About the job

Job summary

This position is based in London

Job description

Organisation Details  

The Climate Change Committee is the independent expert statutory adviser to Parliament and the UK Government on climate change policy. It was created as a key part of the long-term legal framework set out in the Climate Change Act (2008). The Act sets a long-term target for 2050 (Net Zero, a 100% reduction in net emissions from 1990) and requires that carbon budgets (five-year caps on emissions) are set on a path towards the long-term target. The Act also requires that the UK assesses and responds to the risks that it faces as the climate changes. 

The CCC has established itself as a high-profile, high-impact expert body in the analysis of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Its reports can be accessed from the CCC’s website: www.theccc.org.uk

The CCC is comprised of two Boards (‘the Committee’ and ‘the Adaptation Committee’) and an analytical secretariat. The Committees have a distinguished membership of leading experts from the fields of climate change, science, engineering and economics: www.theccc.org.uk/about-the-ccc/the-committee. The Committees are supported by a Secretariat of around 40 economists, operational researchers, scientists and other analysts. 

The CCC was the first body of its kind in the world and brings together different strands of expertise from its members, from government, the research community and business. It draws on existing information and undertakes its own analysis to provide expert advice to Ministers and to Parliament. It is required to give advice to Ministers on climate change matters covered by the Climate Change Act and on an ad-hoc basis as and when requested.

Job description  

The postholder will be joining at an interesting time in the CCC: work is underway for our Seventh Carbon Budget Advice, which advises the government on emissions reduction targets, and which will be published in early 2025. This is a high profile piece of work, and the role and interaction with just transition topics is key.

The postholder will be joining a friendly and multi-disciplinary CCC team, the People and Business team, which considers cross-cutting issues in relation to the UK’s transition to a Net Zero and climate resilient future, including the Just Transition, public engagement, the economy and private sector action. The team considers both mitigation and adaptation. The postholder will be managed by the G7 lead on Just Transition. 

The exact range of projects will be adapted based on postholder interests and strengths, and priorities at the time of joining, but is likely to include a mix of the following: 

• Analysis on the distribution of costs and benefits across different groups
• Supporting on the CCC’s internal distributional impacts model, an excel-based model which assesses how costs and savings are distributed across different kinds of households over time, shaped by different policy choices. This will involve skills in managing a large excel-based model, excellent attention to detail, and an ability to link assumptions made in the model with the real world
• Reviewing and improving CCC internal analysis on the cost and saving implications for different households of changes to diet and flying
• Supporting our analysis on co-impacts for our Seventh Carbon Budget advice
• Reviewing and finalising the CCC internal quantitative model on co-impacts, which quantifies the impacts of the Net Zero transition, such as the benefits of improved air quality, and the disbenefits related to changing the way we travel.
• Finalising and reviewing an internal literature review of the non-quantifiable co-impacts of the Net Zero transition
• Scoping how this analysis can be expanded to cover adaptation
• Supporting analysis of wider impacts
• Leading analysis of wider just transition considerations, such as how the Net Zero transition and climate change impacts, may affect groups with protected characteristics, or jobs in certain regions
• This will involve a mix of qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis and stakeholder engagement
• Possibly (depending on postholder background): supporting on the analysis on fiscal impacts, assessing what the likely impacts on the exchequer will be of the Balanced Pathway
• Supporting the development of a broad network of stakeholders involved in the Just Transition, including representatives of groups affected by changes to the workforce, household costs and wider health and fiscal impacts.
• Helping scope out what appropriate analysis on the just transition is needed to inform the CCC’s work on adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

Across each of these work-strands, the work will involve, in collaboration with the Just Transition G7 Lead Analyst:

• presenting analytical results to the committee
• external stakeholder engagement, including presenting analysis to external testing groups for distributional and fiscal analysis
• drafting the just transition sections of published reports

The CCC and its People and Business Team put a high value on staff learning and development, wellbeing and work life balance. We will work with the postholder to ensure their work objectives align with their skillsets and interests, and that things are set up so they can thrive professionally and personally.

The ideal candidate would have the following:

Experience in:

• Managing quantitative datasets, including in excel, and using them to produce clear policy relevant outputs such as tables and graphs
• Some exposure to qualitative policy appraisal or qualitative methods
• Topics relating to the Just Transition / climate change

Technical skills:

• Analytical skills
• An undergraduate degree in a numerate (economics desirable but not necessary)

Demonstratable HEO-level behaviours:

• Making effective decisions
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace
• Seeing the big picture

Due to delivery timelines we require a candidate who can start by end of August.

In their written application, candidates should:

• Submit a CV
• Submit 250 word summaries of each of the two behaviours: making effective decisions and communicating and influencing
• Submit a 250 word statement of interest, which summarises how the candidate meets the experience and technical skills for the role.

At interview, candidates will also be asked about the behaviours delivering at pace and seeing the big picture.

The CCC office is based in Canary Wharf, London, with staff expected to attend the office for 40% of their contracted hours. The pay band for this role is £35,985 - £38,562  and the expectation is that the successful candidate will join on the minimum of the CCC HEO pay band. 

We support a wide variety of working patterns such as compressed hours, hybrid working, part time hours, job sharing and flexi time. National pay bands may be used where staff apply to work from home for more than 60% of their working hours and live outside London. Regular attendance at our London office, for example for meetings and training, will still be required. The national pay band for this grade is £32,708 - £34,074. 

The Climate Change Committee are committed to creating a workplace culture where all staff feel valued, supported and can develop their potential. We work hard to ensure all staff can flourish and succeed, working with and respecting people’s different backgrounds and personal circumstances.  We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for this position. For more information on our EDI commitments, please read our strategy here https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/

The CCC cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. The CCC does not hold a Visa sponsorship licence.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,985, Climate Change Committee contributes £9,751 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.