User Engagement and Partnership Specialist – CAMS NCP and Emissions Service

Position description

Job reference: VN24-54
Salary and Grade: Grade A2 EUR 86,824 NET annual basic salary + other benefits
Deadline for applications: 14/08/2024
Department: Forecasts and Services
Contract type: STF-PL
Contract Duration: 4 years up to 30 June 2028, with the possibility of extension

Your role

ECMWF is seeking to fill an exciting new position as  User Engagement and Partnership Specialist (A2) for supporting the implementation of the CAMS National Collaboration Programmes (NCP) and developing the user engagement for the Emissions Service.

You will work as part of the User Outreach and Engagement Section, reporting to the Team Lead on the Copernicus National Uptake and Thematic Collaborations. Contributing to the implementation of the CAMS NCPs you will be responsible for dialogues with country representatives and the technical management of actions in scope of the CAMS NCP.

The CAMS NCP is a dedicated scheme to co-design support actions for EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom to stimulate and facilitate use of CAMS data and products at the country level, extracting the maximum benefit to meet the needs at the country level. With this initiative ECMWF supports national institutions to improve their uptake and use of CAMS products in support of air quality, pollen and dust monitoring and GHG emissions objectives.

The programme is implemented through individual contracts with the public authorities in each of the 30 countries, bilateral discussions with individual national authorities, joint dialogues via the Atmosphere User Forum and assessments on transboundary issues. Training activities complement specific capacity building needs. The NCP facilitates dialogues between the countries as well as at European levels on topics related to the implementation of European environmental policies. Additional info can be found at https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cams-national-collaboration-programme.

Based on high-level requirements from the European Commission, CAMS is also implementing a new emission monitoring capacity, which will combine information from a new generation of satellites and in situ observations with detailed computer simulations of the atmosphere and biosphere to estimate anthropogenic emissions of CO2, CH4, and some of the main atmospheric pollutants. This combination of observations and modelling will provide the added value to what we already know in terms of emissions from human activities, monitoring emissions in much more detail, both in space and time. The European Commission as well as EU member states and Copernicus participating states will be the main users of this new service element of CAMS. It is therefore important to closely interact with them during the ramp-up of the new service.

About ECMWF

ECMWF is the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. It is an intergovernmental organisation created in 1975 by a group of European nations and is today supported by 35 Member and Co-operating States, mostly in Europe. The Centre’s mission is to serve and support its Member and Co-operating States and the wider community by developing and providing world-leading global numerical weather prediction. ECMWF functions as a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions and holds one of the largest meteorological archives in the world. The success of its activities relies primarily on the talent of its scientists, strong partnerships with its Member and Co-operating States and the international community, some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and the use of innovative technologies such as machine learning across its operations. 

ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with a main office in Reading, UK, a data centre/supercomputer in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany. ECMWF has also developed 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. 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.

For more info about ECMWF see www.ecmwf.int. 

Copernicus

In 2014 ECMWF became an entrusted entity to operate the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on behalf of the European Commission. Upon the closure of the first phase mid-2021, ECMWF is now working on the next phase of the Copernicus Programme until 2027. 

Copernicus is the European Union (EU) flagship Earth-observation programme. The Copernicus programme ensures operational monitoring of the atmosphere, oceans, and continental surfaces, and provides reliable, validated information services for a range of environmental and security applications. Based on the exploitation of space based and in situ observations and models, Copernicus provides information services for land, marine, atmospheric and climate monitoring, as well as emergency management and security. For details see https://climate.copernicus.eu.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides consistent and quality-controlled information related to atmospheric composition and its drivers (emissions) and impacts on air pollution and health, solar energy, greenhouse gases and climate forcing, everywhere in the world. For details, https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu.

User Outreach and Engagement at ECMWF

ECMWF’s User Outreach and Engagement Section unites expertise to maintain and increase user uptake, satisfaction and experience and to explore partnerships and opportunities to develop new applications. It also provides training and knowledge transfer to enhance ECMWF impact of its core weather, Copernicus and DestinE activities. In the context of Copernicus, the section is responsible for the implementation of the CAMS and C3S National Collaboration Programmes (NCPs), User Intelligence actions and the Copernicus Health and Energy Hubs.

Your responsibilities

In this role you will contribute to the implementation of the CAMS NCP through the management of a set of dedicated co-designed contracts/grants aimed at optimizing the interaction with national institutions and public administrations to best exploit the use of CAMS products and services at national levels. Capturing the diversity in technical requirements and differences in data value chains and working practices, as well as guaranteeing feedback loops to technical and scientific colleagues at ECMWF, is a key part of your responsibilities.

In addition, you will support the Director and Deputy Director of CAMS with the user engagement for the new emission monitoring services that are currently being ramped up. This will include engagements with the European Commission, EU member states, and specialized organisations such as UNFCCC and ICLEI. A specific focus will be the translation of scientific data outputs into policy relevant information.

Your work will include the following

• Technical management of a portfolio of CAMS NCP contracts to ensure the delivery of the contractually agreed output, providing guidance and involving relevant thematic experts at CAMS, in close collaboration with the contract management team; 
• Contribute to the implementation of the CAMS NCP plan, including stimulating and facilitating dialogues on horizonal synergies between countries on particular technical topics and proposals for improvement for further engagements;
• Support the implementation of national user uptake actions in cooperation with relevant European agencies and science institutions in scope of CAMS to enhance applicability and user uptake at national level;
• Steer the collection and analysis of user feedback about CAMS products and services resulting from the NCP;
• Support the Director and Deputy Director of CAMS with the user engagement for the new emission monitoring services of CAMS;
• Develop ideas, in collaboration with experts at ECMWF and relevant external contractors, to transform scientific data outputs into policy relevant information at national and European scales;
• Contribute to other ECMWF user engagement and training activities such as workshops, general assemblies and fora, based on results from the CAMS NCP.

You will work closely with other colleagues in the Forecasts and Services Department and in the Research Department. You will also work closely with our internal Communication Section and User Services Section.

Occasional travel to the other ECMWF offices and to Member States, Co-operating States and EU member states may be required.

Qualifications

• Accountability, strong planning skills and capacity to deliver according to objectives;
• Creativity and proactivity, ability to identify and explore new opportunities;
• Enthusiastic and excellent networking skills;
• Strong diplomatic skills and awareness of cultural differences;
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team;
• Ability to multi-task, handle multiple projects and drive projects to completion;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate to different audiences;
• Genuine interest in ECMWF and in particular CAMS and Copernicus.

Education and Experience

• An advanced university degree (EQF Level 7 or above) in Meteorology, Climate Sciences, Environmental Engineering or similar relevant scientific discipline;
• Demonstrated experience of engaging with public stakeholders and agencies at national, European and/or UN level;
• Advanced knowledge of the European environment and climate mitigation policies;
• Demonstrated experience of managing projects, ideally in an international context.

Skills and knowledge

• Good understanding of the scientific aspects underpinning air quality and emission data products as well as of their relevance in national and the European policy context;
• Good knowledge of data value chains in support of environmental and climate mitigation policies, including aspects on data access and applicability, air quality reporting and/or emission inventories;
• Experience with European Union cohesion objectives through capacity building programmes is an advantage;
• Fluency in English;
• Fluency in or working knowledge of the Centre’s other two working languages (French, German) or of other European Union languages is an advantage.

Application instructions

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