The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has relaunched recruitment for a chief scientific adviser after its last attempt to fill the role, a year ago, came up empty.
A job advert on the firm’s website says the FCDO is looking for an “exceptional individual” to fill the “unique and exciting role”.
“Against a backdrop of a shifting balance of global power, food insecurity, worsening impacts of climate change and the urgent need to get all Sustainable Development Goals back on track, this is amongst the most rewarding and challenging jobs in government,” it says.
The Foreign Office’s current chief scientific adviser, Prof Charlotte Watts, is an expert in mathematics and public health. Her secondment to the role – from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she is professor of social and mathematical epidemiology – ends this autumn.
The department first advertised for a replacement for Watts, who was the top scientist at the Department for International Development before its merger with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September, last October.
The successful candidate, who will earn between £98,000 and £120,000 a year, will be the lead scientific adviser to the foreign secretary on foreign and development policy.
They will also provide analysis and independent challenge to ministers and officials on issues such as climate change, global science partnership and how emerging technology can best support the Sustainable Development Goals.
They will also be part of the FCDO’s senior leadership team, and head up a team of around 270 scientists and officials.
The job has a “very broad mandate to ensure high-quality research is used to inform such issues as how the UK and allies should respond to global food insecurity, gender inequality or pandemic preparedness”, according to the candidate pack. The chief scientific adviser will therefore draw on input from external experts, as well as those within the department.
“In this role, you will also have flexibility to focus on the issues you identify as most critical to the FCDO and where scientific research and analysis can make the most difference,” Jenny Bates, director general of economics, climate and global issues at the FCDO, wrote in a foreword to the candidate pack. She added that the successful candidate will need to work closely with other chief scientists in government, as well as counterparts in international agencies and foreign governments.
“This will allow you to have considerable influence on the global stage. From time to time, you may also advise foreign partners directly e.g. on their domestic health or sustainability policies,” Bates added.
Applicants are expected to demonstrate an “outstanding track record in leading and conducting applied research of international recognition in an area of interest to the FCDO, that has demonstrable impact on policy and populations”, according to the job advert.
The headhunting firm Saxton Bampfylde is running the latest round of recruitment to replace Watts.
Her successor will have a “proven ability to synthesise science and research findings across a range of disciplines and be able to communicate complex concepts clearly, and a track record of policy makers”, according to the job advert.
“With leadership and people-management skills, you will have the ability to strategically prioritise over a wide portfolio of work,” it adds.
Applications for the role close on 21 October.
CSW asked FCDO when Charlotte Watts will leave her role and why the recruitment process is being rerun. The department said it would not comment on an ongoing recruitment process.