degrees’ new Staff Scientist will be central to this. As an expert in climate impacts modelling, they will help the teams develop regional research projects. They will support Southern scientists to get access to the data that they need, will advise Degrees on how we can best support Southern SRM research, and develop new work streams as needed. In all of this, the Staff Scientist will work closely with the 26 modelling teams that Degrees supports across the Global South.
Candidate Profile
The position will appeal to someone with a strong academic track record who is looking to use their skills and training outside of academia—for an organisation that is looking to use research to change the world, rather than just for research’s sake.
Specific Responsibilities Include:
* Plan and implement new lines of work and develop new ones in cooperation with other staff members, Degrees-funded researchers, and volunteers;
* Organise and facilitate regionalisation workshops approximately each quarter;
* Manage and deepen relationships with regional SRM experts;
* Work with a future science writer to deliver the annual scientific reports;
* Learn the goals and needs of scientists in each region and, to the extent possible, facilitate their provision;
* Directly support our funded scientists, as appropriate;
* Help deliver the Degrees Global Forum on SRM, taking place 12-16 May in Cape Town;
* In consultation with the CEO and Programmes Director, set annual plans (including budgets), objectives and key results;
* Support our policy engagement, communications, and reporting activities.
Minimum Qualifications Include:
* Expertise in climate impacts modelling, downscaling, and bias correction;
* Familiarity with SRM;
* Five years’ post-PhD experience;
* Experience and comfort working with diverse people from all around the world;
* Strong organisation and project management skills, including multi-tasking, setting and delivering on priorities, and working under pressure;
* Good analytical abilities, able to distil key messages from complex information;
* Strong interpersonal skills, including maintaining positive working relations;
* Comfortable working remotely in a dynamic, remote, start-up environment;
* Good communication skills in English;
* Ability to regularly travel, at least quarterly, for up to a week per visit;
* A commitment to the mission and values of the Degrees Initiative, especially being neutral on SRM;
* Based and legally able to work in the UK.
Please answer the below questions, and attach a copy of your CV.
* Why are you interested in this role?
* How do you meet the essential criteria for this role?
* Which of the desirable criteria do you meet? Please explain. Alternatively, if you do not meet any of the desirable criteria, which other skills or experience do you have that you believe would be useful to the role?
The deadline for applications is 9 January 2025 (23:59 GMT). Successful applicants will be invited for a first interview towards the end of January and the selection process will include an exercise. Participants shortlisted for the role further to this will be invited to a second interview.
Data Protection Statement
Any data collected in the frame of this recruitment process will be used solely for the purpose of processing your application to assess your suitability for this role. The Degrees Initiative will treat all personal information confidentially and in line with the UK GDPR.
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