About the job

Job summary

The Met Office is delighted to open our advertising for a number of progressive Industrial Placements, which will commence from July 2024 until July 2025.

Job description

What we are offering

We’re looking for exceptional Flood Forecasting Centre Industrial Placements to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Flood Forecasting Centre - Industrial Placement 2024 you will work a hybrid pattern and will be on site at Exeter HQ a minimum of 4 days per month. You can choose to work more frequently in our state-of-the-art office if you'd prefer, as many of our team do.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week. 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.

Who we are

We provide critical weather services and world-leading climate science to deliver extraordinary impact and benefit across the globe. Our work helps people make better decisions to stay safe and thrive.

Our Industrial Placement scheme offers ambitious and capable undergraduates the opportunity to gain valuable experience working alongside diverse and highly skilled experts in their field. You’ll be working on projects that really matter and will make a difference.

Together:

• 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

Find out more about our values - https://bit.ly/3fokaRD

Job Purpose

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Met Office on a 12-month Year In Industry placement, developing your skills and knowledge and ensuring you gain the most value possible from your experience with us. You will have the opportunity to network with our cohort of Industrial Placement all over the Met Office and understand what career opportunities we can offer you after you graduate.

Our Flood Forecasting Centre Industrial Placements will work at the Flood Forecasting Centre based in the Service Operations Centre at the Met Office HQ, helping to protect lives and livelihoods from flooding. The Flood Forecasting Centre is a hub of expertise that provide specialised hydrometeorology services to Government and Emergency Responders. We do this in the partnership by combining the meteorology and world-leading science of the Met Office with the world class expertise in hydrology of the Environment Agency.

All our specialist team are cross-trained in meteorology and hydrology, several have doctorates and many have expertise in related disciplines such as oceanography. Our blend of academic, technical and operational skills within the Centre; whilst working alongside colleagues in the Met Office and Environment Agency, enables us to develop and operationalise world leading approaches to flood forecasting and operational flood risk assessment. By combining our knowledge and experience, we are vastly improving our ability to deliver longer lead time flood forecasts and more accurate, targeted information to the Category 1 and 2 responders who have roles and responsibilities in handling emergency situations. This earlier and better communication of flood risk enables national and local responders to support the public and local communities at risk of flooding. This provides people more time to take action to protect themselves and their homes and businesses from flooding.

This Industrial Placement is an exciting opportunity to see first-hand what we do, make a real impact that the Met Office and Flood Forecasting Centre truly values, and also gain an insight into flood operations at the Environment Agency. You will be working to support us in our day-to-day operations, as well as supporting us with projects to improve our forecasting capability, user experience and the value of our work.

As our Flood Forecasting Centre - Industrial Placement 2024, your key responsibilities are:

• Develop a working knowledge of flood incident management, and specifically Flood Forecasting Centre products, services, partners and customers.
• Provide a significant contribution to Flood Forecasting Centre development work and projects, with potential to lead on some aspects of work. This will include working both as part of a team and independently as needed, including prioritising work.
• Liaise with Flood Forecasting Centre colleagues, and when required external colleagues and customers, in order to progress project work.
• Share feedback and learning within the Flood Forecasting Centre as appropriate, for example following flood events.
• Support team training and team building activities.
• Support Flood Forecasting Centre operational delivery as required.

Person specification

Essential Qualifications, Skills & Abilities

1. Is studying for an undergraduate degree with a significant numeracy, science (e.g. Environmental Science) and/or IT element.
2. Demonstrates evidence of good oral and written communication skills.
3. Can plan and organise work using own initiative (We keep evolving).
4. Possesses strong IT and Applied Science skills (We're experts by nature).
5. Has an appreciation of customer needs and the importance of good customer service (We're a force for good).
6. Has proven ability to work well as a member of a team (We're better together).

Benefits

We invest in our people to unlock their full potential. As our Flood Forecasting Centre - Industrial Placement 2024, we will support you to develop and thrive to be the best you can be.  We champion positive physical and mental health in the workplace and are committed to being an inclusive organisation, providing a working culture that actively values an equal and diverse workforce. 

As our Flood Forecasting Centre - Industrial Placement 2024, your starting salary will be £25606.00.

Whilst this is a temporary position until July 2025, there is potential for it to develop into an opportunity to join our Graduate Development scheme once you complete your University studies.

Your package includes:
- Flexible hours and homeworking
- 27.5 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
- Access to discounted shopping, inclusive of retail, leisure and lifestyle brands

Things you need to know

Selection process details

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Apply by clicking the link below and complete the application form making sure to provide evidence in your examples how you meet each of the essential criteria - we recommend candidates use the CARL (Context, Action, Result and Learning) method for presenting evidence of skills and taking a read through the application tips document attached to the bottom of this advert.

Closing date 21/01/2024 at 23:59 with interviews commencing from 20/02/2024. Please note we often receive a high volume of applications but we will contact everyone who applies once the closing date has passed.

If successful, please note we are unable to offer expenses for travel to your normal place of work. This post is contractually aligned to Exeter HQ, please ask at interview if you would like extra clarity on how often this requirement is likely to be.

How we can help:

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via askHR@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 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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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.