Director - Living with Environmental Change
The principal funders of environment-related research in the UK are seeking to make this senior appointment to develop and deliver a collaborative research–policy programme to tackle environmental change. The prospective budget for this programme is £1Bn over the first 5 years of which over £350M will come from the UK Research Councils in the current Comprehensive Spending Review period (2008 – 2011).
The 10-year programme - Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) - is being designed by an unprecedented partnership spanning UK Research Councils, Departments of State, Governments and other government bodies. It will connect world-leading natural, engineering, economic, social, medical, cultural, arts and humanities researchers with policy makers, business, the public, and other key stakeholders.
Through interdisciplinary research activities, knowledge-exchange actions, business-engagement and training, a successful LWEC programme will increase society's resilience to, and reduce the costs of, environmental change. It will enable the development of the interdisciplinary evidence-base, tools and processes that are needed to inform public and policy debates and people's choices about mitigation, management and adaptation options and opportunities.
The issues LWEC addresses are of prime importance to the UK and to many other areas of the world, including the poorest. Expectations of the programme are high and the Director will need to be able to manage these and encourage all partners to meet them through coherent actions. LWEC will provide the knowledge and foresight needed for government and business to deal with the challenges and take the opportunities that all forms of environmental change present. It will help decision-makers and individuals make informed choices for a sustainable future. By encouraging dialogue amongst stakeholders LWEC will help create conditions in which technological solutions will be introduced that will be accepted by the public because the benefits will be understood. As a unique partnership, LWEC will provide the coherent actions that we need to deal with unprecedented levels and rates of environmental change.
The Director will work on behalf of the sixteen partners that have seats on the LWEC Partners’ Board. This has an independent chair, The Earl of Selborne, a distinguished Parliamentarian. The Director will be the public leader of the overall effort, recruiting and leading a supporting team to work with the programme's advisory groups and the partner organisations to enable the programme's overarching strategic objectives to be met.
The successful candidate will be self-driven and possess:
- stature and breadth in research experience;
- proven management and leadership experience at large programme or institute level;
- excellent policy sensitivity;
- strong interpersonal and communication skills;
- an ability to recognise and represent the varying needs of the range of partner organisations
- an ability to represent the programme in public fora with quiet authority