About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for two exceptional Hydrometeorologists to help us make a difference to our planet.

Job description

As our Hydrometeorologist, 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 30 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.

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

Your world of expertise

The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) Hydromet team brings together the two disciplines of meteorology and hydrology to ‘bridge the gap’ between weather and flood forecasting between the Met Office (MO), Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Our highly skilled team create and deliver a joined-up forecasting service for government and emergency responders. Staff have multiple specialisms and work routinely across the partnership and with customers in both operational and project work. 

You will work as part of a 24/7 roster at FFC, Exeter HQ. Our Hydromets work 12-hour day and night shifts with a general roster pattern of DDNNS and 3 days off. They generally work a run of shifts as Lead Hydromet, followed by a run as on-call Hydromet (called into operations if required, and if not required on operations contributes to development work).

You will have opportunity for development work in between shifts and on periodic chunks of time off the operational roster which contributes to further improving our underpinning capabilities as well as our products and services. 

Your key duties

• Prepare and deliver a range of specialised hydrometeorological products and services to meet our customer (Category 1 and 2 Responders including EA and NRW Flood Forecasting and Incident Management teams) needs. 
• Identify severe weather events and hydrological conditions that are expected to increase the risk of flooding and issue associated forecasts and guidance to ensure EA and NRW are aware of the potential impact on their activities. 
• Monitor and interpret observations and models to ensure customers receive the best possible information and guidance. 
• Drive discussion of flood impact forecasting with MO Guidance Unit and Civil Contingency Advisors, and EA and NRW flood forecasting teams. Communicate with FFC strategic management around changing situations and forecasting decisions. 
• Undertake a broad programme of both formal and on-the-job training in hydrometeorology (including QCF L6: Flood Forecasting), business awareness, communication and project management skills. Apply learnt skills to build personal and team expertise and enhance operational capability. 
• Represent the FFC within customer environments and always maintain a customer focused outlook.
• Contribute to our continual service improvements programme to enhance our flood forecasting capabilities. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. An Expert by Naturewith successful completion of Met Office Forecaster Foundation Training Programme or equivalent, and with a good knowledge of current output from NWP deterministic and ensemble prediction systems.
2. A demonstrated ability to Keep Evolving, with evidence of ongoing professional development and a commitment to complete advanced training in hydrology and hydrometeorology. 
3. You Live and Breathe It, showing evidence of successful decision-making to solve complex operational issues under pressure. 
4. You Keep Evolvingby demonstrating a strong customer and service focus, including evidence of working in cross-functional teams that have achieved improvements in service delivery.  
5. You are a Force for Good, showing evidence of successfully communicating complex meteorological, hydrological or impact information to both technical and non-technical audiences including customers and more senior staff. 
6. An understanding of the benefits of partnership working, with reference to how the FFC fits into both MO and EA/NRW business strategies to demonstrate We’re Better Together.  

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. Previous experience of working in flood forecasting, a background in hydrology or QCF L6 Flood Forecasting, and/or a working knowledge of current hydrological models operated by the EA/NRW. 
2. Chartered Status through a relevant professional body (e.g. Royal Met Soc, CIWEM). 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,725, Met Office contributes £11,307 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

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 18/08/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 27/08/2024. 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 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.