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.

Role Description

Summary

The Climate Change Committee is looking for a talented policy analyst (Civil Service HEO grade) to work in a role within the CCC secretariat focussing on surface transport. This is a permanent appointment, aiming to start as soon as possible.

Role

The post-holder will contribute to the CCC’s analytical work on surface transport, which sits within the CCC’s infrastructure team. They will join the CCC at an exciting time, as we develop our advice to Government on the level of the Seventh Carbon Budget, and will be expected to develop sectoral analysis to contribute to this and the communication of its findings, including:

• Updating and developing models of emissions pathways for decarbonising the transport sector.
• Building robust evidence-bases to develop assumptions for key inputs such as electric vehicle uptake and modal share.
• Contributing to stakeholder engagement to test these assumptions and enhance the impact of our analysis.
• Drafting sections of reports to communicate the findings effectively.

Surface transport – including cars, vans, trucks, and rail – is currently the UK’s highest-emitting sector, so effective actions to reduce these emissions will be vital to meeting the Net Zero commitment. Areas of transport decarbonisation will include consideration of the transition to electric cars and vans, emerging technologies for decarbonising freight, and opportunities for emissions savings through modal shift.

This post-holder will report to the surface transport lead analyst (Civil Service G7) and will work together to analyse decarbonisation options for this crucial sector, assess progress in delivering emissions reductions, and make recommendations on how to drive progress. There is also the opportunity to work with other teams, including colleagues in the wider infrastructure team.

The postholder’s responsibilities are likely to include:

Analysis & policy assessment:

• Undertaking desk-based analysis and research.
• Updating and running spreadsheet-based models, quality-assuring analysis, and working to ensure our advice is based on the best available evidence and assumptions. 
• Managing in-depth research projects designed to extend the evidence-base underpinning the CCC’s recommendations.
• Contributing to wider surface transport analysis, policy assessment and recommendations for the Committee’s Annual Progress Reports to Parliament.

Stakeholder engagement:

• Engaging widely, including with relevant stakeholders in academia, business, NGOs and across Government and representing the CCC at high-profile engagements. 

Communication:

• Presenting findings at monthly Committee meetings and to senior members of the CCC secretariat, articulating analysis and its complexities clearly, to help the Committee understand the issues and reach its conclusions.   
• Drafting clear, well-evidenced and engaging inputs to CCC reports and other outputs. 

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
• Surface transport / climate change

Technical skills:

• Analytical skills
• An undergraduate degree in a numerate discipline (e.g. engineering, mathematics, economics)

Demonstrable Civil Service Behaviours (at HEO-level):

• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace

In their written application, candidates should:

• Submit a CV
• Submit 250-word summaries of each of the two behaviours: delivering at pace and communicating and influencing
• Submit a 250-word statement of interest, which summarises motivation for the role and how the candidate meets the experience and technical skills for the role

At interview, candidates will also be asked about their experience, motivation for the role and Civil Service Strengths.

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.