Senior Climate Adaptation Scientist

Generic role: Senior Scientist or Scientist

Profession: Science

Permanent, Full time at Met Office, Exeter

Closing date for applications: 15 March 2011

Background information

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has concluded that warming of the climate system is 'unequivocal' and can be largely attributed to human activity. To prepare for future climatic changes, individuals, businesses and governments are now increasingly aware of the need to understand the risks and opportunities that climate change poses to their interests, and assess suitable mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The Climate Impacts (CI) team in the Met Office Hadley Centre has grown rapidly over the last few years in response to the increase in demand for research and consultancy on climate change impacts, risks and response strategies.

We provide scientific advice and guidance to a wide range of customers including DECC, DEFRA and the energy, transport and water industries.

This post will lead the delivery and development of suitable and innovative analytical and communication techniques to quantify climate change risks and impacts to our diverse customer base.

Specific job purpose

To develop innovative techniques and tools for analysing and communicating risks and impacts of climate change to a wide range of customers.

Specific job responsibilities

• Devise and lead the application of suitable techniques for analysing and quantifying the impacts and associated risks of climate change.
• Work with the wider Met Office team to understand current and future Met Office capabilities and identify and lead capability development to address identified customer requirements.
• Produce project reports for customers and lead the publication of scientific papers based on the project outputs (as applicable).
• Represent the Met Office at customer meetings, scientific conferences, seminars, expert working groups, etc. where the science of climate change, impacts and adaptation need to be presented, discussed and explored.
• Train and support members of the team to enhance scientific and technical capability and understanding of customer requirements.

Qualifications, skills and abilities required

Essential

• A PhD or equivalent in a natural science
• Experience of successfully extracting, analysing, interpreting, and displaying large data sets.
• Strong understanding of current and emerging issues in climate science.
• A track record of peer-reviewed publications in a natural science.
• Working knowledge of programming in at least one of the following: IDL, R, Matlab, Fortran, Python, C.
• Good interpersonal skills. Demonstrated ability to communicate and build working relationships with team members and wider colleagues in own and other institutions.
• Demonstrated drive and commitment to focus on timely delivery of high quality output through effective resource planning and creation of solutions to obstacles.

Desirable

• Experience of managing research and development projects.
• Demonstrated ability to actively listen, discuss and understand the needs of scientific and non-scientific customers and relate these to scientific work which can be carried out.
• Strong skills in time series analysis.
• Experience of delivering presentations at international conferences or to customers.
• Experience of developing web applications.
• Willingness to travel overseas.

Additional supplementary information

If the successful candidate is currently in a role in the scientific framework, they will ordinarily remain in the role to which they are currently mapped.

Application forms and further information

Please mark your request or returned application form: Senior climate adaptation scientist 002075R