Consultant Data acquisition, dissemination and system software (EU-Funded MACC-II Project)

Data acquisition, dissemination and system software (EU-Funded MACC-II Project)

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

Reference No: AP11-22

Location: ECMWF Headquarters at Shinfield Park, near Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

Main Duties: The European Union is funding the MACC-II (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate - Interim Implementation, http://www.gmes-atmosphere.eu) project within the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme. MACC-II delivers the GMES pilot services for the atmosphere, covering topics ranging from air quality, to long‑range transport of pollutants and radiation, to greenhouse gases. ECMWF is co‑ordinating the project, which is run by a consortium with 35 other European partners, and is responsible for operating the global data assimilation and forecasting system. The team working on MACC‑II comprises 16 people within ECMWF.

The vacancy is in the Meteorological Applications Section of the Operations Department, which hosts three consultants funded by MACC-II. The consultant will mainly work on the global data assimilation and forecasting system of MACC-II. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with the Research Department and the project management team.

Main duties of the post:

• Acquire and process input datasets for MACC-II global activities
• Support the archiving of MACC-II inputs and outputs
• Support MACC-II global data dissemination
• Contribute to the set-up and operation of the MACC-II assimilation and forecasting system
• Act as back-up for the other members of the technical MACC team in the Meteorological Applications Section
• Participate in activities of similar nature in the Meteorological Applications Section, including on-call support.

Qualifications: A university education or equivalent is required, together with at least two years' experience in the development and maintenance of computer applications in a scientific environment. Experience in the processing of geophysical data using C/C++ or FORTRAN would be a clear advantage. A background in the use of scripting languages, such as Python, in a UNIX environment is also desirable.

The consultant will interact with the MACC-II team in the ECMWF Research Department, with MACC-II project partners and with external users; good communication skills and the ability to work in a team are thus very important.

The working languages of ECMWF are English, French and German. Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have a good knowledge of one of the other working languages. Interviews will be conducted in English.

Remuneration: Typically within the range of £3,920.00 to £5,429.00 per month net of tax, depending upon qualifications, experience, personal situation and eligibility for expatriation allowance. A deduction of either £31.94 per beneficiary or 4.14% of the monthly remuneration will be made for the supplementary health insurance scheme.

Starting Date: 1 January 2012, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Length Of Contract: Until 31 July 2014 (the end of the MACC-II project).

Applications: Application forms can be downloaded from ECMWF's website:

www.ecmwf.int/newsevents/employment/en/

Closing Date: Completed applications for this post must reach the Personnel Section of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts not later than 25 November 2011.

* The ECMWF Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, 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, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.