Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme: Science Review and Advisory Group Members

Background

The UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) are seeking new members of the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme Science Review and Advisory Group (SRAG). This is an exciting opportunity to join an international group of leading climate science experts to help shape the future direction of Met Office climate science research.

The Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme (HCCP) is a UK Government funded research initiative that aims to deliver scientific knowledge, expertise, and capability to meet the needs of the UK government and support the UK and global climate science and service communities. The HCCP delivers immediate impact and value through the development of core capability and the delivery of science and expertise to other parts of the Met Office, key government programmes, and downstream users of climate information to aid their resilience, adaptation and mitigation planning. The programme also ensures future benefit by investing in the fundamental science and technology and in the underpinning infrastructure that will enable the climate science needed in years to come.

The Met Office Hadley Centre Science Review and Advisory Group (SRAG) brings together experts from different disciplines to provide independent advice on the content, progress, scientific excellence, relevance and impact of the HCCP to its government customers. The SRAG reports directly to the HCCP Programme Board, chaired by the DESNZ Chief Scientific Adviser, which is a strategic decision-making panel comprised of Government Officials, Met Office representatives and the Chair of the SRAG.

 

Responsibilities

At a high level the SRAG has three roles: 

• To provide top-level quality assurance that the HCCP undertakes science of the appropriate quality to provide the best advice on climate science to its government customers.
• To review and advise on the strategic direction of the Programme to ensure it delivers the most impact in addressing UK Government needs while developing the necessary capability to address future needs.
• To review how the HCCP enables research in the wider UK and international community, including its relationship with other research organisations.

The responsibilities as SRAG member are as follows:

• Attending and contributing to the annual three-day SRAG meeting at the Met Office, Exeter, routinely held in January, including preparation through reading background papers. The next meeting will take place 19-22 January 2026.
• Contributing to the yearly SRAG report that is delivered to Government within 6 weeks following the SRAG January meeting.
• Attending and contributing to a virtual 2-hour mid-year review meeting, usually held in September.
• Members may be called on to provide input between meetings where their expertise would be particularly valuable. This should not exceed one request per member per year, or 1 day’s worth of effort, unless agreed with the SRAG member.

The appointment is for 4 years initially (covering annual meetings and reports from 2025 to 2029 inclusive) with the possibility of extension to a maximum of 8 years. The Terms of Reference for the SRAG are available here.

 

Renumeration

SRAG members will be eligible to receive an annual honorarium in recognition of their valuable contributions to the HCCP. The annual honorarium payment will be based on a day rate (currently £350 per day) and an expected time commitment per year of 8 days.

 

Selection criteria

Essential criteria:

• You will be an internationally recognised expert in a topic (or topics) of climate research relevant to the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme. We also welcome applications from early-to-mid career academics that can demonstrate a promising trajectory of research and impact in their area
• You will not be an existing member of staff in the Met Office

Desirable criteria:

• At the moment the SRAG is particularly looking to add expertise in the following areas:
  • Artificial Intelligence and/or machine learning and its application in climate and/or weather science (high priority)
  • Land surface modelling and the role of the land surface in climate processes and for adaptation and mitigation solutions (high priority)
  • Regional climate modelling and dynamics
  • Large-scale climate dynamics and ocean-atmosphere interactions
  • The role of the Ocean in the climate system
  • Event attribution

• Experience in either directing or reviewing large research programmes, with evidence of assessing quality and proving strategic direction

 

How to Apply

To apply please send both your CV and a short covering letter to [email protected] by 13th August 2025. In your cover letter you should describe your suitability for the role, including your experience in evaluating and setting strategic priorities in your research area, and what you would hope to bring to this role if you were appointed.

CVs will be sifted by an assessment panel and all candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application as soon as possible after that process is completed.

Any prospective applicants wanting to find out more about the role can contact Luis Garcia-Carreras at DESNZ.

DESNZ, Defra and FCDO are equal opportunity employers. They do not discriminate or tolerate any form of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.