Head of Production Services

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is both a research institute and an operational centre, which runs 24/7, producing and disseminating numerical weather prediction (NWP) outputs to its Member States. ECMWF carries out scientific and technical research directed to the improvement of its NWP model, manages a long-term archive of meteorological data, and collects and processes large amounts of observations. For details, see www.ecmwf.int/.

Summary of the role

The Head of the Production Services Section is responsible for the production of ECMWF’s numerical weather prediction (NWP) outputs and the related service delivery activities. This role is pivotal in ensuring that our users around the world have highly reliable and timely access to ECMWF real-time products. S/he will report directly to the Director of Forecasts and also to ECMWF’s governing bodies on technical matters concerning the operational production of NWP.

The appointee will lead three teams within the Section, which cover the following service areas: operational production of NWP outputs, observation acquisition and pre-processing, data dissemination and archiving. The post holder will play an important role in linking and integrating activities across departments.

S/he will be part of ECMWF's senior management team and will be responsible for co-ordinating and/or delivering strategic crosscutting, inter-dependent projects and programmes in an operational environment. This requires close collaboration and frequent interaction with a variety of internal and external customers and partner organisations. S/he will encourage and nurture continuous innovation and improvement by leading and providing expertise to ensure that the operational production services meet the agreed service level agreements and future strategic requirements. S/he will also participate in international meetings in her/his areas of responsibility and expertise on behalf of ECMWF.

Main duties and key responsibilities

• Leading the provision of effective, high quality and reliable operational services to Member and Co-operating States and other users in line with the ECMWF's strategy
• Managing the evolution and continuous improvement of ECMWF’s operational systems, integration of developments, implementation and maintenance
• Leading and managing the Production Services Section and its team leaders by providing direction, coaching and support
• Planning, organising and managing the resources of the section, including those from externally funded projects
• Developing and overseeing the operational applications related to the production chain, e.g. acquisition and handling of observations, dissemination of NWP outputs, governance and archiving of meteorological data, including the release of new NWP model versions
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with key internal staff from across all departments at ECMWF
• Providing insights and recommendations to the ECMWF Senior Leadership Team and governing bodies
• Supporting the Director of Forecasts in the delivery of ECMWF’s strategy in relation to operational production services, and contributing to future strategic plans

Personal attributes

• Ability to motivate and develop diverse teams, whilst creating a compelling vision
• Ability to cope with the demands of a constantly changing and time-constrained operations environment • A supportive service-oriented and practical approach
• Positive attitude with an openness to change and embracing new challenges
• Ability to develop strong relationships and influence others

Qualifications and experience required

Education

• Advanced university degree or equivalent professional experience.

Experience

• Considerable experience overseeing operational production activities in an IT environment.

• Demonstrated experience in managing and developing diverse teams.

• Strong experience in leading significant projects or activities that involve large numbers of diverse stakeholders.

• Proven track record of developing processes and procedures to deliver high standards of efficiency through leading change and continuous improvement programmes in a fast-paced environment.

• Very good understanding of advanced IT infrastructure, such as highperformance computing and large data archive systems would be an advantage.

• Very good understanding of processes that ensure that important data assets are formally managed within production activities would be an advantage.

Knowledge and skills (including language)

• In-depth knowledge of end-to-end user oriented production processes with a significant level of technical understanding.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Excellent decision-making skills.

• Strong influencing skills.

• Excellent co-ordination and management skills.

• Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and interviews will be conducted in English.

• A good knowledge of one of ECMWF’s other working languages (French or German) would be an advantage.

Other information

Grade remuneration

The successful candidate will be recruited at the A4 grade, according to the scales of the Coordinated Organisations and the annual basic salary will be £83,488.20 net of tax. This position is assigned to the employment category STF-C as defined in the Staff Regulations.

Full details of salary scales and allowances are available on the ECMWF website at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs, including the Centre’s Staff Regulations regarding the terms and conditions of employment.

Starting date: As soon as possible.

Length of contract: Four years, with the possibility of a further contract.

Location: The position will be based in the Reading area, in Berkshire, United Kingdom. 8.

How to apply

Please apply by completing the online application form available by pressing the apply button.

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.

Staff are usually recruited from among nationals of the following Member States and Co-operating States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Staff from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.