About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for an exceptional Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist you will work a hybrid pattern and will be on site at Exeter HQ There is an expectation you will be in office a minimum of 1 day a week. You'll work a hybrid pattern of home, office and field-based working with occasional requirement to travel to Exeter HQ to support the wider Surface Observations team and processes. . You can choose to work more frequently in our state-of-the-art office if you'd prefer.

Why join us?

The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.

We invest in our people to unlock their full potential. As our Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist, 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 Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist, your starting salary will be £32100.00. New joiners to the Met Office will start on the salary band minimum. Our 2022-25 pay award means the salary will increase to £33,794.00 from 1st April 2024, and you will be able to progress towards £36,000.00 over time.

Your total reward package is potentially worth up to £44,696.00 annually, which includes basic salary, potential corporate bonus and employer pension contributions.

Relocation Assistance may be available.

Your package includes:
- Outstanding Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- Flexible hours and homeworking
- Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave
- Cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment to support healthy, low carbon travel
- Access to discounted shopping, inclusive of retail, leisure and lifestyle brands

Job description

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.

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:

As our Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist, your key responsibilities are:

Ownership and initiative: Act as the technical focal point for the operation and business continuity of Surface Observing data and metadata applications with development squads, IT Operations teams and third-party suppliers, providing technical guidance and training to other team members across the Land & Marine domains

Availability, capacity and configuration management: Support the management of Surface IT service components to ensure they meet performance targets; generate reporting for management of network operations; maintain secure data system configuration, user account/access management and accurate asset information for Surface Observation systems; support upgrades to software within the Surface Observations IT estate

Change, Incident and Problem management: Employ change control and appropriate testing to ensure successful implementation of new operational systems and lifecycle plans that support the network and services. Identify, investigate, monitor and resolve incidents and problems in systems, processes, or services; and identify lessons learnt.

User focus and service management framework knowledge: Understand service delivery requirements and establish working practices to underpin the successful delivery of Surface Observations data to downstream data repositories and users (including MetDB, MIDAS and Observations Service Hub APIs). Engage with data users and stakeholders to collate user needs and deliver within agreed levels of cost and quality

Continual service improvement: Show an awareness of process efficiency and identify opportunities for optimisation; support activities to improve development processes, support implementation of monitoring dashboards and ensure tooling is lifecycled and managed

Surface Observations technical specialism: Assist support activities for Surface data applications and carry out routine maintenance and administration tasks; demonstrate a high-level understanding of Surface Observations and their data delivery and storage mechanisms; influence best practice in our plans and deliverables and wider international data collaboration; undertake appropriate training and development to ensure specialist skills remain current and evolve with business need

Person specification

Essential Qualifications, Skills & Abilities:

1. Availability, capacity and configuration management: Demonstrable experience of configuring data delivery and storage systems, including enterprise (eg O365) and bespoke applications; knowledge and practical experience of (or willingness to learn) commonly-used coding or scripting languages (e.g. PLSQL, Python) would be an advantage
2. Change management: Evidence of employing good change control practice to the migration of systems from the development to operational environment; and experience of ITIL processes in an operational setting
3. Incident & Problem management: Be able to demonstrate prioritising work and dealing with critical situations in a structured manner.
4. Continual service improvement: Evidence of working independently to deliver efficiencies, enhancements, and continuous improvement in service delivery to customers in the operational environment.
5. Ownership and initiative: Proven ability in the support of operational IT applications and clear communication of technical guidance and training to colleagues and/or customers
6. Surface Observations technical specialism: A strong knowledge and understanding of operational Met Office Land, Marine and Crowd-sourced Surface observing networks and the instrumentation and data systems that underpin them.
7. User focus and service management framework knowledge: Experience of working as part of a multi-skilled team to discover, develop and deliver multiple customer requirements to varying timescales and deadlines.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,100, Met Office contributes £27 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. Apply below using your CV and a Cover Letter/Supporting Statement which evidences 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. 

Closing date 21/01/2024 at 23:59 with interviews commencing from 05/02/2024. You will hear from us 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 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

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.