Research Contract Opportunities within the Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change Hub

The Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change Hub is advertising 4 short-term research contracts as part of its Maximising Objective Setting Support, that aims to support government partners to develop adaptation objectives. 

The submission deadline is 11:59 GMT on Sunday 14 December 2025, with interviews held on 17-19 December 2025. Candidates will be informed of the outcome by w/c 22 December 2025, with the expectation that the successful candidate will be in role by w/c 8 January 2026. Applications should be submitted by email to MOSS@kcl.ac.uk. 

About the Hub

The Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) Hub works across the UK to implement and build crucial evidence on the efficacy of adaptation policy and interventions. The Hub is led by King’s College London and is funded by Defra and UKRI.

About the project

The fourth National Adaptation Programme (NAP4) is due to be published in 2028. To drive greater action and ambition, Defra is working across government to set adaptation objectives. This is a challenging piece of work: Defra is looking to support teams across government to use the existing evidence base to formulate objectives for each of the 14 systems set out in CCRA4 (IA Technical Report Community Review) . The work includes scoping objectives; testing and revising objectives using evidence and working with delivery partners and stakeholders, and finally, developing delivery plans and indicators.

To support this process, Defra has established an objectives support service at the Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) Hub to run from November 2025 to March 2026. This service will contribute directly to evidence gathering, synthesis, and analysis required by UK Government teams in developing robust climate adaptation objectives and provide knowledge and tools to continue this work over the next three years.

The support will be provided by a team of post-doctoral research associates (PDRA), supported by part-time PhD students and the MACC Hub, working alongside government teams. Activities are divided into four work streams relating to understanding what at least two degrees could mean, what a resilient system looks like, how adaptation aligns with other government objectives and how to make decisions under uncertainty. In addition to translating and synthesising existing evidence, the MACC Hub objectives support service will convene stakeholders to provide expert input to the process.

The MACC Hub at King’s College London is recruiting four fixed term PDRAs. The post holder will report to Suzannah Sherman, Research and Policy manager, who is overseeing the support service and will be able to work as part of King’s hybrid working model (Strand Campus).

About the role

The MACC Hub is seeking expertise across multiple areas, with the findings from each project used to assist adaptation systems outlined by the Climate Change Committee in the 4th Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4-IA) methodology. The job description for the below questions can be downloaded from the downloads section on the right hand side of this page.

1. What at least 2 degrees could mean (PDRA Impacts)
2. What does good resilience look like (PDRA Vision)
3. Aligning objectives (PDRA Objectives)
4. Decision support evidence (PDRA Decision Support)

How to apply

Please see the job descriptions for full details of the project, person specification and application requirements.  

The submission deadline is 11:59 GMT on Sunday 14 December 2025. Applications should be submitted by email to MOSS@kcl.ac.uk. 

Equity is central to the MACC Hub and the funding call, and we encourage applications from early career researchers, groups under-represented in the climate change adaptation field, and those with non-traditional career paths. We are happy to discuss alternative working patterns with the successful candidate.   

Please email any questions or queries at MOSS@kcl.ac.uk 

Personal data

The MACC Hub will need to collect some personal information to manage your funding accounts, applications and contracts. All application materials, reviewer comments, and monitoring reports will be stored securely by King’s College London as the administering institution. Personal data (e.g., name, contact details, institutional affiliation) will be collected solely for the purposes of application processing, award management, and UKRI reporting. Unsuccessful applications will be permanently deleted within 12 months of the deadline.  

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice here.