Foundation Scientist

Job Introduction

We’re looking for exceptional Foundation Scientists to help us make a difference to our planet.

As a Foundation Scientist, 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 26 hours 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

Your world of expertise

You will be part of a large community of over 500 scientists, undertaking cutting-edge weather and climate scientific research at the Met Office. We have a number of Science posts to fill and these will be offered based on the knowledge and skills successful applicants demonstrate in their application form and interview. The underlying skills required are outlined in the essential criteria below, however support and training will be given based on each successful candidate’s individual experience and the skills required for the post. Joining at the same time as others at similar points in their careers will enable you to immediately build a network across the office and to support each other through your training, development and career beyond.

Your key duties

• Support the delivery or application of scientific research to enhance the Met Office’s capability, impact or quality of its predictions, products or advice. 
• Develop your scientific research and programming skills to undertake independent research at a more senior level.
• Contribute to the presentation and publication of your team's work, both internally and externally, in order to maintain our scientific capability, integrity, and transparency.

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. 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.

As a Foundation Scientist, your total reward package will be up to £37,776 annually, which includes:

• £26,954 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 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

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. We keep evolving - Significant knowledge in a physical, mathematical, computational or environmental sciences subject. This could be obtained through experience from a job in a relevant area, or through an undergraduate degree (2.1 or higher / equivalent).
2. We’re experts by nature - Experience of writing or modifying code, such as Python, C++ or Fortran, and an aptitude to apply scientific code quality assurance techniques.
3. We’re a force for good - Experience of being able to apply broad scientific knowledge and strong analytical skills to specific scientific problems and scenarios.
4. We keep evolving - An independent thinker, able to proactively take ownership of assigned work to identify and address own knowledge gaps and learn new concepts/methods to problem-solve and meet project objectives.
5. We’re better together - Evidence of being a collaborative team player with the potential to build relationships, support others, challenge ideas and collaborate with scientific and technical colleagues to deliver successful outcomes.
6. We live and breathe it - An inclusive and persuasive communicator with the ability for scientific communication, both orally and in writing.

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 08/09/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 30/09/2024. 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.

We are currently working through a re-prioritisation process in our Science Directorate, with some employees being asked to discontinue their current work. These employees will be given priority for internal campaigns until the re-prioritisation is complete.