Foundation Scientist (Ocean Climate) Exeter 2024

We’re looking for an exceptional Foundation Scientist 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 29 hours per week and we will 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 ocean models and observations to explore the past and future climate of North West European Shelf (NWS) seas within the broader context of global ocean climate change.

Changes in these seas can impact marine biodiversity and ecosystems, fisheries, coastal communities and regional climate. This role offers the opportunity to collaborate with experts both within the Met Office and outside, enhancing our understanding and capabilities in marine climate science.

Your key duties

• Deliver novel scientific research to enhance our collective understanding of past, present and future marine climate change, for the global ocean and specifically the North West European Shelf
• Engage with a wider initiative within the Met Office on machine learning, for example developing systems that downscale global ocean model projections to produce high-resolution regional representations.
• Work in partnership, building strong collaborations with team members, project stakeholders and other national and international experts.
• Communicate your work, including via peer-reviewed scientific papers and attendance at workshops and conferences.

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

• Knowledge or experience equivalent to a good university degree with a strong physics or maths content. We particularly value expertise in the areas of physical oceanography or meteorology and an enthusiasm to develop skills in machine learning.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively learn new science areas, techniques or concepts and apply these to solve problems.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on scientific or technical problems, planning and delivering successful outcomes.
• Evidence of communicating knowledge accurately and concisely in written documents and group discussions.
• Experience in the development and use of software for scientific computation or analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, sharing own knowledge and expertise to successfully deliver common goals.

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Apply below with your CV 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 11/08/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 02/09/2024. 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.