Role Overview
The Trees and Forestry Division of the Biodiversity, Land-use and Investment Directorate is looking for a dynamic and committed Science Lead with good experience in the environment sphere. You will help deliver big ambitions to ramp up woodland creation and management in England, getting more of the right trees in the right places. We are wrestling with tricky policy issues, including woodland creation balancing land-use trade-offs, and the tensions between short and long term priorities. The evidence lead will lead the natural science team alongside the other natural science team leader and working closely with the Head of Economics and the Head of Monitoring & Evaluation and Social Research. Collectively they provide an evidence base to support the wider Trees and Forestry policy and delivery work. We have a statutory target to reach, a new green finance mechanism to create and an ambitious Government agenda to support including the creation of new national forests. The post holder reports to the Head of Strategy, Evidence and Support, with professional oversight from the Senior Economic Advisor. The role would suit candidates who are keen to work on a high-profile area with significant political complexity and interest. The role will give you the chance to work at the heart of delivering a government priority and to use your analytical skills to directly shape environmental policy and delivery.
Responsibilities
* Working closely with the parallel Science Lead, the Lead Economist and the Head of Social Research and Monitoring and Evaluation to review the existing evidence base and to work closely with policy leads and the wider team to agree and prioritise evidence gaps.
* Building strong links with Policy and Delivery teams across the Division to provide a high quality service ensuring that evidence it at the heart of policy and delivery decisions.
* Overseeing the delivery of a Trees and Forestry evidence strategy and progressing the commissioning of our next evidence portfolio to meet policy needs and advocating for an aligned budget in the SR.
* Ensuring the dissemination of our procured research is accessible and applied into practice through creative and engaging approaches.
* Overseeing the secretariat for an independent Scientific Advisory Group to support the Programme;
* Coordinating science and R&D across NETL and wider Defra to streamline our efforts and minimise duplication.
* Strategic engagement with Defra delivery partners, external stakeholders and research organisations to ensure a coordinated approach to research & evaluation that is adding value rather than duplicating;
* Horizon scanning and spotting emerging trends that could have relevance for the Programme.
* Managing the overall budget for the Trees Research Evidence and Analysis Team.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme Disability Confident About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.
#J-18808-Ljbffr