Senior Scientific Officer - International Negotiations

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people’s day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

This role sits in the International Negotiations team within the Chemicals Pesticides and Hazardous Waste (CPHW) International Hub. We represent the UK in International Negotiations on UN Multilateral Environmental Agreements including Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata, and the new Science Policy Panel for pollution, chemicals and waste.

As a Senior Scientific Officer, you will work within the International Negotiations team to develop UK positions ahead of negotiations, and provide expert advice on technical matters. You will be given the opportunity to lead negotiations on specific policy areas and influence the link between policy and science. Working to a G7 Team Lead, you will work flexibly to support MEA negotiations as they present and support briefings to Ministers where appropriate.

You will be working as part of a multidisciplinary team and expected to communicate science in a clear and understandable manner to non-specialists within a policy context, including effectively communicating uncertainty. You will need to develop an understanding of international regulatory frameworks, initiatives and the role of multilateral organisations in meeting the global chemicals challenge as well as the UK’s domestic policy. You will apply this knowledge of the policy context to work with the UK research community to help align research and expert advisory to Defra’s policy needs – providing a clear pathway for impact to support policymaking. You are expected to be innovative in how you generate science by working with researchers directly, with research councils and brokering new international collaborative work with partner countries. You will remain alert to emerging issues and be capable of identifying and grasping opportunities for UK science and expertise to be showcased and applied to drive the international or domestic policymaking.

You will be expected to develop and maintain your own positive, well respected and influential scientific reputation across government and externally, including in the international context when representing Defra or the UK. You will be strongly encouraged to network and build solid links across government and with scientists and officials internationally to support our work, including the development of international science partnerships.

New joiners can expect full support from the Government Science and Engineering Profession, including in their career development, through peer learning, mentoring and coaching as well as access to a wide range of material and professional advice to support them in their roles.

You can expect day to day work within these roles to include, but not be limited to:

• Working within multidisciplinary teams alongside policymakers, social researchers and economists and policy teams to provide high quality, scientific support to help develop UK positions in International Negotiations as well as domestic policymaking
• Providing scientific support to UK participation in Global Framework for Chemicals, the development of proposals for a new science-policy interface organisation, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and leading on negotiating positions
• Engaging with wider Defra teams on cross-cutting issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss, highlighting the interlinkages with chemical pollution
• Working across Whitehall to coordinate UK input to policy areas and research programmes
• Engaging with multiple stakeholders and playing a role as a science-policy interface to facilitate two-way dialogue between the UK’s research community and policy teams
• Supporting in the delivery of advice to Ministers

You can expect to be called upon to travel for work – sometimes long distance – to represent Defra and/or the UK in international meetings, championing the UK’s scientific capability in the chemicals sphere.