We are recruiting for a Head of Climate Response to join Challenge Works

The successful candidate will be passionate about harnessing the power of entrepreneurship and technology to mitigate climate disaster and to enable adaptation. We are looking for someone with substantial experience in innovation associated with climate response, who can come up with ambitious ideas and build credible partnerships and teams to deliver meaningful change.

Challenge Works

Challenge Works is world-leading in the development and implementation of high-impact challenge prizes that attract and enable innovation to solve pressing societal problems. Our model shines a spotlight on specific problems and opportunities, to inspire and guide the most creative and dynamic groups of innovators to deliver impact.

We are owned by the innovation foundation Nesta and have delivered over 90 high-profile challenge prizes worldwide. From combating antimicrobial resistance to tackling plastic pollution, we have worked with more than 12,000 innovator teams and helped foundations, governments, international NGOs and corporations to direct nearly £250m in prize funding to support the boldest and bravest ideas to become real.

As a team of 40 we believe it has never been more urgent to incentivise innovators to develop radical and boundary-pushing solutions for societal benefit. We have a new strategy built around four priority areas of Global Health, Cities & Society, Climate Response and Technology Frontiers. Our new Head of Climate Response will be responsible for developing our Climate Response priority area, working with our brilliant team of researchers, designers, programme managers and comms experts.

The role

As the primary expert on innovation in climate response within the Challenge Works team, you will lead the development of a portfolio of related prizes, creating new ideas, securing partnerships and unlocking funding to take these forward.

You will have a lot of flexibility to shape the portfolio, exploring opportunities (both in the UK and globally). The opportunities could be across both mitigation and adaptation and although you might have more experience in one rather than the other you will also need to be aware of the connections between the two in order to also explore integrated approaches.

You’ll be an advocate for innovation as a response to climate change, and passionate about the creation of  ground breaking new technologies, ideas, uses of data, businesses or services to contribute towards a better future.

You will be able to navigate the landscape of climate change and wider issues related to climate confidently, and have strong networks. Our prizes are multi-million pound endeavours and we create them through partnerships with the likes of the UK Government, USAID, ARIA, UK Space Agency, Ofwat and Toyota Mobility Foundation. We are looking for someone capable of building a portfolio of climate related programmes that match this ambition.

Key Responsibilities

Opportunity Development

There is an expectation - and considerable scope - to expand and shape this portfolio across broad opportunity areas such as agriculture, water, infrastructure, food, ecosystems, livelihoods and more.You’ll be:

• Developing a strategy for this theme exploring new areas where you identify the opportunity for prizes to have an impact

• Making connections and building partnerships with ambitious and exciting organisations, securing funding to take these ideas forward

Delivering impact

• Oversee and grow a portfolio of multi-million-pound climate response challenge prizes, providing strategic leadership, solving problems, and driving opportunities across complex, multi-stakeholder programmes.

• Lead and support programme delivery teams, ensuring the implementation of first-class innovation practices, continuous improvement, and best-in-class methodologies.

• Serve as the primary expert on climate response innovation at Challenge Works, deepening organisational expertise, maintaining a strong awareness of developments in this rapidly changing area, as well as cutting edge innovation and the barriers to its advancement.

• In addition to developing your own portfolio, act as a thought partner for relevant colleagues when climate related opportunities crossover with our other priority areas of Global Health, Cities & Society and Technology Frontiers, or are centred in LMICs.

Thought leadership

• Contribute to our thought leadership by working with our research and communications teams to: create compelling content, promote our work with external stakeholders, develop and nurture networks of funders and innovators, and build partnerships and programmes to support prize delivery.

• Maintain a strong understanding of the key stakeholders within the Climate Response ecosystem and regularly engage with these stakeholders to maintain a clear view on top priorities, opportunities, and challenges.

• Identify emerging trends and innovation opportunities through the network of stakeholders to identify key opportunities for emerging technologies to have a positive impact.

Leadership

• Contribute to the leadership and management of Challenge Works as a flourishing and groundbreaking social enterprise, proactively working with other members of the senior leadership team to execute the strategy and solve day-to-day challenges.

• Foster and support a collaborative environment and model behaviours that will help transform us into a learning organisation with a culture of continuous improvement and thought leadership, actively supporting other team members to develop the skills needed.

• Be an inspiring, accessible, inclusive and responsible leader, motivating others and ensuring that there is a dynamic and effective culture of trust with staff. 

• Directly line manage c3-4 Senior Programme Managers or Programme Managers.

Person Specification

We are looking for someone with substantial experience in innovation associated with climate response, who can come up with ambitious ideas and build credible partnerships and teams to deliver these. Whilst climate adaptation will be your priority, you will be aware of the connections between adaptation and mitigation in order to also explore integrated approaches and have the skills and flexibility to engage across a wide set of associated themes. 

You will be able to navigate the landscape of climate change and wider issues related to climate on the natural the space confidently, and have strong networks, but you could have built up this experience and these networks in a variety of contexts for example in consultancy, industry, through technology policy or from your own experience as a climate entrepreneur.

Experience:

The successful candidate will be passionate about innovation and bring a creative mindset to delivering impact through harnessing the power of entrepreneurship and technology.

• A strong track record of leading teams or organisations and of delivering at pace

• Strong track record of coming up with big ideas and scoping new opportunities, and converting these into new projects.

• Experience and contacts in science and technology ‘futures’, academia, industry and government.

• Excellent partner and client relationship management, with experience of collaborating with a diverse range of partners e.g. government, philanthropists, businesses, foundations, including securing significant funding

• Experience securing funding and negotiating complex programme scopes and budgets with ambitious partners and backers to ensure resources and timescales match ambition.

• Natural networker and convener and can manage a multitude of external relationships.

• A skilled communicator and influencer adept at speaking to senior audiences in a range of different organisations.

• Experience and interest in managing and supporting team members to deliver the greatest possible impact through innovation.

What we offer:

Salary: The salary band for this position is Band 6 (£75,400 - £85,300) plus an array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more. Offers are expected to be made at the bottom of the band.

Location: This role is based in London, Blackfriars, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office. These are currently Tuesday and Thursday.

Term: Permanent

Hours:  This role is full time but could be reduced to 80% for the right candidate if preferred. We offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on Monday 2nd of December 2024.

Interviews will take place w/c 9th December 2024.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.