1. Position information
Vacancy No.: VN15-31
Department: Forecast
Grade: A2
Section: Production
Job Ref. No.: STF-PL/15-31
Reports to: Leader of the C3S Technical Support Team
Closing Date: 4 May 2015

2. About ECMWF*
ECMWF is both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service, producing and disseminating
numerical weather predictions to its Member States. ECMWF carries out scientific and technical
research directed to the improvement of its forecasts, collects and processes large amounts of
observations, and manages a long-term archive of meteorological data. Satellite and in situ
observations provide the information for up-to-date global analyses and climate reanalyses of the
atmosphere, ocean and land surface.

For details, see www.ecmwf.int/.

ECMWF has been entrusted to operate the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and
the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on behalf of the European Commission until the end
of 2020. Copernicus is the European Union (EU) flagship Earth-observation programme. The
programme ensures operational monitoring of the atmosphere, oceans, and continental surfaces,
and will provide reliable, validated information services for a range of environmental and security
applications.

3. Summary of the role
The C3S aims to provide European stakeholders, including public authorities, businesses and
citizens, with access to authoritative information about climate change and its impact on society. The
C3S infrastructure will consist of a distributed Climate Data Store (CDS), a toolbox to enable
computations of the CDS contents, a centralised catalogue that will describe the holdings of the
CDS, and a web portal. The portal will allow users to discover and interact with the content of the
CDS by browsing and searching the catalogue, submit data requests and perform computations on
these data.

ECMWF will be responsible for the operation of the C3S service. It is envisaged that some
components of the C3S will run at ECMWF, for instance the web portal, while other components will
be distributed, such as the provision of large datasets hosted at remote sites. ECMWF will also act
as a data provider, making available some datasets like reanalyses or seasonal predictions through
the CDS.

ECMWF will issue an invitation to tender for the software development and implementation of the
C3S infrastructure.

The post will be key to the implementation and operational production of all the components of the
C3S infrastructure. The successful candidate will be involved in the development and integration of
the C3S infrastructure, working closely with the contractor(s) and ensuring that all components are fit
for production. This includes the role of ECMWF as a data provider.

4. Main duties and key responsibilities
The successful candidate will be part of a small cross-group, multi-functional team, together with
developers and system administrators. He or she will provide support for the integration of the C3S
components into ECMWF’s operational infrastructure, as well as the connection of ECMWF’s
archives with the CDS.

During the development phase, the successful candidate will work closely with the stakeholders,
including contractor(s), to ensure the technological choices are sound and the system meets the
requirements. This will be followed by a pre-operational acceptance phase prior to the operational
deployment of the service.

Key responsibilities:

•  Working closely with the stakeholders, including contractor(s), to design and develop the C3S infrastructure, until the service enters the operational phase.
•  Data Governance for the content of the Climate Data Store
•  Operation of the C3S service, including monitoring, on-call support, reporting and planning for its evolution.

5. Personal attributes

•  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate with scientists, engineers and other professional staff in an international environment to understand complex requirements
•  Ability to work with internal and external partners
•  Flexibility, with the ability to adapt to changing organisational priorities and user needs
•  Good analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive approach

6. Qualifications and experience required
Education
A university degree or equivalent in a discipline related to computer science,
meteorology or engineering.

Experience
At least three years of experience managing large datasets in an operational
environment.

Experience in managing technical projects.

Programming with scripting languages such as Shell and Python on UNIX
systems.

Knowledge of data format standards used in climatology or meteorology, such
as GRIB, BUFR or CF/NetCDF, would be advantageous.

Experience with building and managing catalogues using metadata standards,
such as the ISO 19000 series or INSPIRE, would be advantageous.

Solid knowledge of web services, in particular, experience with services using
standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) services would be a clear
advantage.

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

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

7. Other information
Grade remuneration
The successful candidate will be recruited at the A2 grade, according to the scales of the Coordinated
Organisations and the annual basic salary will be £54,776 net of tax. This position is
assigned to the employment category STF-PL 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.
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 at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs.

ECMWF has an Equal Opportunities Policy and applications from all suitably qualified candidates are
welcome.

Staff are usually recruited from among nationals of the Member States and Co-operating States.

Staff from non-ECMWF States may be considered in exceptional cases where there is a strong need
for a particular competency.

Interviews for this position are expected to take place week commencing 22 June 2015.

* The ECMWF Member States are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the
United Kingdom.

The ECMWF Co-operating States are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania and Slovakia.