Resilient Climate Translation Lead

Salary Levels: £70,000, £90,000, £105,000 (offers will be calibrated on interview assessment and benchmarked experience levels) Location: Kings X, London; Tues - Thurs (3 days) at HQ, Monday + Friday, anywhere Employment Type: Full-time, aligned with ARIA’s active commitment to the Forecasting Tipping Points programme ; we are open to discussing an arrangement of 4 days per week, minimum Contract: Two-years fixed-term (with the possibility for extension)
Closing Date: Sunday 29 November 23:59 Interview Process: We will be conducting initial screens for selected candidates in early December, with a view to shortlist for interviews before the new year, and run the full formal selection process in January 2027

About ARIA

ARIA empowers scientists to pursue breakthroughs at the edge of the possible.

From climate change to AI, society faces enormous challenges and opportunities that can be uniquely addressed through science and technology. ARIA was created to activate the UK’s world-class R&D in new ways, so we can meet these head on.
Our success is shaped by one question: how will ARIA transform the lives of the UK’s future generations? Whether that is a life-changing new technology or a burgeoning new industry, it should be obvious that ARIA played a catalytic role.
If you want to help make breakthroughs like these possible, come and build ARIA with us.
Learn more here (https://www.aria.org.uk/how-were-working/).

Role Summary

ARIA’sForecasting Tipping Points programme (https://aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces/resilient-climate-and-ecosystems/forecasting-tipping-points) aims to create a sustained, public-good early warning system for climate tipping points. It is bringing together new approaches to ocean observation, forecasting and decision-focused climate evidence, initially centred on the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, so that governments, communities and other decision-makers can act earlier and with greater confidence.
With an ambitious portfolio of R&D Creators established across startups, academia, and non-profit R&D organisations, the programme is moving from advancing the underlying science and technology to demonstrating an integrated capability that people and institutions can trust, use and sustain. That requires working backwards from consequential decisions, integrating complex systems, building legitimacy with affected communities and creating an institutional and financing model that can preserve essential public goods over the long term.

As Resilient Climate Translation Lead, your primary responsibility will be to lead this translation effort for Forecasting Tipping Points. You will be the Programme Directors’ principal translation delivery partner: co-specifying the early warning system minimum viable product (MVP), leading user and institutional discovery, delivering translation milestones and supporting Creator teams to build compelling propositions and continuity plans. Alongside this core remit, you will cultivate partnerships across ARIA’s wider climate programmes, identifying users, strategic partners, co-funders and routes to adoption that can accelerate their impact.

What you'll do

Build a usable early warning capability
- Act as ARIA’s point of contact for systems integration, aligning observing, modelling and product teams around clear interfaces, dependencies and assurance.
- Co-specify the early warning system MVP with the Programme Directors and define future portfolio pathways that maximise near-term translation opportunities, with clear outcomes, resources and evidence.
- Lead delivery against translation milestones, including relationships with programme Fellows (https://aria.org.uk/insights/2026/building-the-human-pathway-for-climate-tipping-point-warnings)and system partners. Use evidence to recommend when ARIA should progress, reshape, redirect or stop work to keep the portfolio moving.

Form an enduring model
- Alongside the Programme Directors and Science and Technology Lead, define the observations, calibrated open data, provenance, methods, assessment, assurance and communication that must endure beyond the programme’s timeframe and protect the public good mission.
- Test options for governance, assurance, operations and finance against scientific independence, international legitimacy, public access, operational resilience and Greenlandic data sovereignty.
- Generate and convert interest from governments, philanthropic co-funders, multilateral bodies, and scientific and operational institutions into clear roles, committed resources and sustained support.

Create translation routes across ARIA’s climate programmes
- Work backwards from real decisions with users, buyers, operators and affected communities, translating their needs into product and technical requirements, testing those requirements through pilots, scenarios and workflow tests, and using the evidence to steer observing, modelling and product choices.
- Secure partnerships for validation, operating environments, co-development, procurement or co-funding, that open near-term routes to use across ARIA’s other climate programmes, including Exploring Climate Cooling.
- Sharpen value propositions, routes to adoption and continuity plans, then connect Creator teams with the partners, capabilities and follow-on resources they need to give them a credible next step.

Who you are

No specific degree, job title or conventional climate career is required. You may have developed these capabilities in mission-led product development, climate services, public-interest technology, institution building, systems integration, government, philanthropy, venture building or research translation. What matters is evidence of what you have made happen.

Essential criteria
- You are expert in building momentum around an issue and can translate technical climate data into actionable information.
- You have turned technically complex R&D in the climate space into an integrated service, product, or operational capability.
- You can align scientists, engineers and systems integrators to deliver a usable product.
- You can use discovery, pilots, scenarios and workflow tests with users, operators and affected communities to shape product and technical choices.
- You can build relationships across government, philanthropy, science, industry and public bodies that lead to agreed roles, resources, adoption or co-funding.

Desirable criteria
- Experience in building or operating an enduring institution or public-interest service.
- Experience working in or with governments, or navigating complex geopolitical issues.
- Experience in climate or Earth-system science, Earth observation, forecasting, climate services or environmental data infrastructure.
- Experience of public or philanthropic finance, multilateral collaboration or sustaining public-interest infrastructure beyond its original funding period.
- Experience with open data, scientific assurance, data provenance, data sovereignty or community-led research.

Benefits

- 27 days annual leave provision, with the option to buy/sell additional days
- Hybrid working arrangements; 60% in office / 40% at home
- Supportive environment for learning and development opportunities
- Enhanced family leave arrangements
- A free and confidential 24/7 employee assistance programme
- 2 days of paid volunteer days
- 5% defined contribution pension scheme with Smart Pension
- Cycle to Work scheme
- An excellent office location in Kings X, London

Not sure you meet 100% of our criteria? Don’t worry. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We want to attract the broadest array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you’re new to this, returning to work after a gap in employment, simply looking to transition, or taking the next step in your career path, we will be glad to have you on our radar. Please use your cover letter to tell us about your interests and what you hope to bring to this role.
If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please notify us and we will make every effort to accommodate you. Disclosing any requests are intended to provide ARIA with the best opportunity to support candidates and will have no negative impact on your recruitment process.

Please note; You will be required, as and when necessary, to travel to different locations around the UK and internationally.
ARIA adopts a highly considered approach to ethical and social responsibility. You can read our policy here (https://www.aria.org.uk/transparency/) . Our research and development activity will abide by the 3Rs principle. You can read about those here (https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/who-we-are/3rs) .