Senior Scientific Officer: Ecosystem Assessment Research Project Officer

Defra works on issues that profoundly affect peoples lives, including the environment, food and farming, rural communities, and protection from natural threats and hazards.

Within Defra, the International Biodiversity and Climate Directorate (IBC) leads international work to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. This includes international negotiations and influencing, as well as policy and legislation, and Official Development Assistance (ODA) programming.

The Senior Scientific Officer will report into the Grade 7 Programme Lead on Ecosystem Assessment and Resilience based in Defras International Biodiversity and Climate directorate (IBC). They will work within a new team responsible for designing, piloting, and evaluating innovative approaches for assessing ecosystems using novel metrics of ecosystem function, process and resilience to underpin a new generation of environmental assessments for use in domestic and international contexts.

The postholder will scope and manage a small programme of research projects (5-10 projects), which will develop new approaches to assess the resilience of ecosystems in the UK and overseas. This is likely to include, amongst others, approaches based on functional traits as well as geospatial approaches. They will provide scientific coordination as well as acting as project officer and contract manager.

Recent developments in functional ecology research, data science, multi-variate modelling, environmental monitoring and AI are opening up new opportunities for the ways we monitor, measure, set targets for and manage ecosystems.

Whereas traditional conservation approaches have focused on protecting species and habitats, approaches based on functional ecology and ecosystem science place emphasis on the dynamic processes that keep ecosystems functioning and delivering services. These are the functions and processes that allow them to adapt to changing conditions, provide resilience against shocks, and underpin the ecosystem services upon which humans depend.

Such approaches show promise for applications to assess UK and international ecosystems, supporting policy across a wide range of areas. This includes international applications, for example, mapping international risk of ecosystem collapse, targeting Official Development Assistance funding through aid programmes and evaluating nature finance investments. It also includes important domestic applications, such as informing better spatial planning decisions, targeting agri-environment funding and informing the management of protected areas for biodiversity.

Defra is establishing a programme to explore the potential policy applications of such novel ecosystem metrics. It will include workstreams on:

1. Method development. This workstream will drive innovation, research and knowledge generation for methods for policy-relevant methods for ecosystem assessment. The workstream includes objectives on:

• • Evaluating the state of the science for ecosystem-based metrics, tools and frameworks via a literature review and expert elicitation. This will identify promising emerging approaches, which could be applied to policy use cases, and will review frameworks, tools and metrics that can be applied to assess the resilience of ecosystems for specific policy purposes.
  • Designing a toolkit for ecosystem assessment. Working with Defra science and policy teams, Defra ALBs and external researchers to develop a modular, demand-driven toolkit that can deploy a suite of tools to service a range of domestic and international policy use cases.
  • Research and development. Working with research institutions (initially Imperial College, ZSL, RBG Kew, the Natural History Museum, and the University of Stirling), Defra evidence and policy teams, and ALBs, to develop a programme of R&D that produces metrics and tools for the ecosystem assessment toolkit.

2. Policy sandboxes. This workstream will generate an innovative and evidence-led learning platform to test novel approaches to ecosystem assessment developed in workstream one. The workstream includes objectives on:

• • Defining and developing policy use cases. Building a multidisciplinary team from Defra and ALBs to produce detailed definitions of possible international and domestic policy use cases with which to test the ecosystem assessment toolkit.
  • Testing an ecosystem assessment toolkit against pre-defined use cases and scenarios. Working with evidence and policy colleagues from Defra, ALBs, and academic partners, conduct rigorous, quantitative and qualitative tests of the ecosystem assessment toolkit, following international best practice, to explore the validity and efficacy of the toolkit.

Key responsibilities

The postholder will develop and manage a programme of R&D to inform the programme. This R&D will develop novel tools and methods that can be tested through the programme. Key responsibilities include:

1. Research design and management

• • Act as Project Officer for all R&D projects associated with the ecosystem assessment programme, and be the main Defra point of contact with external researchers and Defra/ALB technical teams.
  • Apply specialist knowledge of ecosystem science to develop a research strategy and identify research priorities for the programme, including a second phase of research.
  • Scope, design, procure, manage and deliver new research associated with the programme.
  • Quality assure research projects and ensure research outputs meet the highest standards.
  • Deploy specialist expertise to build relationships across the sector, identifying and promoting synergies with other research across IBC, Defra, HMG and beyond, and provide scientific and technical input into other Defra research projects/ programmes.
  • Support the development of a toolkit for ecosystem assessment, working with technical teams from Defra, ALBs, and academic partners.

2. Stakeholder engagement, collaboration and communication

• • Demonstrate leadership and influencing capabilities in the field of ecosystem science to build relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, partners, and customers, helping them to understand the context for research and drive forward the research programme.
  • Act as the key technical contact for internal and external stakeholders and customers relating to programme science and research.
  • Communicate scientific, analytical and research objectives and outcomes clearly to all internal and external stakeholders, ensuring appropriate communication for different technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Contribute to briefings and submissions to senior officials and Ministers, ensuring communication is scientifically and technically rigorous.

Essential experience:

• A scientific background, demonstrated by a PhD or equivalent experience, in ecology, functional ecology, evolutionary ecology, ecosystem science, zoology, or similar.
• Ability to critically interpret, assess and quality assure quantitative ecological analyses, working effectively with specialist analysts and researchers.
• Proven experience managing multiple scientific or analytical research projects or programmes, particularly complex or multi-stakeholder projects.
• Experience exercising scientific judgement on the quality, uncertainty and policy relevance of evidence, including emerging or non‑standard methods.
• Experience in translating and communicating complex science to a range of audiences, particularly between academia and policy.
• Experience of collaborating with colleagues beyond your immediate team, particularly experts outside of government (e.g., academia).