The Lancet Countdown is seeking to appoint a Head of Policy.
The Head of Policy will be at the forefront of advancing the Lancet Countdown’s mission to address the health impacts of climate change through evidence-based policy action.
The postholder will be responsible for developing and leading an impactful and integrated programme of policy engagement and evidence translation for the Lancet Countdown collaboration. This will encompass a holistic approach spanning across the organisation’s six regional centres to ensure a complementary top-down and bottom-up approach to policy impact.
The postholder will join the Executive of the Lancet Countdown, an independent and multi-disciplinary collaboration based out of IGH, and work in close collaboration with the executive leadership of the collaboration’s international centres.
This is a full-time role (36.5 hours per week) and it is available immediately until April 2029 in the first instance.
Please apply for this position via the UCL Jobs site. Applications will close on 21 May 2025. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
To learn more about this position, please contact Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, at m.romanello@ucl.ac.uk.
Background
The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change, is an independent, international research collaboration, that works to track the evolving links between health and climate change globally, regionally and nationally, in partnership with The Lancet and the World Health Organization. Its aim is to inform a robust response to climate change that protects and promotes human health. Following a successful first phase of work, the Lancet Countdown brings together almost 300 researchers from nearly 100 universities, research institutions and UN agencies world-wide, within its global and its six regional centres. Its secretariat is based within UCL’s Institute for Global Health, where it is core to the Institute’s climate change and health strategy.
As the urgency of climate action escalates, the Lancet Countdown is entering an exciting new phase of increased ambition. Having recently secured increased funding until 2028, it will have a focus on advancing its scientific research, as well as its policy, communications, and stakeholder engagement efforts, to put people’s health at the centre of the global response to climate change.
Role Description
The successful candidate will join the Lancet Countdown’s central team secretariat, in central London, working with the collaboration’s Academic Steering Group and Directors Group. Reporting into the Lancet Countdown’s Executive Director, the Head of Policy will work closely with the Policy Manager based in the global secretariat team at UCL, as well as Policy Managers based at the Lancet Countdown’s six different centres. They will also work closely with the Lancet Countdown’s Head of Operations and Senior Communications Manager to ensure that the Lancet Countdown’s policy work is reaching its intended audience and driving an accelerated response to climate change.
The postholder will be responsible for developing and leading an impactful and integrated programme of policy engagement and evidence translation for the Lancet Countdown collaboration. This will encompass a holistic approach spanning across the organisation’s six regional centres to ensure a complementary top-down and bottom-up approach to policy impact.
Overall, the Head of Policy will be at the forefront of advancing the Lancet Countdown’s mission to address the health impacts of climate change through evidence-based policy action. As a leader in the organisation, the Head of Policy will play a major role in shaping the strategy and overseeing the smooth running of the organisation’s policy work, as well as establishing its approach to monitoring, evaluating, learning and refinement.
For further information on the role including information on the desired experience, please read the full role description.
Appointment Process
If you are interested in applying, please take a close look at the full role description, and complete the application by 21 May 2025.
The application requires submitting a CV and completing a questionnaire to tell us why you have applied for this role, and the skills and experience you bring that are required in the person specification and job description.