Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is recruiting a
Science Writer and Senior Editor in the IPCC WGI Technical Support Unit
for the IPCC Working Group I Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). The position is located at the University of Paris-Saclay (France).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has begun its Sixth Assessment (AR6) cycle. Working Group I (WGI) assesses the physical scientific knowledge basis of the climate system and climate change. The WGI Technical Support Unit (TSU) provides the scientific, technical and organizational support of the activities and products of the WGI.
The Science Writer and Senior Editor will report to the Head of TSU and the Head of Operations, collaborating with all members of the TSU, in the preparation of the WGI Assessment. The prime responsibility will be to oversee the production of a high quality set of assessment products, enhancing their clarity and the delivery of key messages and findings, including their communication for example in presentations and the WGI assessment website.
The successful candidate will work directly with Authors of the WGI Assessment, building trust to support the development of the chapters, Executive Summaries, Technical Summary and Summary for Policymakers, including participating in chapter meetings and other discussions to fully familiarise themselves in the key science topics. The specialist will help develop high quality material and impactful messages to reach multiple audiences and platforms, including evaluating the impact and success of the delivery and uptake of the WGI assessment findings. This will include briefing Authors on best practices for communicating assessment results. The specialist will focus on topics of high media interest, and on increasing the accessibility and impact of the WGI assessment. They will provide editorial reviews of draft content, support non-native-English speakers and provide input on structure, balance of content, length and linguistic quality.
The Science Writer and Senior Editor will support the production of the report including the planning and coordiantion of the process, document versioning and management, leading on copy editing and coordinating a team of specialists to finalise the report. Copy editing will be integrated early in the process where possible. Coordination will be undertaken with other Working Groups and the IPCC more broadly on style decisions.
The Science Writer and Senior Editor will play a leading role in the design and development of the WGI assessment website, including the overall structure and lay out of content, navigability, search functionality and interconnectivity across sections and topcis and optimizing how content can be shared on social media. The work will include developing user journeys and layered information in consultation with users and user testing. The specialist will contribute to the development and implementation of the WGI communication strategy more broadly.
Qualifications and past experience:
- Academic education related to climate science would be desirable.
- Over five years experience in developing and executing institutional, programmatic or in multi-partner climate science assessments or projects.
- Experience in understanding and communicating climate science concepts and findings, including distilling key messages.
- Experience in enhancing accessiblity of complex information for use by a broad international audience, both specialist and non-specialist.
- Demonstrable experience in project management techniques and tools.
- Professional communications education and training would be an asset.
- Familiarity or previous experience in IPCC or similar work, process and context would be an asset.
Attributes
- Advanced lingustic skills with a capacity to work in a highly technical context where scientific accuracy and rigour is paramount.
- Excellent general coordination and organization skills
- Ability to plan, organize and execute complex multi-task problems.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with climate scientists from around the world and with different areas of expertise.
- Motivation to work in an international team with a common long-term goal.
- Capacity to supervise activities.
- Flexibility, entrepreneurship, and interest in innovation.
- Stress-resistance and capacity to respect time constraints.
- Willingness to undertake international travel.
- Capacity to respect time constraints and stress-resistance.
- Proficiency in written and spoken English; proficiency in French would be an asset.
The position is through to 31 December 2021, with the possibility for renewal. We seek availability to start as soon as possible.
Application
Please send your application consisting of a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, and contact details of two referees by April 20th, 2019 to Dr. Anna Pirani (anna.pirani@universite-paris-saclay.fr), Head WGI TSU.