Senior Research Managers, Climate and Health at The Wellcome Trust

We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health. 

The Climate & Health team supports a portfolio of research, translation, and engagement activity in line with our vision of a world where catastrophic climate breakdown is averted in a way that allows human health to flourish.  We’re currently developing our strategy supported by three sub-teams: Climate Impacts and Adaptation, Climate Mitigation and Capacity Strengthening and Field Building. More information about Wellcome’s Climate & Health work on this to date can be found here.  

We are looking for three Senior Research Managers to contribute to the leadership, development and implementation of activities that help us deliver our mission to put “health at the heart of climate action”. Further detail on each role can be found below. The roles will support the development of the Climate Impacts and Adaptation and Climate Mitigation Strategies and their alignment with that of the Climate & Health team and the broader Wellcome strategy to “support science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone”.

We seek opportunities that bring the weight of Wellcome’s capacities to solve problems, engaging our data, infectious disease, mental health and global influencing teams. These roles will lead on scoping areas of interest, shaping and advancing internal research and development projects, as well as responsibility for managing a portfolio of projects and engaging with external partners.  We support science and its pathway to impacts that act at multiple scales, from molecular to societal.

Please indicate which role(s) preference you have in your application.

Climate impacts and adaptation (2 roles)

The climate impacts and adaptation team works to deliver the Climate & Health strategy by funding a portfolio of policy focused research to support a) the evidence base of climate impacts on health that can help identify vulnerabilities and underpin effective mitigation and adaptation actions and b) adaptation measures that protect health in a changing climate. Our investments bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines (e.g. health, climate, economics, etc) to undertake targeted policy relevant transdisciplinary research in partnership with affected communities and communication experts.

Role 1. Senior Research Manager to oversee our portfolio that is predominantly focused at the molecular to human scale and to build internal and external relationships with the public and private sector biomedical and biotechnological communities as they seek to understand, prevent and manage the impacts of climate change on health.

Current examples of this work includes:

Role 2. Senior Research Manager 2 to oversee our portfolio that is predominantly focused on the community to societal scale and to build internal and external relationships with public and private sectoral and policy communities as they seek to understand, prevent and manage the impacts of climate change on health.

Current example of this work includes:

We expect applicants to come from either the natural or the social sciences, understand how climate and health integrate across systems and sectors, a broad understanding of research methods and have significant expertise in relation to at least one specialist area of climate and health science.

Climate mitigation role 

The climate mitigation team funds research to support the development, evaluation and advancement of climate mitigation interventions that are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving health outcomes. We support transdisciplinary science which brings together researchers from climate, health and related sectors – together with policy actors, the private sector and those responsible for driving action to ensure that our research addresses the needs of research users and increases the likelihood of uptake. We are currently finalising our strategy but expect to support science which advances a range of interventions from the local to global levels.

Role 3. Senior Research Manager to oversee our mitigation portfolio and to build internal and external relationships with public and private sectoral and policy communities as they seek to understand, prevent and manage the impacts of climate change on health.

Current example of this work includes

We expect applicants to have a strong understanding of how climate and health integrate across systems and sectors such as climate change, nature and the environment, biodiversity, food and agriculture, energy, transport, cities, and public health. Candidates will have significant expertise in relation to at least one specialist area of climate and health science, broadly defined. We welcome applicants with a diverse range of experiences at the research-to-action interface from identifying and advancing policies and solutions, systems thinking and evaluating complex interventions, implementation research and climate or health economics, to product development and technological solutions (these are illustrative examples only).   

In this role you will:

• Contribute to the effective delivery of funding decisions, providing critical scientific assessment of applications, participating in decision-making reviews and making clear recommendations to senior management.
• Ensure a breadth and depth of knowledge of your area and the wider research and funding landscape and apply this to the review and development of Climate and Health Research Programme activities, identifying suitable routes for the development and delivery of new activities and sharing knowledge and expertise to contribute to the work Research Programmes and throughout Wellcome.
• Ensure decision making and review processes are robust, fair and in line with Wellcome’s strategy, and ensure the highest quality of external advice is identified to support decision-making.
• Identify and manage larger projects independently, acting as the main point of contact, liaising with external stakeholders or partners for the ongoing management and conclusion of major initiatives.
• Devise and implement strategic workplans to deliver the agreed outcomes for a strategic area of work (or multifaceted programmes of work) relevant to Climate & Health.
• Matrix manage larger projects within Climate & Health and with other line functions to deliver on projects and achieve the outcomes of their strategic area.

To be successful in this role you will have:

• The ability to demonstrate a breadth of research expertise in a relevant field through relevant work experience in an academic, industrial, funding agency or charity setting.
• Experience/knowledge of universities, funders and other relevant scientific and research organisations and communities
• Significant experience in working in relevant field
• The ability to employ diverse approaches to effectively communicate complex information to individuals and groups from a range of different background and different seniority levels.
• Excellent organisational skills. Demonstrated ability to manage a fluctuating, heavy, workload and competing priorities
• Evidence of excellent writing skills with ability to synthesise information conveying key points clearly and concisely

Please note, the successful candidate should be able to travel in the UK and internationally for site visits and to represent Wellcome at appropriate fora.

To apply please upload your current CV and complete our short application.  

Interview dates: w/c 16 October   

You can view the full job description on our website 

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Our Hybrid Way of Working 

We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best. We are currently working 2 days per week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) from our Euston Road offices (as part of our hybrid Ways of Working) with the remaining 3 days from home. 

Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do 

Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our r! ecruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. Please visit our website for more information on adjustments and accessibility, or contact us at jobs@wellcome.org.