Team Leader - Forecast Verification and Observation Monitoring

ECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

ECMWF in Reading, UK, seeks a Team Leader for Forecast Verification and Observation Monitoring to provide scientific and managerial leadership for a 14-person team. You will align evaluation evidence with operational decisions, oversee cross-ECMWF projects, and drive development across physics-based, data-driven and AI-based forecasting systems.

The role involves collaborating with international partners, data providers and member states, shaping approaches to verification, and delivering

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field.
• Significant leadership experience in weather, Earth system or environmental prediction.
• Strong knowledge of forecast verification and/or observation monitoring.
• Experience engaging with users and stakeholders to translate needs into developments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the team, setting objectives and priorities, ensuring delivery and development of team members.
• Coordinate verification and monitoring activities and shape scientific/technical direction.
• Guide design and development of operational systems for verification and observation monitoring.
• Oversee reliable delivery and production of authoritative evaluation reports.
• Support evolution of physics-based and AI-based forecasting systems and foster innovation.
• Represent ECMWF externally and contribute to Copernicus, Destination Earth and related activities.

Skills

Leadership

Forecast verification

Observation monitoring

Team management

English proficiency

Education

Advanced degree in a relevant field

Job description

Your role

As Team Leader for Forecast Verification and Observation Monitoring, you will lead a team whose work provides essential evidence about the quality of ECMWF’s forecasting systems and the observations used. You will ensure that ECMWF can assess the performance of its operational and emerging systems objectively, identify issues early, and use evaluation evidence to support scientific and operational decisions. As Team Leader, reporting to and supporting the Head of Evaluation, you will provide scientific and managerial leadership for the team, help set priorities and plan and manage the team's programme of work.

The role comes at an important point in the evolution of forecasting systems and of the tools to evaluate forecast quality. Evaluation must keep pace with increasingly diverse forecasting systems, including physics-based, data-driven and hybrid approaches, while extending across timescales and Earth-system components. and making effective use of emerging AI-based tools. You will set direction for this evolution while maintaining the reliability and scientific integrity of established operational activities.

Working across ECMWF and in close collaboration with Member and Co-operating States, data providers and international partners, you will strengthen the connections between observations, forecast evaluation, model development, operations and user needs. You will also help shape international approaches to verification and observation monitoring.

Your Team

The Forecast Verification and Observation Monitoring Team is part of the Evaluation Section in the Forecasts and Services Department, currently with 14 staff members based in Reading and Bonn. The team provides evidence on the quality and performance of ECMWF’s observations, analysis and forecasting systems, including products delivered by ECMWF within Copernicus (C3S, CAMS, CEMS) and Destination Earth, supporting their continuous evaluation and improvement. It works closely with teams across ECMWF involved in research, forecasting system development, operational activities and user services.

Its remit spans observation monitoring, forecast verification and quality assessment, and diagnostic evaluation, synergistically across timescales (medium-range, sub-seasonal and seasonal) and Earth System components (including weather, atmosphere composition and hydrology). As ECMWF’s forecasting systems and user needs evolve, the team continues to grow and extend its approaches across Earth-system components and to new types of forecasting systems, including ECMWF's operational AIFS, while continuing to deliver reliable operational monitoring.

Your responsibilities

You will:

• Lead and manage the team, setting objectives and priorities, ensuring effective delivery, and coaching and developing team members
• Coordinate verification and monitoring activities across ECMWF, working with the Head of Evaluation to shape the scientific and technical direction of verification and observation monitoring across timescales and Earth System components, and leading or contributing to relevant cross-ECMWF projects, task teams and evaluation activities as appropriate
• Guide the design and continued development of ECMWF’s operational systems for verification, forecast output and observation monitoring
• Oversee reliable operational delivery of observation and forecast performance monitoring, including the investigation and escalation of significant issues, and the production of authoritative evaluation reports.
• Ensure evaluation supports the evolution of ECMWF’s physics-based and AI-based forecasting systems, coordinating the monitoring of experimental and pre-operational systems, advising on implementation decisions, and fostering innovation in methods, workflows and software
• Lead ECMWF’s external and programme contributions in verification and observation monitoring, representing ECMWF externally, ensuring delivery of relevant WMO responsibilities and supporting relevant Copernicus, Destination Earth and externally-funded activities.

