Climatologist

Climatologist

JOB OPPORTUNITY

 CLIMATOLOGIST

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) is seeking a CLIMATOLOGIST to join its staff to support the programme of the Regional Climate Centre (RCC).  The successful candidate will work within the Applied Meteorology and Climatology Section at CIMH, located in Husbands, St. James, Barbados.

The Climatologist will report directly to CIMH’s lead Climatologist. The Chief of Applied Meteorology and Climatology will have overarching oversight of the performance of the Climatologist.

Before you proceed to apply, please consider the following requirements:

 Applicants will be required to produce evidence of any educational and professional qualifications to support their application if selected for interview.  All appointments are subject to satisfactory background checks and references.

The CIMH now invites submissions in English from suitably qualified candidates on or before March 20, 2025, at 4:009 pm AST addressed to:

Dr. David A. Farrell, 

Principal,

Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) 

Husbands, 

St. James, BARBADOS

Terms of Reference

CLIMATOLOGIST

INTRODUCTION

The CIMH is an Institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the technical Organ of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO). The mandate of the CIMH is “to assist in improving and developing the Meteorological and Hydrological Services as well as providing the awareness of the benefits of Meteorology and Hydrology for the economic well-being of the CIMH member states. This is achieved through training, research, investigations, and the provision of related specialized services and advice”.

To achieve its mandate, the CIMH in 1973 established an affiliation with the University of the West Indies in which its primary responsibility is the delivery of the B.Sc. programme in Meteorology in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences.

The CIMH is recognized regionally and globally as:

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Training Centre for the Caribbean;
• A Centre for applied research and development in meteorology, hydrology/water resources, climatology and related areas including disaster risk reduction and impacts forecasting;
• The WMO designated Regional Instrument Centre for the Caribbean;
• A WMO Centre of Excellence for Training in Satellite Meteorology;
• The WMO Regional Climate Centre (RCC) for the Caribbean;
• The Caribbean Centre for Climate and Environmental Simulations;
• The Climate Data Archive for CMO Member States;
• The Pan American Centre for the WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS).
• Caribbean Regional Marine Forecast Support Centre.

The CIMH has strong collaborations with other Regional Institutions, national organizations in CMO Member States and the international community.

Regional Climate Centre (RCC)

The CIMH was designated a WMO RCC for the Caribbean in May 2017. RCCs are Centres of excellence that create products that support regional and national climate activities (particularly those of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services) and strengthens the delivery of climate services to users in climate sensitive sectors. Climate Services refers to the production, translation, transfer, and use of climate knowledge and information in climate-informed decision making and climate-smart policy and planning. The CIMH currently leads the Caribbean Climate Services programme, targeting six climate sensitive sectors to provide such support – agriculture and food security, water, health, energy, tourism and disaster risk reduction. Research is also a critical aspect of the work of the RCC in both the physical and social sciences aspects of climate services. The Applied Meteorology and Climatology Section at CIMH forms the core of the RCC that brings together climatologists, meteorologists, climate database and data quality specialists, and weather observers.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Climatologist will report directly to CIMH’s lead Climatologist. The candidate will be expected to join an enthusiastic and excellence-driven group of professionals delivering climate information and services, while supporting the larger mandate of the CIMH, including training.

The specific duties of the Climatologist include:

• Contribute to the research and (further) development of, as well as, capacity development efforts in new (and existing) climate products and services by the RCC. This will involve, inter alia, development and/or enhancement of climate products and analysis tools, provision of technical training for CIMH and NMHS staff using face-to-face, hybrid or online modalities.

• Contribute to the RCC’s climate services operations, including regional climate monitoring and statistical/dynamical prediction for early warning, with a particular focus on sub-seasonal and seasonal timescales.

• Support the RCC in user interfacing mechanisms (such as the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum - CariCOF) and communication of climate risk based on the RCC Caribbean’s suite of climate early warning products.

• Assist in the CIMH professional and training programmes particularly in Caribbean Climate and Climatology.

• Any other activities that may be assigned by the Principal or Head of the RCC and their designate(s) that are consistent with the activities outlined in this TOR.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The Climatologist must possess:

• PhD or Master’s level degree in climatology, applied meteorology, earth system science, or related relevant discipline.
• A minimum of either 2 years work experience post PhD or 5 years working experience post Master’s degree in the field of climatology, including operational climate prediction and statistical and/or dynamical climate models, and developing climate tools, products and services.
• Excellent knowledge of Caribbean climate and weather conditions, climate extremes, drivers of climate variability and change, and climate analysis tools strongly required.
• Over 5 years’ experience working with standard and state-of-the-art systems and strategies for collection, data analysis/processing and presentation of data and information.
• Demonstrable proficiency in programming and scripting skills (in Linux/bash/shell and, preferably, in Python) for automation of operational climate forecasting routines. Knowledge of R would be an asset.
• Demonstratable skills in regional climate simulation models such as RegCM4 or WRF Climate
• Knowledge of Caribbean climate hazards and risks, particularly related to rainfall and temperature extremes.
• Proven experience in climate data analysis, statistics, and visualization of scientific data and information.
• Excellent communications skills, including writing and presentation in English.
• Demonstrated ability to write technical reports and journal articles that can be readily understood by peers. The ability to write technical reports for decision makers and the public would be an asset.

Other Considerations

The successful candidate must demonstrate:

• The ability to deliver high quality products and services in a timely manner
• The ability to work independently,
• The ability to function in a highly dynamic and collaborative work environment
• A preference for accurate, reproducible, detailed and well-documented work procedures
• Excellent skills at forging partnerships and working with diverse stakeholders including persons from local communities, civil society, social scientists, natural scientists and sector specialists
• The ability to lead projects, activities and teams

It is expected that the successful candidate should be familiar with: (i) the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and its leadership in the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), (ii) WMO Regional Climate Centres (RCCs) and their roles and functions, and (iii) the Caribbean region’s lead institutions on climate, sectoral and environmental risk.

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