Deputy Director, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser

The Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser (DCSA) provides senior leadership to ensure FCDO has the science advice and scientific capability it needs for policy, diplomacy, programming and crisis response.

As the Chief Scientific Adviser's (CSA) principal Deputy on science, you will shape FCDO's strategic scientific direction, strengthen the systems through which evidence informs decisions, and represent the FCDO across government and externally to strengthen UK international partnerships and strategic advantage in science.

The DCSA leads the FCDO's Science Cell with responsibility for scientific preparedness and response for emergencies , including natural disasters, health threats and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) risks , ensuring authoritative, rapid and actionable advice is provided to Ministers, senior officials and partners.

You will need strong judgement, the ability to work at pace under uncertainty, and the authority to convene internal and external expertise in support of Ministers, senior officials and operational teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the CSA's principal Deputy on all areas of science advice, providing senior authoritative, proportionate and timely advice to support strategic decisions across FCDO priorities.
• Oversee the Science Cell and wider science-for-emergencies capability so that crisis response draws on the best available modelling, evidence and expert judgement.
• Oversee FCDO's contribution to the Government Science and Engineering profession, including professional standards, capability, networks and routes for specialist advice to influence policy and delivery.
• Provide technical oversight of the Senior Research Fellows to ensure they bring deep expertise to the Department's highest-priority policy, programme and diplomatic challenges.
• Represent FCDO confidently across government, with the Government Office for Science, departmental Chief Scientific Advisers and academia.

Person specification

• Proven senior leadership experience in shaping organisational strategy and leading high-performing, multidisciplinary scientific, technical and analytical teams through change, delivering impact across large organisations or systems.
• Substantial experience providing senior scientific, engineering or technical advice and influencing decisions in complex organisational settings, translating evidence into clear and actionable advice for senior officials or equivalent decision-makers.
• Experience strengthening organisational systems to improve the use of science and technology advice and experience engaging with cross-government or national science systems to meet organisation objectives in this area.
• Demonstrable ability to build influential relationships and represent an organisation credibly with senior government, academic, international or industry stakeholders.
• Deep technical expertise in one of the following FCDO priority areas: climate, nature, energy, food security, engineering-biology, geopolitics, gender, humanitarian, migration, national security, chemical biological radiological and nuclear, education, and AI or frontier technologies, including quantum.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%