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UCL Public Policy is pleased to offer a policy fellowship with the Land and Nature team at the National Trust.

This is a great opportunity to support policy engagement and wider community development to improve ecosystem health across the UK. This will advance scientific research links to policy development and practical implementation strategies for achieving net zero emissions and nature renewal on managed lands. This initiative will leverage the strengths of both institutions to create a robust framework to support sustainable environmental stewardship and a socially positive future.Ìý  Ìý

Background

The UK’s natural capital (eg soil, clean water) and ecosystem services are a critical element of the UK’s national productivity. The ONS has calculated the total annual value of ecosystem services in England for 2020 at an estimated £35.7 billion1. Ìý

The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation body with over 5.6 million members, and the UK’s largest private landowner. Established over a century ago, its primary purpose is to protect and conserve special places for the benefit of the nation. To achieve this aim, the Trust manages over 250,000 hectares of countryside (42% of this is SSSI) and more than 770 miles of coastline across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, working collaboratively with other organisations and local communities to protect and care for natural and built heritage. Ìý

A key part of National Trust’s strategy is to tackle the nature and climate crises. They are currently working towards having net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and repurposing land towards carbon rich landscapes that deliver multiple ecosystem services. Key activities in train to achieve this include commitments to plant 20m trees by 2030, an ambitious peatland restoration programme (13k ha by 2030), alongside large areas of landscape scale habitat recovery projects (create 25k ha of priority habitat by 2025) and nature friendly farming initiatives. Ìý

Working alongside policy partners, including the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and other devolved administrations, Arms Length Bodies and eNGOs, the National Trust is contributing to evaluation of the UK’s ecosystem services, supporting policy, research development and accelerated delivery. UCL Public Policy is offering support for a policy fellowship (on a flexible part to full-time basis) to collaborate with the Land and Nature team at the National Trust. This policy fellowship presents a valuable opportunity for UCL researchers to deepen their insights into the role the UK charity sector plays in policy making, broaden their professional networks, and enhance their skills and expertise in academic-policy engagement. Ìý

Funded through IAA BBSRC, this fellowship will span three to four months, from mid-November 2024 to end of March 2025. By participating in this fellowship, researchers can gain hands-on experience in policy development and contribute meaningfully to community-oriented initiatives.Ìý

Deadline: 23 October 17:00 GMTÌý

Proposal

Effective land management is crucial for achieving environmental objectives like tackling climate change, recovering nature, reducing pollution, and restoring soil health. To meet the UK Government and devolved administrations' environmental legal obligations and policy priorities, a collaborative approach across science, policy, and practice domains is essential. Major landowners play a significant role in developing, testing, and delivering land use changes. ÌýHowever, selecting the appropriate changes and their implementation timing is challenging due to competing land uses for food, energy, environment, and urbanization, necessitating difficult trade-offs. Enhanced decision-making requires integrated research approaches that model social, economic, and environmental systems to provide critical insights into how land use policies and strategies may evolve in uncertain futures.Ìý

Research priorities include: Ìý

• Qualitative and Quantitative Systems-Based Approaches: Addressing policy interconnections with land use and environmental impacts. Ìý
• Scenarios, Models and Metrics: Integrating existing and emerging tools and approaches into interactive digital assets.Ìý
• Stakeholder Engagement: Exploring conditions needed for land use transformation. Ìý

Fellowship Objectives

1. Integrate Scientific Research and Policy Development: Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise between researchers and the National Trust to improve evidence-based policy decisions. Ìý
2. Develop and Implement Delivery Mechanisms: Develop and model innovative strategies for reducing carbon emissions and enhancing biodiversity on across a range of landscapes and land use/management types. Ìý
3. Promote Community Engagement and Education: Engage across the operational line, local communities and stakeholders in the process, fostering a culture of sustainability and environmental responsibility. Ìý

Potentional Areas of Focus

• Carbon dynamics & evaluation - Improved granularity of understanding across land systems and management types – building on NT’s existing scope 1-3 modelling and evaluation approaches.Ìý
• Species, community and habitat modelling Ìý- linking climate projections of species distributions with ecosystem function and opportunities for landscape design and reconfiguration.Ìý
• Metrics, Monitoring & Evaluation approaches - to ensure impact and adaptive management. NT are developing a standardised framework, standards and analytics to track and report outcomes of interventions across a number of scales.Ìý
• Data architecture - to allow integration of data and models that span all key components of the land systemÌý

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• Collaborative Research Projects: Conduct joint research initiatives focusing on carbon sequestration, habitat restoration, and sustainable land management practices. Ìý
• Policy Workshops, round tables and seminars: Organize events to discuss and develop actionable policies that support net zero and nature renewal goals. Ìý
• Pilot Programs: Implement pilot projects to test and refine delivery mechanisms, with the aim of scaling successful models. Ìý
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Contribute to the development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the impact of implemented strategies and inform continuous improvement. Ìý

Anticipated Outcomes

• Enhanced Policy Frameworks: Development of robust policies that integrate scientific insights and practical considerations for achieving net zero and nature renewal. Ìý
• Innovative Delivery Mechanisms: Creation of scalable models for carbon reduction and biodiversity enhancement that can be replicated across the UK. Ìý
• Increased Community Involvement: Greater awareness and participation in environmental initiatives within the organization, among local communities and stakeholders. Ìý

The outputs will be shared with key policy partners such as DEFRA, Green Alliance and other eNGOs, Arms Length Bodies and major landowners.Ìý

Required Skills

1. Excellent research and analytic skills, with demonstrated experience or transferable skills in designing and carrying out feasibility studies and translating research findings to other contexts.Ìý
2. Expertise and experience in using research as a means of informing and contributing towards policy development.Ìý
3. Ability to operate effectively, openly and collaboratively within sensitive political contexts.Ìý
4. Ability to demonstrate neutrality and impartiality while navigating competing stakeholder interests.Ìý
5. Excellent communication skills and ability to effectively engage with people from different backgrounds and sectors, and at different levels of seniority. Particularly important are writing skills and proven communications experience.Ìý
6. Understanding of the academic policy-engagement environment, and an ability to grasp project priorities quickly.Ìý
7. Ability to work proactively, managing and prioritising your own workload, while managing contingencies between multiple project stakeholders.Ìý

Ways of working

The fellowships will be remote with some meetings taking place at National Trust’s head offices in Swindon and London. The fellow will report to Professor Matthew Heard, Head of Environmental Research & Data.Ìý

About you

These secondments are open to eligible academic and research staff °ÄÃÅÀúÊ·¿ª½±¼Ç¼ Grade 6, 7 or 8. They are offered on a flexible part-time to full-time basis for three to four months, from mid-November until end of March. Funding must be spent before the 31ÌýMarch. Eligible applicants must have a UCL employment contract that extends beyond the secondment period. Please contact the Policy Fellowship Coordinator (alice.tofts@ucl.ac.uk) if you are interested in this opportunity but you are not eligible.

To apply

Please complete the online to apply for this opportunity.  If you have difficulty in accessing or using this form please contact public-policy@ucl.ac.uk. If you have any questions please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page. Ìý
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We particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic, female and disabled/neurodivergent candidates.Ìý

Top ranked candidates will be invited to an informal interview on TBCÌý

Please note information provided in the application form will be shared with the National Trust to assess your suitability for the award. For more information on data sharing please see the UCL Staff Privacy Statement here and UCL statement on tasks in the public interest here. Ìý

Application Deadline: 23 October 17:00 GMTÌý

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