Foundation Scientist

Job Introduction

We’re looking for an exceptional Foundation Scientist - Joint Winter Energy Hazard, to help us make a difference to our planet. 

As our 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 30  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 

With the drive to reach NetZero and the consequent rapid increase in renewable electricity generation, the UK’s energy system is becoming increasingly sensitive to the weather. It is already known that certain weather conditions can put the energy system under pressure. For example, during winter, security of electricity supply can be compromised when cold and calm conditions prevail, driving an increase in energy demand but reduced wind power production. In this role, you will identify the compound climate hazards most problematic for the energy sector, quantify their likelihood in the present climate and predict how they will change in the coming seasons to decades. Your research findings will be shared with the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to inform policy development. You will also develop new seasonal forecast products to highlight imminent risks, helping to build future resilience. This post gives you the opportunity to learn about initialised climate prediction, which is a vibrant new area of climate science. You will work as part of the Monthly to Decadal variability and prediction group, which is responsible for the production, research and development of Met Office monthly, seasonal and decadal forecasts. You will have the opportunity to publish your research and develop collaborations with a wide range of scientists and users both within the Met Office and externally.  

Your key duties 

• Identify the compound climate hazards of most importance to the operational running and forward planning of the UK energy system, through dialogue with Government and industry partners
• Explore the dynamical drivers of such compound hazards and analyse the current risk, using initialised predictions and the UNSEEN (‘UNprecedented Simulated Extremes using ENsembles’) approach.
• Determine our skill in predicting such extremes across different timescales using the Met Office’s seasonal prediction (GloSea) and decadal prediction systems (DePreSys).
• Develop new operational near-term prediction services.
• Communicate findings to the wider scientific community and energy stakeholders through publishing scientific papers and giving oral presentations.

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 our 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.) Research experience (We’re experts by nature) 

 - a degree in physics, maths, meteorology or related subject (or equivalent experience)

 - able to apply standard analysis techniques

 2.) Experience of scientific programming in high level languages (Python, Fortran, in a Unix environment).

 3.) Demonstrated ability to work well within a team to deliver shared objectives (We’re better together).

 4.) Evidence of good communication skills via written reports/peer reviewed journal papers and oral presentations, commensurate with role level.

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 06/10/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 21/10/2024. 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.