Head of Policy, Lancet Countdown

The UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) is at the heart of UCL's Grand Challenge of Global Health. The Institute's vision is for a world where international policy on global health is informed by world-class research. IGH aims to support the development of robust solutions to aspects of the world's major global health challenges through scholarly outputs, education, public engagement, translational research, and ultimately by influencing public policy and professional practice.

We are looking for an experienced policy expert with experience in translating academic research into public policy to join the next phase of the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change.

The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change is an independent, international research collaboration, that works to track the evolving links between health and climate change globally, regionally and nationally, in partnership with The Lancet and the World Health Organization. Its aim is to inform a robust response to climate change that protects and promotes human health.

About the role

The successful candidate will join the Lancet Countdown's central team secretariat, in central London, working with the collaboration's Academic Steering Group and Directors Group. Reporting into the Lancet Countdown's Executive Director, the Head of Policy will work closely with the Policy Manager based in the global secretariat team at UCL, as well as Policy Managers based at the Lancet Countdown's six different centres. They will also work closely with the Lancet Countdown's Head of Communications and Partnerships Manager, to ensure that the Lancet Countdown's policy work is reaching its intended audience and driving an accelerated response to climate change.

The postholder will be responsible for developing and leading an impactful and integrated programme of policy engagement and evidence translation for the Lancet Countdown collaboration. This will encompass a holistic approach spanning across the organisation's six regional centres to ensure a complementary top-down and bottom-up approach to policy impact.

Overall, the Head of Policy will be at the forefront of advancing the Lancet Countdown's mission to address the health impacts of climate change through evidence-based policy action. As a leader in the organisation, the Head of Policy will play a major role in shaping the strategy, overseeing the smooth running of the organisation's policy work, and establishing its approach to monitoring, evaluating, learning and refinement.

This is a full-time role (i.e. 36.5 hours per week) and it is available immediately until April 2029 in the first instance.

Salary range: £66,711 to £72,370 per annum (including London Allowance), depending on experience.

About you

It is essential that the successful candidate has a Master's level degree or equivalent skills and experience in public policy, public health, international relations, or other relevant field.

Proven experience in the development and leadership of national or global policy engagement processes either internally as a political aide, or externally from an academic institution, think tank, or NGO and technical knowledge of international and/or national-level policy processes, and the ability to apply this knowledge across multiple settings are also essential criteria for this role.

The successful candidate must have excellent interpersonal and diplomacy skills, with familiarity of engaging with national policymakers at any level of seniority. The successful candidate must also have the ability to grasp and summarise complex scientific outputs for policymakers in the form of policy briefs and other collateral.

The role requires that the post holder is willing travel approx. 1-4 weeks per annum and participate in conference calls outside of normal working hours (1-3 hours per week) to connect with other timezones.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits, some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.