Surface Observations IT Operations Specialist

Job Introduction

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

As our Surface Observations Operations IT Specialist, 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 

You will use your skills and insight to proactively manage, maintain and operate the underpinning hardware and software upon which our surface observation network delivery relies. 

Our Surface Observations Operations team is responsible for delivering high quality surface observations across land, marine and crowd-sourced domains. Networks are managed to provide availability, accuracy and timeliness of essential observations which meet user needs (e.g. for numerical modelling, synoptic meteorology and climatology) and ensure affordability.

Your key duties:

• Operational Management: upgrading firmware and operating systems of Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as data loggers.
  
• Availability and capacity management: manage service components to ensure they meet business needs and performance targets. 
• Change management: implement and document changes to data systems, applying change control procedures. Work with colleagues to ensure successful implementation of new operational systems and lifecycle strategies that support the network and services.
• Continual service improvement: identify process optimisation opportunities with guidance, and contribute to the implementation of proposed solutions eg enhanced team use of enterprise applications; support implementation of monitoring dashboards 
• Incident management: diagnose, document and prioritise incidents, investigate their causes and find resolutions. Identify and document any lessons learnt. 
• Testing: review requirements and specifications, and understand the importance of defining test conditions. Identify issues and risks associated with work. Analyse and report test activities and results.

Why join us 

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

As our Surface Observations Operations IT Specialist, your total reward package will be up to £47,606 annually, which includes: 

• £33,794 base pay.
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid £2,200 per annum as a market supplement to reflect the demand for your skills. Whilst in post, you will be paid this market driven allowance from April 2024 until March 2026 in your monthly pay.
• 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. A track record of independently planning and prioritising personal workloads to solve operational problems and manage changes in a structured manner, following ITIL principles.
2. Ability to work better together as part of a multi-skilled team contributing to shared goals.
3. You keep evolving with evidence of providing recommendations to senior managers on delivering efficiencies and improved service delivery to customers, and/or minimising future risk to operational services.
4. Proven ability to exchange technical information with a range of stakeholders who have varying levels of understanding.
5. Proven ability in the operational management of hardware and applications, such as upgrading firmware and operating systems.
6. An expert by nature with demonstrable knowledge of the structure and operation of Internet of Things (IoT) type systems and experience of interacting with cloud hosted web applications for data visualisation, monitoring and maintenance. 
7. Basic ability to interact with a common coding language such as Python, Java or Javascript. 

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. A basic knowledge of the types of sensors and interfaces used within atmospheric monitoring.

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 01/06/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 24/06/2025. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed. 

How we can help 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk.  

If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. 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.