The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is recruiting a Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, according to a GOV.UK page that gathers government vacancies for scientific experts. The page's most recent update, dated 11 November 2026, added a link to that advert.
GOV.UK says the government is advertising several high-profile roles for scientists. It presents them as a chance to inform policy at the highest levels and to influence national policy significantly.
A year of adverts opening and closing
The page's update log shows how quickly listings change. Several adverts posted in 2026 have since been taken down because they expired:
- Chief Construction and Scientific Adviser at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, removed on 14 April.
- Director of Science at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Science Director at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), both removed on 9 June.
- Co-chair of the Council for Science and Technology, first linked on 6 May, and the Department for Business and Trade College of Experts, both removed on 29 June.
- Chief Scientific Adviser for Food Standards Scotland, posted on 17 June and removed on 15 July.
A secondment programme was also listed and then withdrawn: the Government Office for Science added its Mid Career Scientists and Engineers Secondment Scheme on 19 August and removed it on 15 September after expiry.
An advert for Science & Technology Ethics Advisory Committee members was added on 30 March 2026, and the log records no removal for it. The page does not say whether that post is still open.
Two kinds of role
According to GOV.UK, ministers and departments turn to Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs) for impartial scientific guidance. These advisers also head the science systems in their departments and help ground decisions in evidence. They are employed directly by a department or arm's-length body, the page says, usually working at least 4 days a week for no less than 3 years. The government says it wants candidates with strong scientific or engineering expertise who are keen to tackle real-world problems and want to move into government.
Seats on Scientific Advisory Committees and Councils (SACs) are different: they are part-time and held alongside a member's existing work, with minimum time commitments and terms that differ between bodies. These groups help departments and their arm's-length bodies make sense of relevant science and weigh how useful and applicable it is. The page encourages applications from experts who want to shape policymaking closely while staying in academia.
The page adds that the Civil Service aims to draw in, keep and develop talent wherever it is found, pointing readers to its People Plan and its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
