About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for an exceptional Account Manager to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Account Manager, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 4 days per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share.  Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Job description

Your world of expertise

The Space Weather Business Team is part of the Transport Business Team that collectively manages customer and stakeholder relationships in the transport sector (land, sea, air & space) that are mutually beneficial, align to Met Office and government strategies and deliver profitable revenue. The Transport Team sits within the Markets Directorate, and we contribute by understanding customer needs, securing funding and working with colleagues, in Markets and beyond, to deliver a range of existing and new services to address the customer’s needs.

A Key Account Manager supports the Met Office by managing a portfolio of existing customers and stakeholders as well as developing new relationships. A Key Account Manager ensures we deliver the Met Office’s purpose to ensure profitable revenue and realise extraordinary impact and benefits.

As the Space Weather risk owner, on behalf of Government, we have a responsibility support the mitigation of a severe space weather event in the UK in support of the realisation of the UK Government’s Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy.

Your key duties

• Responsible for day-to-day support and responding to queries from customers and stakeholders for the range of services delivered for space weather.
• Supporting the Business Manager and Senior Account Manager in engagement and education of organisations likely to be impacted by space weather.
• Capturing market and customer insight to support Business Lead and Products Team to understand sector vulnerabilities to space weather and to manage product lifecycles, including the identification and development of potential new product or service offerings.
• Ensuring that major space weather event escalation and communications plans are kept up to date, working in coordination with Services.
• Ensuring conformity to engagement and business processes to consistently deliver to customers with appropriately maintained business management information.
• The post holder will be required to travel both nationally and internationally.

Person specification

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. Proven ability of working collaboratively across internal and external teams or stakeholders with a history of using your networks to get things done through influence and collaboration.
2. Successful track record in identifying new business opportunities and developing strategies to pursue them effectively, building relationships to maximise lifetime value.  
3. Ability to understand a customer or stakeholder’s needs through building effective relationships and fostering collaborative working environments.
4. Demonstrable ability to communicate technical and scientific information to a range of technical and non-technical users.
5. Have demonstrable experience of influencing and negotiating skills through being able to formulate evidence based persuasive arguments and the ability to encapsulate these in clear concise persuasive written proposals.
6. Proven ability to understand and describe users’ needs, gaining insights that can be translated into value propositions and new services, working in conjunction with Product Managers.

Desirable Criteria:

We encourage you to apply if you believe you meet our essential criteria, but we’re also keen to discover if you have:

1. A demonstrable understanding of space weather.
2. Previous experience of working with either the space sector or a range of Critical National Infrastructure operators.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,794, Met Office contributes £9,094 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills. 

Closing date 14/07/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 29/07/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help:

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk . You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.