What we are looking for

We are looking for someone who combines deep scientific expertise in verification and/or observation monitoring with a strong user focus, operational focus, an inclusive and collaborative approach, empathy for different perspectives and supportive leadership. You will bring sound judgement and the ability to provide direction and turn strategic objectives and user needs into reliable operational delivery in a scientifically complex and rapidly changing area.

You will bring:

• An inclusive, collaborative and decisive leadership style, with the ability to listen, empower others and support the development of team members
• The judgement to balance operational requirements, scientific quality and longer-term innovation, including when priorities or technologies are changing
• The ability to connect people and perspectives across research, operations, services and external partnerships
• Strong listening and communication skills, including the ability to understand and respond to different user needs, represent ECMWF effectively and explain complex evidence and its implications to scientific, operational and governance audiences
• A structured and pragmatic approach to planning, prioritisation and decision-making in a team with both operational and developmental responsibilities
• The adaptability and resilience to lead change and innovation while sustaining trust, quality and reliable delivery

Your profile

Education

• An advanced university degree, or equivalent professional experience, in a relevant field

Essential Experience and Knowledge

• Significant scientific, technical and/or operational leadership experience in weather, Earth system or environmental prediction, spanning physics-based and/or AI-based approaches
• Strong knowledge of forecast verification and/or observation monitoring, including how observations and evaluation methods are used to assess forecasting system quality and support research or operational decisions
• Demonstrated experience leading, supervising or developing scientists or technical specialists, with evidence of building collaboration, delivering through others and working effectively in an operational or operationally oriented environment
• Experience engaging with users and stakeholders to understand their needs and translate them into relevant scientific or technical developments

Desirable Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of scientific evaluation of ensemble, Earth-system, AI-based or hybrid forecasting systems
• Knowledge of international coordination or standards relating to forecast verification and observation monitoring
• Experience taking scientific or technical developments into operational use, including the implementation of scientific software, workflows or evaluation services

Candidates must be able to work effectively in English. Knowledge of another language of ECMWF’s Member States would be an advantage.

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world leader in Numerical Weather Predictions providing high-quality data for weather forecasts and environmental monitoring. As an intergovernmental organisation we collaborate internationally to serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions, data and training activities that are critical to contribute to safe and thriving societies.

The success of our activities depends on the funding and partnerships of our 35 Member and Co-operating States who provide the support and direction of our work. Our talented staff together with the international scientific community, and our powerful supercomputing capabilities,are the core of a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions. We also hold one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world.

Our vision: World-leading monitoring and predictions of the Earth system enabled by cutting-edge physical, computational and data science, resulting from a close collaboration between ECMWF and the members of the European Meteorological Infrastructure, will contribute to a safe and thriving society

Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States

In addition, ECMWF has established a strong partnership with the European Union and has been entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Destination Earth initiative and the Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services of the Copernicus Programme, as well as being a contributor to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Other areas of work include High Performance Computing and the development of digital tools that enable ECMWF to extend provision of data and products covering weather, climate, air quality, fire and flood prediction and monitoring.

ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with its headquarters in Reading, UK, a data centre in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany as a central location for our EU-related activities. ECMWF is internationally recognised as the voice of expertise in numerical weather predictions for forecasts and climate science.
www.ecmwf.int
About Copernicus copernicus.eu
About Destination Earth destine.ecmwf.int

Other information

Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. In addition to basic salary, ECMWF also offers an attractive benefits package. Information about working with us and full details of salary scales and allowances are available on the ECMWF website at: www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs/working-ecmwf.

Starting date: From 01 April 2027

Location: Reading, UK or Bonn, Germany (Candidates are expected to relocate to the duty station)

Hybrid working: As a multi-site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking. We allow for remote work 10 days/month away from the office, including up to 80 days/year away from the duty station country (within member states and co-operating states).

Interviews by videoconference (MS Teams) interviews will be conducted in English and are expected to take place approximately a month after the closing date.

Successful applicants and members of their family forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.

If you require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment process, please let us know.

Who can apply

At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.

Applications are invited from nationals from ECMWF Member States and Cooperating States, listed below:

ECMWF Member and Co-operating States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy.

Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.